An investigation starts on the pulling down of Colston statue in Bristol

Anti-racism protests have been occurring across cities in the UK and around the world since the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died on 25th of May 2020 after a white police officer knelt on his neck.

One of the many cities having such protests was Bristol, where during a march involving 10,000 people resulted in a statue of a slave trader being pulled down and thrown into the harbour, on Sunday.

The 17th-century statue was of Edward Colston, who joined the Royal African Company (RAC) in 1680 and he was believed to have been involved in selling about 100,000 people from West Africa from 1672-1689. Colston made the majority of his fortune through the RAC and his legacy is still seen on Bristol's streets.

But Colston's bronze statue on Colston Avenue has been an issue in the city for years. Campaigners against the statue have said that Colston's connections with slavery and the RAC and his subsequent association to the city should be reassessed. A petition, which gathered thousands of signatures in the past week alone, said that Colston's statue had "no place" in Bristol.

Avon and Somerset Police have said that footage of the removal of the statue is being collected and that an investigation will be carried out to identify the protestors involved.

However, during the protest, police took a "tactical decision" not to cause "further disorder" and therefore, officers at the scene did not intervene as the statue was pulled down.

Yet The Police Federation of England and Wales said that the officers' decision not to get involved sent a negative message.