Five men jailed for causing violent disorder at Henry Nowak protest

Five men jailed for causing violent disorder at Henry Nowak protest Five men have been jailed for violent disorder after taking part in a riot in Southampton following the murder of Henry Nowak during which police were surrounded by a “baying mob throwing projectiles”. Father-of-two Daniel Frost, 44, from Southampton, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison for violent disorder and possessing an offensive weapon – a dog lead with a metal carabiner which he had fashioned into a “makeshift knuckleduster”. Reece Robinson, 21, of Havant, was jailed for two years for violent disorder after he threw two stones or small bricks during the protest in the Portswood area on June 2. Andrew Summerhayes, 38, of Romsey, was sentenced to three years and two months for violent disorder and two counts of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place after he chased down police officers who were attempting to escape the violence, first with a large bin and then with a traffic cone. Taylor Grundy, 22, of Gosport, was jailed for two years and six months for violent disorder after he threw a plank of wood at police officers and assisted others in pushing a large commercial bin that had been set alight towards the police cordon. Dillon Crawford, 29, of Southampton, who during the incident “enthusiastically and aggressively pushed his way to the front of the crowd” before throwing projectiles at officers, including a bin and a metal item, was jailed for three years for violent disorder. Judge William Mousley KC, sitting at Southampton Crown Court, said of the disorder: “This violence was a hate crime borne out of a hatred for police and in some part racist views.” He added: “The impact on the community was profound, local residents were subjected to fear, distress and genuine sense of danger.” Siobhan Linsley, prosecuting, previously told the court that Frost was visible in police body-worn video shown to the court wearing a camouflage face-covering as he threw chairs from a garden into the road in front of the officers. She said the defendant then “somewhat ostentatiously wraps the rope around his arm and the clip around his hand, forming what the observing officers feared to be a handmade knuckle-duster”. Ms Linsley added: “In response to hearing this, the defendant said it was a dog lead but repeatedly invited the officers to come and take it from him. “He then told them that it will take four of them to remove it from him and that if they tried to do so ‘these lot will f*** you right up, come and get it’, referring to the crowd around him.” Ms Linsley said that after he was arrested, Frost described the disorder as “a big party” and called one of the interviewing police officers “a gaslighting bitch”. She said Frost had 25 previous convictions for 55 offences, including a six-year sentence for robbery and GBH, weapons offences, public order offences and burglary offences. Describing Robinson’s involvement, Ms Linsley said: “Mr Robinson was seen at the disorder on St Denys Road, he was topless with an orange high-vis vest around his neck obscuring his face. “He bent down to pick up small stones or bricks on two occasions and throws them towards the police cordon.” She added that when Robinson, who has no previous convictions or cautions, was arrested, he told officers: “I didn’t really do much.” Summerhayes was “standing very close next to the line of police officers” as they were “surrounded on the pavement by a baying mob”, Ms Linsley told the court. The defendant was told to move out of officers’ way as they attempted to escape the crowd, but he resisted and was forcibly moved from their path. The defendant then picked up a large bin and ran with it, “seemingly intent on catching the police”, but stumbled short of the police line and dropped the bin before picking up a traffic cone, Ms Linsley said. “Several others are following him in the crowd carrying bins in the same fashion,” Ms Linsley told the court. Judge Mousley, sentencing Summerhayes, told the defendant: “Your actions plainly encouraged and added to the threat faced by those officers.” Summerhayes also made “grossly offensive and baseless” comments during his police interview following his arrest on June 5, claiming that he became involved in the disorder because “the police are paedophiles”. When asked why he held that belief, Summerhayes said it was because they “wore uniforms” and added: “They have just not been caught.” The court was told Summerhayes had 25 convictions for 45 offences, including racially aggravated disorderly behaviour, weapons offences, assaults, criminal damage, and non-dwelling burglary. Grundy threw a long plank of wood at police, before assisting a group of people in pushing a large industrial bin that had been set alight towards officers. The judge said Grundy sought to minimise his involvement following his arrest, claiming that he had merely observed the scene and stayed away from the violence which he described as “frightening”. Ms Linsley also told the hearing Crawford decided to join the protest in Southampton after seeing the body-worn footage of Mr Novak’s arrest and being “moved to tears”. The defendant claimed he became angry after seeing a police officer delivering a “pre-emptive strike” at a protester, and “lost himself in the crowd” as violence erupted. During the disorder, he threw a number of projectiles at police, including a bin and a metal object, with the judge noting: “The risk of serious injury was obvious and substantial, and your conduct materially added to the danger.” Crawford has 19 previous convictions for 33 offences which included a number of domestic violence offences for which he received a 21-month custody sentence in 2023. The five men’s sentencing on Wednesday brings to seven the total number of people jailed in relation to the disorder on June 2, following the sentencing of Leon O’Leary, 41, from Basingstoke, and Connor Bishop, 24, of Southampton, on Tuesday. A total of 21 people have been charged with violent disorder following a demonstration of around 1,000 people outside central Southampton police station at 6pm on June 2 to protest against the circumstances around Mr Nowak’s death and the actions of police. Anger had erupted after police body-worn video was released showing Mr Nowak being placed in handcuffs moments before he became unconscious and subsequently died. The court was shown video footage of the protesters making their way down Belmont Road and Judge Mousley commented: “That is exactly the area where Henry Nowak was murdered. Vickrum Digwa lived with his family but a few minutes walk from there.” Ms Linsley said: “The purpose for some of those and the speaker who was riling up the crowds was to try to locate that property.” The disorder, which Ms Linsley described as a “baying mob throwing projectiles” at the police officers, lasted around two-and-a-half hours, with 12 police officers injured, mainly by being hit by bricks, and a police dog was assaulted with cuts to its legs. A member of the public who was not part of the protest also suffered a broken jaw, Ms Linsley said. She added that the cost of the policing operation, including accommodating officers brought in from other areas, was £434,000. The cases of Noah Etherington, 18, of Havant, and Kevin Reeves, 31, of Southampton, who both pleaded guilty to violent disorder, have been adjourned to be sentenced on June 30. Judge Mousley adjourned the case of Andrew Riddett, of Seacombe Green, Southampton, for a mental health report to be prepared on the 38-year-old and a trial date set of November 18 with a preliminary hearing on September 4.