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Associated Press

In chaotic scenes that have become defining images of the violence-tainted Catalan independence referendum, Spanish riot police clashed with Catalan firefighters who stood protectively in front of voters at a polling station near Girona.
The police had apparently gone to the Sant Julia de Ramis sports centre on Sunday to intercept Catalan President Carles Puigdemont, who was supposed to vote there.
He was welcomed by cheering crowds at the gymnasium.
Catalonia votes overwhelmingly for independence from Spain
But civil guard officers, wearing helmets and carrying shields, used a hammer to break the glass of the front door and a lock cutter to break into the sports centre.


They faced off against the firefighters, also clad in helmets and uniforms, and eventually waded in, swinging their batons to disperse the firefighters in scenes captured on video.
A woman injured outside the building was wheeled away on a stretcher by paramedics.
Puigdemont, who eventually voted at a different location, said “police brutality will shame forever the Spanish state”. The referendum, which was won with a 90 per cent vote in favour of independence, was condemned as illegal by the federal authorities in Madrid.
Puigdemont said that “today, the Spanish state has lost much more than what it had already lost, while Catalonia has won.”
At Sant Julia de Ramis, organisers of the vote were one step ahead of police and spirited away the ballots and hid them in the classrooms amid colouring books and crayons.
An hour later, after police had driven away in their big black vans, under a hail of insults, the ballot boxes re-emerged and the voting began again.
Regional authorities said more than 800 people across Catalonia had suffered minor injuries in brawls with police, who dragged protesters out of their way and whipped them with rubber batons. The officers fired scores of rubber bullets at crowds gathered at voting centres in Barcelona and other cities. Officials in Madrid said a dozen police officers had been injured.


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Police vs firefighters: officers clash in defining images of Catalonia referendum

Firefighters stand between pro-independence Catalans and riot police at Sant Julia de Ramis sports centre near Girona on Sunday. Photo: Reuters

CORRECTION - Firemen hold the people in front of Spanish Guardia Civil officers outside a polling station in San Julia de Ramis, on October 1, 2017, on the day of a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. More than 5.3 million Catalans are called today to vote in a referendum on independence, surrounded by uncertainty over the intention of Spanish institutions to prevent this plebiscite banned by justice. / AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE / “The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by LLUIS GENE has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [---] instead of [---]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification

epa06237948 Firemen try to hold back Catalan pro-independence people as clashes take place with Spanish Civil guards at a polling center at Sant Julia de Ramis sports center in Girona, where the Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, was initially to vote, in Girona, Catalonia, northeastern Spain, on 01 October 2017. Spanish National Police officers and Civil guards have been deployed to prevent the people from entering to the polling centers to vote in the Catalan independence referendum, that has been banned by the Spanish Constitutional Court, but many people have managed to do it. The police action has provocked clashes between pro-independence people and the police forces in some polling centers. EFE/Andreu Dalmau EPA-EFE/Andreu Dalmau

Firemen try to hold a group of people in front of Spanish Guardia Civil officers outside a polling station in San Julia de Ramis, on October 1, 2017, on the day of a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. More than 5.3 million Catalans are called today to vote in a referendum on independence, surrounded by uncertainty over the intention of Spanish institutions to prevent this plebiscite banned by justice. / AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE

Catalonia on collision course with Madrid over independence vote

Popular Party PP spokesman Xavier Garcia Albiol protests from his seat. Photo: AFP

Catalonia seeks independence vote

A pro-independence protester holds a "estelada" flag, that symbolizes Catalonia's independence, as lawmakers vote on whether to seek the right to hold a referendum on independence. Photo: AP

Catalonia showdown: ‘hundreds injured’ as police clash with voters in bid to block referendum

A woman yells at riot police near a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Barcelona, Spain. Photo: Reuters

Spanish Civil Guard officers remove demonstrators outside a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Barcelona, Spain, October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Susana Vera TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

TOPSHOT - Firemen try to hold a group of people in front of Spanish Guardia Civil officers outside a polling station in San Julia de Ramis, on October 1, 2017, on the day of a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. More than 5.3 million Catalans are called today to vote in a referendum on independence, surrounded by uncertainty over the intention of Spanish institutions to prevent this plebiscite banned by justice. / AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE

