Riot police escorted a man out of a Dundee property on Friday night as a street protest escalated.
The resident was taken away from Ballindean Road in Douglas amid chants of “paedo” and “scumbag”, as hundreds of people gathered outside the flats.
The protest started around 5pm and went on for several hours, with footage of the angry stand-off between locals and police emerging on social media shortly before midnight.
Police Scotland accused crowds of being “extremely hostile” towards officers and condemned the behaviour of some as “completely unacceptable”.
They also confirmed a second protest had taken place at 8.30pm three miles away, on Craigmore Street, where a car was damaged and a window smashed.
In one video of the Ballindean Road incident, dozens of officers with shields can be seen guarding a riot van and yelling “get back”.
In another clip, a baton-wielding officer can be seen clashing with a protester.
A different video shows one cop forced to use his shield when hit by flying street signage.
Footage also captures a handful of locals chasing the police van – and attempting to block it – as it pulls out of the street, which was closed during the protest.
Hours before the man was escorted from the flat, an eyewitness told The Courier: “People are in the middle of the road and all over the pavement.
“They are shouting and chanting. It’s really loud and it’s really quite scary.
“It looks like things are beginning to turn nasty, there’s loads of police now.
“Some are at the house, others are standing around trying to control the crowd.”
Another added: “The road was closed on both ends so I had to park somewhere else.
“I could hear the shouting from a couple of streets away.
“People were throwing up eggs and trying to hit the person’s window – they were cheering too.
“There were loads of people there, it was really busy.”
The Ballindean Road stand-off also comes after a protest took place outside the home of a paedophile in St Mary’s last Saturday.
‘Unacceptable behaviour’
Chief Inspector Ross Fitzgerald – local area commander in Tayside – said: “Around 5.30pm on Friday, 2 September, officers were called to reports of a large crowd gathering outside an address in Ballindean Road, Dundee.
“Unfortunately during the incident some of those gathered became extremely hostile towards police and objects were thrown at officers and vehicles.
“Public order trained officers were called to assist.
“Police Officers have a duty to ensure the safety of everyone involved and whilst no officers were injured, this kind of behaviour is completely unacceptable.
“Although the crowd later dispersed we are currently carrying out enquiries to establish more details on the offences committed and identify those responsible and take the appropriate action.
“This will include reviewing any available video footage.”
Chief Inspector Fitzgerald continued: “We are also continuing enquiries into a similar incident where a crowd had gathered on Craigmore Street in Dundee on Friday evening which officers were called to around 8.30pm.
“Officers attended to assist and engaged with the group, who later dispersed.
“A car was damaged and a window was smashed during the incident and we are working to identify those responsible.
“We would like to reassure the local community in these areas that increased patrols are being carried out to provide public reassurance following these incidents of disorder and I would urge anyone with concerns to speak to local officers.”
