Man charged with police killing during 1985 London riots

One of 14 men arrested in 2010 on suspicion of killing a London police officer in a 1985 riot will face charges, prosecutors said Tuesday. Nicholas Jacobs, 44, who was 16 in 1985, is to appear in Westminster Magistrate's Court Wednesday to be formally charged with the murder of Police Constable Keith Blakelock, The Guardian reported. The charges are the result of a long investigation that began in 2000, police said. The other men arrested in 2010 have been cleared, investigators said. The riots, some of the worst in London's recent history, began when Cynthia Jarrett died from a heart attack when police raided her home. Blakelock was part of a police unit assigned to protect firefighters. Blakelock was attacked by a group of about 50 people, most of them young and some wearing masks, witnesses said. He was killed and another officer suffered disabling injuries. Relations between the North London community and police, already sour, became worse when about 360 people were arrested. Community leaders said juveniles were questioned without their parents or a lawyer present. Efforts to convict someone of Blakelock's death were unsuccessful with dropped charges and in some cases convictions overturned on appeal. Blakelock, 40, was married and had three children. "The family of PC Keith Blakelock have never given up hope in getting justice for him. We welcome this news, and extend our eternal gratitude to the Metropolitan Police Service," his family said in a statement.