Separating truth from myth after two more Carnival murders

With two new murder inquiries now underway following this year's Notting Hill Carnival, Chris Hobbs reflects on the arguments about the event's safety and renewed accusations of two tier policing.

This year Carnival has been marred with the tragic deaths in two separate incidents of individuals who, were simply present within the Carnival footprint to enjoy themselves. In both cases, officers performing duty at the event rushed to assist the victims, providing first aid until the arrival of paramedics. Both victims later sadly died despite the best efforts of hospital staff. Cher Maximen was with her young daughter when she was stabbed whilst bravely intervening in a violent situation. Top Chef Mussie Imnentu was on holiday from his job in Dubai when he was the victim of a senseless attack.

The intense, annual war of words before the Notting Hill Carnival began when a retired police detective inspector received huge media coverage when he weighed in with allegations, so often heard these days, of two- tier policing. According to the retired officer, what is tolerated at Carnival, whose attendance over two days is around a million and half, wouldn’t be tolerated at Millwall Football Club; average attendance 16,650. In fact, last season Millwall played 48 games which resulted in just 47 of their supporters being arrested.

He also spoke of female officers being sexually assaulted whilst dancing which probably refers to an incident of ‘twerking’ involving a female officer which took place at a previous carnival, the footage of which is re-shown every year. In fairness, there is an allegation in relation to a female officer being indecently assaulted during this Carnival.

Two-tier policing normally includes police being accused of being ‘soft’ on minority groups unless the allegation comes from the left when police are accused of unfairly victimising those from minority groups.

The retired officer also accuses police of ignoring drug use and tolerating being abused. Incidentally, those who regularly police football state that prevalent cocaine use is making policing of rival fans more difficult.

This year with some trepidation I attended Carnival on both days but studiously avoided placing myself in the midst of dense crowds which meant that my ability to move around Carnival was restricted and I never did find my way to the vantage point on Ladbroke Grove which I used last year.

Children’s Day

The numbers attending were greater on ‘Children’s Day Sunday,’ than in previous years; large crowds followed the various sound systems that could be found on the backs of articulated trucks or on the tops of open deck buses. The only incident I saw, of what didn’t quite add up to abuse, involved a white, skinny male clutching a near empty Hennessy brandy bottle who was demanding ‘his right’ to pass through a police cordon on Ladbroke Grove.

Entering the Carnival footprint meant passing through detection arches which were placed across the road and it was good to see a familiar Territorial Support Group (TSG) unit deployed to those arches at the Westbourne Grove entrance to Carnival.

One challenging role for a Met police serial was at a crossing point where the Westbourne Grove parade route meets Ledbury Road. Those wishing to cross the road into the heart of Carnival had to wait until stewards lifted the rope during a gap in the parade or they could turn left to walk alongside the parade on a crowded footway. Amidst the chaos was a Met serial (a serial is a unit of some 20 officers) with a Met Inspector who deployed himself to the middle of the road and whose eyes, were everywhere. Under his direction his officers somehow brought a degree of order to the above-mentioned chaos.

It was also interesting to see the use of a group of ‘bike cops’ who patrolled the outer areas of the Carnival footprint in order to prevent any potential extension of criminal activity.

Later that evening, on deciding enough was enough, I returned to the main parade where I saw officers tending to a female who’d collapsed and who was surrounded by anxious friends and relatives. Police medics then arrived and after several minutes, it was decided to move her using a blanket stretcher. All the officers assisted and they were followed by the family and friends.

The journey home via Paddington station, however, was not uneventful. Large queues could be seen at the Elizabeth Line entrance and the main concourse was packed. BTP officers including the esteemed OSU (Operational Support Unit) were being deployed as it became clear there were two issues. The first was a trespasser ‘on the line,’ and the second, carnival bunting that had become entangled in the overhead electric wires.

Overnight, however, some worrying statistics were produced by the Met; with three stabbings including that of Cher Maximen who was with her children when she bravely intervened in a fight. Brief footage on social media saw officers rushing to Cher’s aid; they were soon joined by police medics. During children’s day 8 arrests were also made for possession of an offensive weapon.

Carnival Monday, Section 60 and Serial 421B

These incidents clearly prompted the Met’s ‘Gold’ commander to introduce a Section 60 order across Carnival for the Monday which meant stop and searches could be carried out without the normal requirement of ‘reasonable grounds.’ The increase in ‘person searches’ was immediately evident on approaching Carnival. This may attract allegations from activist observers of ‘disproportionality’ but it also paid dividends with 54 arrests for possession of offensive weapons most of which were for ‘bladed/pointed’ articles. Those critical of stop and search should ask themselves how much serious injury those interventions prevented. Sadly, it’s not a total panacea.

I made my way back to that demanding crossing point at Ledbury Road and Westbourne Grove and found it was the same serial of officers led by the same inspector, who were again bringing about a degree of order to the chaos with both skill and good humour. They were designated the call-sign of Serial 421B. Like officers across Carnival, they must have been exhausted by the day’s end.

What was clear was that the numbers of boisterous, youthful Carnival revellers in their teens and twenties had increased; thousands were following the various sound systems that were moving around the ‘circular’ parade route.

