Transcripts For BBCNEWS Lethal Force 20200801 : vimarsana.co

Video sharing app tiktok in the us. Security officials there have expressed concern that the app, which is chinese owned, could be used to collect the personal data of americans. Now on bbc news, in the wake of the black lives matter movement, tara welsh investigates why black men are more likely to die in Police Custody than any other ethnic group in england. She meets the families who have lost loved ones and who say the criminaljustice system is racially biased. And a warning, there are some images in this programme which you may find disturbing. The death of george floyd under the knee of a white policeman has started a flood of protest around the world. Outrage over an american tragedy. And tens of thousands of people in the uk have marched in unison. But what now . Is it time for us to face our own ugly truth . Get off my neck in the uk, black people are also struggling to breathe and dying under the knees of the police. People think its happening in america, its not happening here. Ijust want people to know that its happening here all the time. My face was on the floor of a cell. Half of my shirt is covered with blood and my breathing was cutting off. I didnt think i was going to survive. Why are black britons more likely to be the subject of police force, to die in Police Custody . Some officers are treating people as if they are subhuman. They are performing their discriminative behaviour within the Police Service and they should be removed. Met police was institutionally racist. In some ways, its got worse than it was 20 odd years ago. Can this Movement Really end the injustice that has scarred generations . They chant black lives matter a night of protest in hackney, east london, after rashan charles, a 20 year old black man, died following contact with the police. He loved football. He was a playful youngster. And then when he got older, he became a problem. And he needed additional guidance. I gave what i could. My father gave a lot of input into him. Rashan was a proud father himself, of a daughter who wasnt even two years old when his life was ended. In the early hours of thejuly of 22nd 2017, rashan was running away from a Police Officer when he entered a Grocery Store in hackney. Cctv footage shows him placing something in his mouth before the officer catches up with him. Seconds later, hes forcefully restrained and thrown to the floor. Holding rashan by the throat, the officer tries to open his mouth. A member of the public assists by placing rashan in a body hold. Rashan is held down for two minutes before he stops moving. He died later in hospital. Ive watched the video so many times now that its playing in my mind as i speak to you, i dont need to view it again. Ive seen members of my family who are broken people because of whats happened. Rashans great uncle rod is a former police chief inspector who still trains new met recruits on how to detain and restrain suspects. I stand firmly with any officer who has to use lethal force, or the highest levels of force, when its appropriate. They have my backing and they should have yours. But when youre talking about a scene that i watch where there isnt a clear and obvious threat to the officer, certainly no threat to bystanders, the levels of resistance from rashan if im generous the levels of resistance are negligible. They really are zero. Yet you watch the use of force continue to climb and he died. And i say i know it was needless. Rashan is one of over 160 people to have died after contact with the police during the last decade. The uk has a long legacy of black deaths in Police Custody. Black people are twice as likely to die where force has been used. Black people make up 3 of the population but 8 of the people that die in custody. There can only be one reason that, either consciously or unconsciously, the system is biased. Over the last year, the mets use of force has increased, with black people nearly four times more likely to have it used on them than their white counterparts. Despite the global pandemic, thousands came to Central London to march against deaths, black deaths, in Police Custody. Youve really got to be here to appreciate the size of this and to feel the strength of feeling here, really. And people from all backgrounds have turned out today, all ages. But theres one message, that there needs to be big changes. Beautiful to see the united colours out here. And everybodys here in support of injustice and inequality, because thats what it boils down to at the end of the day. You know, any decent human being can and should acknowledge that whats been happening is not right and this happened on our own home soil. For amare, this public protest is also deeply personal. On august 31st 2010, his best friend admitted himself into bethlehem Royal Hospital for Mental Health treatment. But after being restrained by 11 Police Officers, he never regained consciousness. His brain had been starved of oxygen. It was awful, worst time in my life. My best friend, was killed in 2010 at the hands of up to 11 Police Officers. And the details were horrific, it was it was disgusting. How can you tie him up while hes on the floor, sit on him on his back . He couldnt breathe. A decade on and the marchs following George Floyds death hold a haunting resonance for his mum. I dont watch, i cant watch, because the very thing my son was saying, i cant breathe, is what happened with george floyd. Many other families, predominantly black, we have heard