AR2 riot shield

Circular clear plastic riot shield with a black metal bar marked POLICE in white letters, used by a Territorial Support Group officer during the August 2011 disturbances in Tottenham. The shield is scuffed and damaged from impact. The officer would have held a baton in their other hand.

The unrest began after the fatal police shooting of local resident Mark Duggan on 4 August 2011. A peaceful protest outside Tottenham police station two days later developed into clashes with officers and then escalated into wider disorder across London and other English cities, including Croydon, Brixton and Manchester. The speed with which the unrest spread has been linked to longer-standing issues in several communities, including strained relations with police, high use of stop and search, youth unemployment, cuts to local services and frustration with social inequality.

The circumstances of Duggan’s death remain contested. The 2014 inquest ruled that he was lawfully killed, while also finding that he did not have a gun in his hand when he was shot. His family and campaigners have continued to dispute elements of the evidence, and the case has remained central to debates about policing and public trust.