Spanish Guardia Civil guard brake the door of a polling station in Sarria de Ter, where Catalan president is supposed to vote, on October 1, 2017, on the day of a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. More than 5.3 million Catalans are called today to vote in a referendum on independence, surrounded by uncertainty over the intention of Spanish institutions to prevent this plebiscite banned by justice. / AFP PHOTO / LLUIS GENE

epaselect epa06237303 Spanish National riot policemen form a security cordon around the Ramon Llull school during the '1-O Referendum' in Barcelona, Catalonia, on 01 October 2017. National Police officers and Civil guards have been deployed to different polling centers in Barcelona to prevent the people from entering and vote in the Catalan independence referendum, that has been banned by the Spanish Constitutional Court. The police action has provocked clashes between pro-independence people and the police forces. EPA-EFE/Alberto Estevez

A man holds a ballot box at a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Barcelona, Spain October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman

Spanish riot police swings a club against would-be voters near a school assigned to be a polling station by the Catalan government in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Spanish riot police have forcefully removed a few hundred would-be voters from several polling stations in Barcelona. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Spanish riot police removes fences thrown to them as one aims his rubber bullet rifle as they try to prevent people from reaching a voting site at a school assigned to be a polling station by the Catalan government in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, 1 Oct. 2017. Catalan pro-referendum supporters vowed Saturday to ignore a police ultimatum to leave the schools they are occupying to use in a vote seeking independence from Spain. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A woman is grabbed by riot police near a a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Barcelona, Spain, October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Enrique Calvo

Crowds of people queue outside a polling station in Barcelona, to vote on October 1, 2017, on the day of a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. More than 5.3 million Catalans are called today to vote in a referendum on independence, surrounded by uncertainty over the intention of Spanish institutions to prevent this plebiscite banned by justice. / AFP PHOTO / PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU

In this photo provided by the Catalan Government Catalan President Carles Puigdemont casts his ballot in Cornella de Terri, near Girona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Puigdemont was forced to vote in Cornella de Terri, near the northern city of Girona, his spokesman Joan Maria Pique told The Associated Press. Spanish riot police smashed their way into polling stations to try to halt a disputed independence referendum on Sunday. (Catalan Government via AP)

Catalonia president calls for mediation with Spain over independence dispute

People raise their hands during a protest the day after the banned independence referendum in Barcelona. Photo: Reuters

epaselect epa06238242 Officers of National Police stand outside a polling center set at Sant Julia Sports Center in Barcelona, Catalonia, northeastern Spain, on 01 October 2017. Spanish National Police officers and Civil guards have been deployed to prevent the people from entering to the polling centers to vote in the Catalan independence referendum, that has been banned by the Spanish Constitutional Court, but many people have managed to do it. The police action has provocked clashes between pro-independence people and the police forces in some polling centers. EPA-EFE/ANDREU DALMAUS

This handout pictured released by the Generalitat de Catalunya shows Catalan president Carles Puigdemont (C) talking to the media next to members of his government on October 1, 2017 in Barcelona, following a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont said the northeastern Spanish region he governs had "won the right to an independent state" after "millions" turned out to vote in a banned independence referendum. / AFP PHOTO / GENERALITAT DE CATALUNYA / Handout / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / GENERALITAT DE CATALUNYA " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

A woman holds up a banner reading "Democracy" depicting former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco kissing Spanish Prime Miniser Mariano Rajoy during a protest one day after the banned independence referendum in Barcelona, Spain, October 2, 2017. REUTERS/Eloy Alonso NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

epa06240004 Some 15,000 students take part in a protest against Spanish police forces' actions during the '1-O Referendum' held the previous day, in Barcelona, Spain, 02 October 2017. Catalan President Puigdemont has asked for an 'international mediation' to deal with the current situation in Catalonia and claimed for the 'withdrawal of the police forces' deployed in the region. Catalonia held on 01 October an independence referendum, that was celebrated in spite of it had been banned by the Constitutional Court, ending with clashes between police and pro-independence people. A day after of the illegal referendum, a high tension atmosphere is present between the Catalan Government and the Spanish central Government with an open door to a possible unilateral declaration of independence by the Catalan Government. EPA-EFE/JUAN CARLOS CARDENAS

Catalans vote in fight for statehood 

Supporters of Artur Mas wave pro-independence flags in Barcelona on Friday. Photo: AP

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Video | Police vs firefighters: officers clash in defining images of Catalonia referendum