our loved ones say, i cant breathe. I remember when he was buried, somebody said how auspicious an almond tree is. Visiting his resting place offers some peace to his parents, but they say their pain remains unhealed, partly because of the Legal Process following his death. Even though the inquest in 2017 found that the force used was unnecessary, unreasonable and excessive, a Misconduct Hearing cleared the officers involved. You dont feel as if theres any justice, really, you dont feel it. Its impossible. And thats what pains, really. Rashan charles family believed that justice would be forthcoming at the inquest into his death. I sat through every day, every minute, of the coroners inquest, st pancras, but i didnt realise that they were going to tell me and the nation that what you see on this cctv isnt happening. Injune 2018, the inquest concluded that the officers use of force was justified and that rashans death was a consequence of a package he had inserted in his mouth blocking his airway. The officer is not found guilty of any misconduct. So, i hear that, i note it, but i am entitled to my professional opinion. There are good officers doing work across london and across the country. There are also officers who are letting the Police Service and society down. Thats my stance. They chant i cant breathe a number of cases, public inquiries have been held or coroners have had inquiries, and that comes to a conclusion that somebody was responsible either unlawfully for killing that person or neglected to protect them. And yet, despite all of that, nobody has ever been convicted of a murder or manslaughter since records began in relation to a death in custody. And should they have been . In my experience, tara, juries are loath to convict an officer. Seemingly, the evidence threshold has to be even higher than it would be for a normal civilian. And that shouldnt be the case, but that seems to be whats happening. I dont trust you, mate, youve got a uniform on. Very, very small numbers of individuals who come into our custody suites end dying. And theres a whole range of factors that can come to play. People often present with illness. People often have illness episodes whi;st in custody. Sometimes force has to be used to ensure that families, understandably, ithink, want to be able to identify an individual whos responsible for the death of their loved one. But very often, as weve seen through the various cases over the years, it isnt the actions of an individual that can be attributed to the death. Theres a range of small things that, through a coming together with those small things, end up in a tragedy. As tensions have risen, angry scenes have erupted in whats but actually, weve been here before. 50 years ago, Notting Hills black community marched on the streets following allegations of Police Brutality and racism. Ten years later, the brixton riots erupted after an area already blighted by high unemployment and poor housing became the target of tough policing measures. Its notjust communities that have accused the police of racial bias. In 1998, following the murder of stephen lawrence, lord macphersons report branded the met institutionally racist. But discrimination still persists today and according to official data, if youre black, youre four times more likely to be stopped and searched. I gave evidence at the macpherson inquiry. At that time, you were 15 times more likely to be arrested and charged and kept in custody if youre black than if youre white. More likely to be involved in an aggressive arrest and violence used by the officer. Now we are 20 odd years later and its more or less the same. I remember, even in those days, a sense of dread when you heard a siren, you know, because you felt, that means trouble. Its very similar to what i see with our young people, with our voyage programme, and what they talk about, you know, feeling overpoliced and underprotected, not getting a sense of partnership with with police. And weve trained them to work with police and other authority figures. So, if we dont get the grip and leadership from the top, were gonna see certain officers being emboldened, think they can do anything they want, is untouchable, and, you know, at any expense. Former met Police Superintendent leroy logan founded voyage youth in hackney 20 years ago. A Police Officer should shoot you with respect, not strip him in the middle of the street. These sessions are designed to help young people know their rights if theyre stopped and searched to try and prevent such interactions ending in the use of police force. If you give them an understanding of why police do what they do to get the best that they can counter, then hopefully others will say, well, actually, theyve dealt with it well, the officer was nice to them, then that will create a more positive perception of stop and search. But ive been speaking to former and current met officers who have told me that attempts to build relations are being undermined by racist attitudes and actions in the force. Well, on the street, black kids arent seen as children. They speak to them as if theyre adults. They say things like, we explained the law to him. I say, but hes a child. They arrest them because they think theyre older. One officer whos been on the beat in london for several years felt compelled to speak out about the racism that theyve witnessed in the met. We agreed to protect their identity. Theyre more aggressive with us because they find us scary. They re heavy handed and they dont listen if