MORE than 1,000 families and supporters of victims of death in police and state custody marched from Trafalgar Square to Downing Street on Saturday in the 27th United Families and Friends March.
As the demonstration was assembling several protesters spoke to News Line.
Ann-Marie Mew said I’m a cousin of Ricky Swindells mum. We’re from Salford in Manchester. Ricky was suffering from a mental health crisis on 24th July this year.
‘A 999 call was made calling for emergency healthcare. He had had a previous heart attack.
‘The police attended. Ricky was in a health crisis he was lying naked on the floor. They placed him in handcuffs face down.
‘Family members informed the police that he was suffering from psychosis and also autism.
‘They still kept him in handcuffs, face down. He became unconscious and Ricky unfortunately died, he was 28.
‘The case has been referred to the IOPC for investigation. We’re campaigning for accountability and justice.’
Kayza Rose from the Chris Kaba campaign said: ‘The coroner still hasn’t decided even if there’ll be an inquest.
‘That’s highly irregular because a criminal trial can only tell you if Martyn Blake committed murder or not, but it doesn’t tell us the wider circumstances of that day. We demand an inquest.’
Molara Owen said: ‘I’m Seni Lewis’s cousin. Police restrained him and he died while he was under restraint for 45 minutes in a mental health facility in London in 2010.’
Before the march set off Marcia Rigg, mother of Sean Rigg who died in police custody at Brixton police station in 2008, made a speech. She said: ‘This is the 27th procession. Every year there are more new families, it is heartbreaking.
‘The campaign is widening – we’ve got families from France to Germany, Brussels, Switzerland here today. The cases are identical – death at the hands of the state, no accountability for agents of the state. Over 3,000 deaths – killings and murders.
‘We’re going to walk down Whitehall in silence hand in a letter in Downing Street and then hear speeches from bereaved family members.’
The banners on the March included many pictures of the victims of police killings. They stated: ‘One big cover-up. Murdered by Police. There’s no Justice in the Justice System.’
There were Palestinian flags. One banner said: ‘Fight Police Brutality. No More Deaths. We are all Victims of State Negligence.’
The march was led by the United Families and Friends No More Deaths in Custody banner.
The first speaker opposite Downing Street was Susan Alexander. She said: ‘I’m here again after 20 years but there are also lots of new faces.
‘We are looking for ways we can repair what has been done by the state.
‘The state has let us down time and time again. My son Azelle Rodney was murdered by the police over 20 years ago.
‘Stick together – you can trust us, we can all trust each other en masse.’
Fatou sister of Lamine Dieng, who was killed during his arrest in 2007, said: ‘My name is Fatou Dieng of the Truth and Justice campaign in France.
‘My deepest condolences to all the families who suffered police violence. It is an honour to be with you here in London. We are here together – let’s remind ourselves, since 1945.
‘Until today the police have collaborated with Nazis representing the bourgeois class, targeting those they consider on the margins .
‘They hurt, they mutilate, they kill and rape. France has a long history of colonial violence. Today the police state in France is brutalising our schoolchildren.
‘My little brother Lamine was happy but he was crushed to death. After 10 years the courts delivered a verdict.
‘In 2020, the French state recognised its guilt before the European Court of Human Rights.
‘But we’ve had no justice, no policeman was prosecuted. There’s no justice.
‘Since Lamine was assassinated in 2007 there has only been space for struggle. We require the full dismantling of the police state.’
Prosper and Sheda from the Chris Kaba campaign spoke next.
Chris’s father, Prosper, said: ‘Families need answers, we’re here for justice.
‘Chris was shot by the police on the 6th December 2022. Chris’s daughter will grow up never knowing her father. Four years later we’re still fighting for justice.
‘Chris was unarmed. Police didn’t know who Chris was when they shot him within 14 seconds.
The police shot Chris in the head. If Chris was not black he would be with us now. The police are known to be institutionally racist.
‘Since they killed him they have smeared his name. Nothing Chris may or may not have done justified his killing. We miss Chris a lot.’
Sheda, Chris’s cousin, said: ‘Every route to accountability has been closed. Martyn Blake was acquitted, then promoted. The state has used Chris’s killing to change the law.
‘We demand that Chris Kaba’s inquest is resumed. We need to challenge the lies. We won’t allow Chris’s killing to be swept under the carpet.’
Marise Barnes from the End Police Pursuits Campaign said: ‘Police pursuits kill drivers, pedestrians and passengers. There have been many deaths. There have been 18 killed in police pursuits in the last couple of months.’
Melanie Leahy said: ‘It’s 14 years since the death of my son Matthew. Every person who dies in state care prison institutions is a victim of state violence. We are refusing to let our loved ones be forgotten.
‘After years of campaigning they have launched the Lampard inquiry. We insist that in this country our loved ones matter.’
The sister of Sourour Abouda from the Justice for Sourour campaign from Belgium spoke next. She said: ‘The Belgian police claimed that my sister committed suicide with her jumper. It’s not true she died because of racism, sexism and police violence. We are determined to prove the truth.’
Zoe Gracie said: ‘In 2021 my husband Robert died in the back of a police van. This cannot go on. We will continue to fight for justice.’
Jackie, wife of Kebba ‘Dobo’ Jobe said: ‘Kebba was a lovely man the police lied continuously. The police sat on his back. The people around were shouting stop it you’re killing him.
‘The CCTV was working the day before and the day after but not on the day they killed him.’
Sagal Bulhern, from Germany said: ‘We’re all carrying grief. Robert, my cousin, was an asylum seeker. When he came to Germany the system the British government think is so sophisticated, the most sophisticated in the world, is failing before our eyes.
‘Capitalism is failing. Somalia was colonised by the British 150 years ago. I speak for Robert they cold bloodedly murdered him inside a cell. They lynched him. They killed him and made it look like he had hanged himself.
‘There’s nothing democratic about the system. We are caught inside a violent system but we are actively breaking the walls down.
‘In Germany we are actually building a movement to destroy the brutal capitalist system.’
Nadine Smith sister of Trevor Monerville, said Trevor was imprison in HMP he suffered a seizure while in custody in HMP Lewis in 2021 and they let him die.
‘The Trevor Monerville Campaign is fighting for epilepsy training for all who are involved in the custody of prisoners.’
Throughout the afternoon, in the gaps between speeches, there were continuous chants of ‘No Justice No Peace!’