Whilst five stabbings are five too many, the feared ‘stab fest’ on the Monday did not materialise thanks almost certainly to the increased levels of stop and search. What was perhaps more disturbing was the seizure of two firearms (some reports said three); one was within the Carnival footprint while the other, in Harrow, was linked to Carnival. Whether any of the firearms and weapons seized or the stabbings that took place, were linked to gang rivalries remains to be seen.

Certainly, the gang related fatal shooting last month, of a 15-year-old in a park that is within the Carnival footprint will have featured in the Met’s planning for this event.

Carnival casualties

Like the overwhelming number of ‘carnival goers’ I didn’t actually witness any violent scenes during my time within the Carnival area although I saw several arrests. What I did notice was a preponderance of Carnival casualties. Most had become ill due to ‘over-indulgence’ but others had suffered physical injury.

One man, according to a witness, had tripped and hit his head on the concrete balustrade of an imposing house causing a nasty, bloody head injury. Two officers came to his aid. The dazed man told officers he lived in Hackney at which point two police medics arrived and, as I left, they were considering the next course of action.

In all the cases I witnessed where police assistance was being given to those stricken, it was being carried out with both skill, kindness and compassion.

It would be interesting to note how many medical interventions were carried out by police during Carnival weekend. Not all will be recorded however; this would apply if officers felt that the stricken individual could be safely left in the hands of friends and/or relatives.

Positive engagement

The other noticeable and observable point of interest was the interaction between officers and members of the public given the fact that the constant above-mentioned mantra of activists is that police are, to all intents and purposes, ‘at war’ with the black community.

From my own observations there was no sign of this animosity whatsoever at Carnival. Officers were frequently approached for directions, advice, selfies of just a chat. The public were compliant when being given instructions and once again relations were excellent although doubtless this would be interpreted by some as illustrating ‘woke, two tier’ policing.

Facts and myths

Whilst those on the left will complain about racist ‘disproportionality’ those on the right, who dislike the term, far-right, insist that Carnival epitomises ‘two-tier’ policing.  In relation to ‘soft’ policing: the 350 persons arrested over the weekend would perhaps beg to differ.

The Mail reported 8 stabbings over the Carnival weekend as compared to 10 in 2023, 7 in 2022 but that included one death and 18 in 2019; the 2020 and 2021 events were cancelled due to Covid. Detectives investigating the fatal stabbing of Cher Maximen on Sunday confirmed on Tuesday that they have arrested three men, one of whom has been charged with GBH; a charge which will now be reviewed by the CPS.

Those on the ‘we’re not right, we’re just right,’ side of the argument speak of wholesale abuse of officers and open drug taking during Carnival. I’ve seen no abuse of officers and such smoking of weed that I’ve observed has been carried out discreetly, out of sight of officers. This is in total contrast to the 4/20 Cannabis festival in Hyde Park which, this year was attended mainly by white men and women.

The Carnival and the riots

Comparisons are being made on social media between the riots and Carnival with suggestions that the level of violence at Carnival can be compared to that seen during the riots. The Federation stated that during the two days of carnival, 75 officers were assaulted with one taken to hospital, two were bitten and a female officer sexually assaulted. Precise figures are always difficult to calculate post-event. The Met said the total was 61 and that: “The assaults mostly involved kicks, punches or pushes. There were four incidents where officers were spat at, two where officers were headbutted and two where officers had glass bottles thrown at them.”

We’re not told how many of those responsible were arrested on the day. Hopefully, with the use of body-worn cameras and CCTV, any violent individuals who were not apprehended will be receiving an early morning wake-up call and be before the courts in the near future. The Met have stated that they have teams of detectives looking to make further arrests.

Comparisons between the riots and events at Notting Hill over two days can be erroneous but there is no doubt that at present, it appears to be ‘open season,’ upon police officers and, at the risk of repeating myself, allegations that those officers are engaged in woke, two tier policing or are vile, brutal racist, oppressors only embolden those who wish to abuse and harm officers.

The life-threatening level of violence seen during the riots is now being effectively ‘airbrushed out’ by those on the extreme right whose arguments are boosted by the Carnival deaths.

There is no doubt that Europe’s largest street event has safety issues. Arguments put forward by those who wish to preserve Carnival as it is, includes the apparent fact that the crime rate is higher at the Creamfields festival and almost as high at Glastonbury. However, that argument is now significantly weakened by these two tragic, senseless Carnival deaths.

Disaster by crushing was narrowly averted in 2022: If, amidst a densely packed crowd a trigger occurs, such as gunshots or a mass stabbing incident you have a potentially lethal ‘mass crushing ‘scenario.

A change to a more open venue would be safer and hopefully easier to police with the Met being able to reduce the staggering costs that impact upon its routine policing.

Meanwhile, officers from the Met, the City of London and the BTP deserve huge praise for their balanced approach and their ‘above and beyond’ efforts during Carnival.

RIP Mussie, RIP Cher.

Chris Hobbs is a former Special Branch officer who follows public order events as an observer for Police Oracle.

Category: DiversityOpsPublic OrderRace