someone has an accent, theyjust shout, i cant understand you. As far as theyre concerned, black people are more aggressive, their voices are more hoarse or heavy. When theyre upset, they should calm them down, but instead, theyre keen to put their hands on first, because its fight or flight. Particularly with black men. If a black persons upset, saying its hurting, they say it looks fine because they cant see bruises. If youve never seen black skin, you cant see the bruising, they dont see them going red. Im saddened to say that i feel the whole look and feel of policing, how you get incidences of officers being. Just devaluing and dehumanizing certain communities, especially black communities, its obvious that certain people, when theyre in that adrenaline driven moment and theyre seeing red, as it were, they dont know their boundaries. It doesnt affect communities for a few years, it will do so for generations. If they tell you that for years they have loved ones who have been stopped, searched or died in Police Custody, thats not going to go away first time. It also makes it impossible for officers who are doing a fantastic job, because they were out there in almost impossible circumstances. They mean well, theyre working hard, but other officers have made that terrain impossible because of the things they have done and because of the things theyre currently doing. Police are investigating a triple stabbing. In carrying out their duties, the police toe a fine line the perception is there that every time you see a Police Interaction with a young black man and its in your community, if thats what you see regularly, i can understand that you would start to think theres something going on here. But all i would encourage people to do is to look at the broader piece. We use force responsibly and when we misuse it, were held to account. Even before this movement, the treatment of black people in Police Custody was a matter of intense scrutiny. A government commissioned review in 2017 found that the colour of your skin has a measurable impact on how you are dealt with at every stage in the justice system. Nathan has direct experience ofjust how brutal the system can be. My dads experiece of Police Brutality made me very upset and disgusted. His daughter recently wrote a poem after discovering that her father nearly died in a prison cell. Police brutality is an issue that until recently hasnt been known or talked about much, with everyone kind of living under a rock, not knowing about it, of how the system is and how we live in the world. In october 2013, whilst working as a mini cab driver at heathrow airport, nathan was pulled over by two Police Officers who suspected him of taxi touting. Despite the company he worked for confirming by phone that he was there to do a legal pick up, the police decided to arrest him. Why would six, seven, eight, nine Police Officers be on top of somebody who has already been handcuffed on the floor . Why . I was powerless. In the space of a few minutes or so, about six more officers, all of them has got my face on the ground. The officer who put handcuffs on me was using his right knee like that, on top of my chest. All i remember is the back of the van was open. They were throwing me like that, to the van. And my forehead hit the side of the door and i passed out. I didnt remember anything at all from that side. This is the cctv footage of the moment nathan was restrained. When my eyes open, my face was on the floor of a cell. Half of my shirt is covered with blood and my breathing was cutting off. I didnt think i was going to survive. It took several hours before the police finally took nathan to hospital. These photos, taken two days after he was allowed home, show his wounds. Seven years on, he says he still bears some of the scars, but theyre psychological. Ill come home. I dont want to see anybody, i just want to be alone. Theres times ijust have to cry myself to sleep. Theres times illjust have to cry myself to sleep. I dont want to see my children, i dont want to see anybody. During this time, theres about three occasions i did contemplate suicide. I spoke to my gp about it. Nathan was charged with resisting arrest, biting an officer and illegally promoting his business. Yet he says there was no way he could disprove any of these accusations and was even warned by two solicitors that, as a black man up against the met, the odds were stacked against him. But then nathans father in law decided to help him fight. The absence of any independent witnesses to speak up for nathan meant that we really to had to pull the stops out. He paid for nathans Legal Support and even managed to obtain cctv footage of the arrest. We found a little bit of him being carried to the van and it completely contradicted the account that the police had put together. At the trial, the outcome, in my view, was very simple. The evidence didnt really add up. A Magistrates Court dismissed all charges against nathan. A 2017 government commissioned review suggested 35 changes to the criminaljustice system to try and stop incidents like that endured by nathan and his family. Yet, three years on, hardly any of those recommendations have been implemented. We must have more Police Officers and more senior Police Officers from minority backgrounds. We must have met many more judges and magistrates from minority background. You need to hear more from victims voices so they tell you that there is an issue around death in custody or an issue around arrest or whatever it may be