Tributes were today paid to photographer Leroy Cooper, who has died aged 62.
Leroy, whose arrest during a disturbance in Toxteth triggered the 1981 Toxteth Riots, documented the city and the Liverpool 8 community in particular in hundreds of thousands of photographs.
His work was displayed in galleries and museums including at the Museum of Liverpool, which today shared a tribute to him.
READ MORE: How Liverpool 8 remembers the disturbances today
Leroy, who the ECHO understands died on Friday, had been arrested on July 3, 1981 during a disturbance in Toxteth that followed another man being apprehended by the police for stealing a bicycle. His treatment by the police led to the disturbances which came to be known as the Toxteth Riots.
Over nine days of disturbances at least 70 buildings were damaged so severely by fire they had to be demolished.
He returned to L8 after time spent on remand and in borstal - eventually signing up for a 12-week course with Open Eye gallery in 1984.
He dedicated his life to photographing the people of Liverpool, amassing a "treasure chest" of hundreds of thousands of images that take in a nearly 40-year period.
Today in tribute to Leroy, Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson tweeted: "Desperately sad news about Leroy Cooper: the man whose arrest sparked the 1981 Toxteth Uprising, spent the next 40 years taking beautiful pictures that reflected his love for his L8 community.
"Love and thoughts with his family and friends. RIEP Leroy."
The Museum of Liverpool tweeted: "We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Leroy Cooper, a photographer, writer and activist whose love for Liverpool and the L8 community emanated from his work. Our thoughts are with his family and friends."
The museum confirmed Leroy's display, Liverpool Through the Lens, would remain on show until March 31 next year.
Leroy's niece Safiyah Cooper posted on Facebook: "Our family is heartbroken…… with a heavy heart we announce the passing of my Uncle Leroy Cooper a inspiring photographer, artist and a huge member of the community.
"I true hero. Rest in peace Leroy you will never been forgotten."
Her post was met with dozens of tributes to Leroy, who was remembered by his cousin, the poet Levi Tafari, who said: "I am in a state of shock today to learn of the passing of my cousin Leroy. RIEP Cuz condolences to all your loved one, bless."
Speaking to the ECHO in 2019, Leroy said: "I was about 24 or 25 and basically it was in the aftermath of the 1981 situation and coming out of borstal and going - what are you going to do with yourself, what opportunities are there for you? - and I decided that I was going to be an artist and I was going to be a photographer.
"It began to feel like 'this is your mission in life Leroy, you can go anywhere and take photographs', and I have done - but there's something about Liverpool that it's important to record, and especially from the perspective of a guy like me and the kind of people that I interact with.
"I don't think anybody else could have gone through Liverpool 8 taking photos like I have. These are photographs of Leroy's Liverpool."
