A man who attacked a black man during riots in Piccadilly Gardens sobbed in court after a judge refused him a prison sentence.
Dad-of-three Carl Ryan, 55, from Gorton, tried to tackle the man as he fled through a shouting crowd during a protest and counter-protest that turned violent in Manchester city centre on August 3.
Towns and cities across the country, including Greater Manchester, were in turmoil after three girls were fatally stabbed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance club in Southport last month. False rumours spread on social media that the suspect in the stabbings was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK on a small boat appear to have fuelled the problem.
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Prosecutor Duncan Wilcock told Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday: “Following the tragedy in Southport on July 29, when three young girls were killed and others injured, false rumours began to spread online about the identity of the person involved and as a result of this false information, various demonstrations and protests were planned across the country; some in Middlesbrough in the north-east, further afield in Bristol, Liverpool and here in Manchester.”
According to the prosecutor, there was disorder in Piccadilly Gardens on August 3 and Ryan was part of a “significant group” who gathered. Footage obtained by a subsequent police investigation showed a “fight” between members of the crowd and a black male being punched and kicked on the ground, the prosecutor said.
Mr Wilcock said Ryan tried to kick the man but was ‘unsuccessful’. The defendant then ‘remained in the area’ as police moved in to save the man from further violence, the court heard.
The defendant was also seen kicking an Asian man but again ‘failed’, Wilcock said.
The disorder led to a major police investigation, during which the man who had committed the two kicks was initially identified only as ‘male 9’. Following a police request for information, Ryan handed himself into a police station on 19 August and identified himself as male 9.
The court was told that Ryan, who has no previous convictions, gave a statement, admitted his role in the attack and apologised.
Defence barrister David Bentley said Ryan had gone to Manchester with his estranged wife on August 3 for a drink at a Wetherspoons pub near Piccadilly Gardens.
Mr Bentley said the alcohol, combined with the medication he was taking, was ‘having a negative effect on him’. The couple had planned to go to another pub but ‘inexplicably’ got into trouble, the court was told.
Mr Bentley said his client had not ‘attacked’ the black man and was merely trying to bring him down, adding that his client denied being racist and was ‘in no way associated with any organisation on the far right’. Mr Bentley said one of Ryan’s grandchildren was mixed race.
The lawyer added that his client “deeply regrets” his actions, adding: “The defendant denies any suggestion that his actions that day were hostile towards any race or religion.”
Mr Bentley said Ryan identified himself to police as ‘male 9’ before his identity was known and described a number of character statements, including that of a Muslim friend.
It was stated in court that Ryan had previously battled cancer and currently has health problems related to it, and that his youngest son is also currently receiving cancer treatment.
Judge Patrick Field KC told the defendant: “You have been involved in an ugly incident of disorder. After listening to everything that has been said today I still cannot understand how this has happened. I am sure this is something that will haunt you for some time to come.
“However, you were involved and that involved being indirectly involved in the assault of others on a black male. They brutally assaulted him. He tried to escape or at least chase after the man who punched him and you tried to trip him as you passed him but failed, which was a very malicious thing to do from any perspective. You were then left as part of the angry crowd shouting and gesticulating. While you were there, some footage showed you grabbing and kicking another man who appeared to be South Asian.”
Appearing in court via video link from prison, Ryan said ‘thank you’ to the judge, made prayer gestures with his hands and then sobbed uncontrollably after Judge Field decided to suspend his sentence.
Judge Field said the incident was ‘disgraceful’ but the defendant’s role was ‘very limited’. ‘I propose to take an exceptional course in your case, particularly having regard to your personal mitigation and the fact that I believe there are reasonable prospects of rehabilitation,’ Judge Field said.
Ryan, of Collin Street, Gorton, was sentenced to 14 months in prison, suspended for two years, after previously admitting a charge of violent disorder.