[imagesource: Ilyas Tayfun Salci/ Anadolu Agency via Getty]

Across the world, protests have erupted in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, sparking mass action against police brutality and racially motivated violence in America.

In London this past weekend, people gathered to call for an end to systemic racism in Britain, and to express solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement.

While the demonstrations were, for the most part, peaceful, chaos broke out in Whitehall where some protesters reportedly threw bottles, flares, and other projectiles at police officers near 10 Downing Street, according to The Independent.

Footage showed a line of mounted police attempting to drive demonstrators away from the prime minister’s official residence, with one officer clattering from her horse as she collided with a set of traffic lights at high speed.

The crowd scattered as the animal bolted down the busy street, knocking a protester to the ground as it ran. Their condition is currently unknown.

Image: Lynn Brittney/ Twitter

The officer is currently in hospital, receiving treatment for her injuries which are not life threatening, the force said, adding that it is examining “the full circumstance of what took place” and that “the horse, uninjured, made its own way back to the stables, nearby”.

You can see the moment that the police officer is knocked off her horse:

A female police officer has been seriously injured in London after rioters threw bricks at her horse, spooking it and sending her head-first into a traffic pole. pic.twitter.com/fYIA3BIOhm

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 6, 2020

The horse can then be seen colliding with a pedestrian as it attempts to escape:

⚠️⚠️⚠️ POLICE HORSE STRUCK A PEDESTRIAN IN #LONDON #GeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/Xakzzg5qsW

— AS-Source News (@ASB_Breaking) June 6, 2020

More footage of the horse bolting, before making its way to the stables:

The officers who remained on horseback tried to enforce order as protesters played Bob Marley’s ‘One Love’ amidst cries of “stand your ground”:

A heavy line of police officers emerged in riot gear and attempted to disperse the remaining protesters, many of whom took one knee chanting “don’t shoot” and “I can’t breathe” – a phrase repeated by George Floyd until he lost consciousness while Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

Groups of so-called ”patriots” and “football lads” were filmed patrolling war memorials and statues in central London.

The initials ‘BLM’ were written in black paint on the Cenotaph war memorial, a number of Whitehall buildings were graffitied, including the Cabinet Office.

[source:independent]