A score of police officers injured in a protest in Bristol against a police reform law

Protesters clashed with police this Sunday night in Bristol.Mark Dolman / SplashNews.com / GTRES

The protest called throughout this weekend throughout England against the Johnson Government's new Security Act led to an episode of violent clashes on Sunday night in the city of Bristol, about 190 kilometers west of London.

Late at night, a group of protesters began to destroy the exterior of a police station, set fire to two parked police cars and clashed with police officers in the area.

About twenty officers were injured, of which two had to be hospitalized with several broken ribs, in one case, and a punctured lung, in the other.

At least seven participants in the protests were arrested, and the authorities have already warned that there will be more arrests, once the recordings of the security cameras distributed around the area of ​​the incidents are reviewed.

The new law, which was expedited through the House of Commons last week by the Government, gives the police in England and Wales wide powers to limit the right to protest, and greater discretion to the Home Office to decide whether a call is or is not illegal.

Up to 700 jurists have signed a manifesto in which they warn the Johnson government that the legal text supposes "an alarming extension of the State's control over the right of free assembly and assembly."

The processing of the law coincided with the images of the police charge against the women who, on March 13, participated in a vigil in honor of Sarah Everard.

The 33-year-old executive was killed by a police officer when she was returning home alone at night after visiting a friend.

Popular outrage at the hasty reaction of the authorities has led to demonstrations across the UK, which have gained traction by coinciding with the passage of the disputed law.

Bristol Police responded to the violent protesters with horse charges, trained dogs and truncheons.

Chief Commissioner for the Avon and Somerset region, Andy Marsh, said “The officers were very patient.

Among the nearly 3,000 people summoned, there was an infiltrated group of criminals that could amount to between 400 and 500 protesters.

Certainly, we were not the ones who caused the situation ”.

The mayor of the city, Marvin Rees, who has been very critical of the law promoted by the Johnson administration, warned protesters that “destroying downtown buildings, vandalizing vehicles or attacking police officers will not help at all to prevent the law from going ahead ”.

Downing Street has tried to temper the tension that is breathed these days in the street with gestures of reinforcement to the safety of women and girls, but has been relentless in the face of the events in Bristol.

Johnson has called them "absolutely unacceptable" and has announced that "they will no longer be tolerated."

The Minister of the Interior, Priti Patel, has appeared urgently this Monday in the House of Commons to denounce the protests in the English city as "anarchic and violent" and accuse the protesters of "selfish".

“We have long said that to save lives during this pandemic people should not participate in large gatherings.

Many decided this weekend in a selfish way that the ban was not for them, "said Patel.