London rioters attacked police horses, as well as Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, during a December 9th demonstration near Parliament Square to protest rising university tuition fees.
More than 15 British mounted patrol officers rode into the violent crowd on Thursday, December 9th, as rioters lit fires, smashed windows and sprayed red paint on buildings and police officers. The protestors carried placards, but they also wielded firecrackers, metal pipes, missiles, paint bombs, sticks, traffic cones and other dangerous materials.
In the melee, several equestrian police officers became unmounted, falling off their horses. Several mounted policemen were injured after tumbling from their saddles, or being pulled from their horses by protestors. At least one equestrian police officer was trampled under horses’ hooves.
Many of the horses spooked and bolted, but no equines were seriously injured. The equines all wore face guards and leg armors, as well as their regular saddles and tack.
Rioters pounded on a limousine containing British Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as the royal couple headed for the London Palladium. Prince Charles and Camilla were unhurt, although windows in the car were smashed.
More than 40 protestors were arrested by London police in the incident, which was videotaped by law enforcement cameras.
Why did the Londoners riot?
British Parliament was scheduled to vote on December 9th on a proposal to raise university tuitions in the United Kingdom exponentially. The educational fees were expected to go up from 3m290 GBP to 9,000 GBP, according a December 10th report in Horse and Hound UK.
In the end, Parliament did approve the tuition hike, which is slated to take effect in 2012.
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