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dalston

Pictures: Violent protests in east London after 20-year-old dies after being chased by police

Bottles were thrown and mattresses were set on fire as the riot police stepped in at the scene in Dalston.

Rashan Charles death Riot police out in force as fires rage on the Kingsland Road in east London. Lauren Hurley / PA Images Lauren Hurley / PA Images / PA Images

Updated at 1.20pm

A 17-YEAR-OLD HAS been arrested after angry protesters blocked a road in London and threw objects at police as part of a violent demonstration last night over the death of a 20-year-old man, who died after being chased into a shop by officers last week.

Rashan Charles was chased into a corner shop in Dalston, east London, last Saturday where he was pinned down to the floor by police officers. He was taken to Royal London Hospital, where he died a short time later, the Guardian reports.

Demonstrators blocked off a portion of the Kingsland Road, pushing mattresses, wheelie bins, traffic cones and rubbish onto the streets meaning no cars were able to pass.

Rashan Charles death A makeshift roadblock at the protest Lauren Hurley / PA Images Lauren Hurley / PA Images / PA Images

When the riot police arrived, officers had bottles and other missiles hurled at them. The Met Police said one police officer sustained an injury to his eye, but remains fit for duty.

A member of the public was knocked from his bicycle and assaulted as he attempted to pass through the protest and a number of parked vehicles were damaged, police said.

Rashan Charles death Riot police going down the Kingsland Road Lauren Hurley / PA Images Lauren Hurley / PA Images / PA Images

The makeshift roadblocks were set alight, as officers on horseback and in riot gear stepped in to try to clear the road.

Rashan Charles death Lauren Hurley / PA Images Lauren Hurley / PA Images / PA Images

In a statement, the Met Police said: “At approximately 3.40pm, a number of items were placed on the highway of the A10 Kingsland Road, close to Middleton Road.

A number of items including bottles have been thrown towards officers who continue to monitor the situation.

Protesters Clash With Police In London Ray Tang / ZUMA Press/PA Wire Ray Tang / ZUMA Press/PA Wire / ZUMA Press/PA Wire

Police in Hackney tweeted an appeal for calm, and said that its officers were the subject of “abuse and violence”.

Detective Superintendent Claire Crawley said that “nobody [had been] seriously injured, but there was inconvenience to local residents and road users and damage caused to vehicles, a cash machine and a number of windows.

We will always support the right to lawful protest but behaviour such as that seen last night cannot be tolerated.

A 17-year-old youth was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm. He was taken to an east London police station where he remains in custody.

The death of Charles is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. It has collected body cameras worn by police officers, and CCTV from the scene.

The Met Police said that Charles had been seen “trying to swallow an object”, and that officers had “sought to prevent the man from harming himself”.

- With reporting from Gráinne Ní Aodha

Read: Charlie Gard, the baby at the centre of a legal battle, has died

Read: Police investigating Grenfell Tower fire say that the council ‘may have committed manslaughter’

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