IOPC fails to provide answers and engages in political interference in the Mohamud Hassan investigation.

The 1940s classic Welsh song, "There will be a welcome in the valleys" written by Mai Jones, Lyn Joshua and James Harpe, invokes the great cultural tradition of Welsh village life in welcoming home its prodigal sons and daughters. 

 

This wasn't much of that welcome in evidence last week however when the family of Mohammad Hassan who died on Saturday 9th January 2021 within hours after contact with Cardiff Police held their first meeting with the Wales Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC). 

 

As many of you will know, I have supported the Hassan family from the beginning of the tragic death of their son and involvement with South Wales Police. As a result, I was personally invited to attend this important meeting with the family. 

 

The IOPC agreed that all those listed to attend including me, would be sent a zoom link to the meeting. That link did not arrive until minutes before the meeting was due to start. Surprisingly I was not included in that email

                                      

As the meeting was about to begin, Senior Lead Investigator Rebecca Hinton informed the family that they (IOPC) had not sent me the link as they had sought legal advice that concluded that I couldn't attend as my "legal role" was not clear. This is simply bizarre and inexplicable.

 

I have attended many meetings supporting the families of victims of death in custody held by the IOPC in London over the years. In all that time, I have never been asked to clarify my legal role or as far as I know has my intended attendance been the subject of legal advice.

 

It will be interesting to hear from IOPC Wales why they felt it necessary to seek legal opinion, what was the question asked and the legal advice they received in response? I have written to the IOPC to ask them that very question.

 

This decision of the IOPC to deny the Hassan family's right to be accompanied by experienced advisers of their choice can be seen as blatant political interference in a ham-fisted and incredibly clumsy attempt to no doubt cause division between the family and myself. There is no legal reason why I should not attend these meetings as my frequent attendance at London IOPC meetings demonstrates. 

 

The critical question is, what’s the difference between IOPC Wales and London? I would suggest the only differences being is Wales is around 40 years behind London on the question of racial justice. Dealing with a backwater organisation operating as if it was 1981 not 2021 provides all the explanation anyone needs to understand their decision.

 

Part of the reason will undoubtedly be my public criticism of the IOPC in previous blogs where I highlighted their apparent synchronised press releases with South Wales Police. I wrote about what I believe to be was an attempt to mislead the public, with information designed to appease widespread community outrage, about the circumstances of Mohamud's death. 

 

But let’s be clear here, my attendance was immaterial as Hilary Brown and Inquest well represented the family, but it does give rise to serious questions about the independence of the IOPC. It cannot be right that they decide who families can and cannot bring to such meetings when the Black communities trust and confidence in the process of "independent" investigation into police deaths in custody is at a catastrophic all-time low.

 

The meeting itself was an opportunity for the family to press for answers to crucial questions relating to Mohamed's arrest, detention, release without charge, and subsequent death. 

 

Critical questions were put forcibly to the IOPC. However, they had few answers in return. 

 

Giving rise to further concern is that Rebecca Hinton's boss at the IOPC is Ian Andrew who is a retired police officer. 

 

The black community's overwhelming perception is it matters not whether somebody is a currently serving or retired police officer. The culture of institutionalised racism renders the vast majority blind to racism and black injustice. Many in the black community, share the view that these retired officers' predominant perspectives are biased towards the police. I believe this can be seen and detected in the Wales IOPC initial press release referred to above.

 

Concerning the arrest of Mohamud, we now have strong evidence to suggest that he may have been tasered, more than once, during his arrest. 

 

Again, if this is true, it would dramatically highlight the extent to which the IOPC and South Wales Police were less than forthcoming in providing complete transparency around the circumstances, and the degree of violence used during his arrest. 

 

Is it any wonder they are rarely believed when they seem to conspire to withhold critical information such as this blog to the family of the deceased and the wider public?

 

Despite the IOPC and South Wales Police media manipulation and attempt to exclude voices like mine in supporting families, the reality about the British black communities open hostility to the so-called "independent police complaints investigation process" will not diminish one iota. The current process is oppressive and fundamentally unjust. 

 

There remain many questions to answer about the arrest and death of Mohamud Hassan, and we continue to demand the police body cam video which the IOPC continues to withhold from the family, and we can all guess why. To date the public petition calling for justice and the release of this footage is 29,000 strong. Please make sure you sign and share.   

 

Despite these challenges and difficulties, the family's support continues to grow, and we must redouble our efforts to demand an unprecedented intervention.

We must demand that this investigation reshapes and sets new standards in IOPC investigations, or we must bring that institution to his knees, if necessary, in an effort to secure justice. The choice is clear, immediate radical reform or total abolition 

 

In pursuit of these goals, the family have established a Crowd Justice fundraising page that will support their legal strategy to achieve justice. 

 

What is vitally important to understand is that there are two arms to this struggle. The first is to place massive political pressure on the IOPC to open up this investigation, set new and essential precedents for openness and transparency, the second to robustly legally challenge any aspects of their decisions that constitute a fundamental block on the pursuit of justice for the Hassan family. 

In Wales, this was achieved when we forced South Wales Police to adopt new standards of investigation in response to the appalling racist injustice suffered by the Bute Town Three in 1997 a case that Hilary Brown (current legal rep for the family) and I were both involved with at the time. 

 

We cannot, and we must not allow the present status quo to remain unchanged. Our job in the name of Mohamud Hassan, George Floyd and the countless other victims of these injustices at the police's hands is to ensure that our demand that #BlackLivesMatter is not just a slogan, but heralds a paradigm shift in our demands for real police accountability.

Follow Twitter @Justice4mohamud and Justice for Mohamud on Facebook

Cardiff Coroners Office Smears Mohamud Hassan.

The case of Mohamud Hassan 24-year-old young black man who died in suspicious circumstances after being arrested by Cardiff police continues to raise critical questions for the Police,the Independent Office of Police Conduct and the Coroner's office. 

                                                   Mohamud Hassan 

                                                   © Lee Jasper

Mr Hassan was arrested for a breach of the peace at his home address on the evening of Friday 9th of January 2021 and released without charge after spending a night in the custody of South Wales Police. 

Numerous people including his family saw him immediately after his release and bore witness that he had was bruised and battered. The Police immediately denied they were responsible for his injuries; however, a post-mortem confirmed that he had numerous bruises both arms, wrists, elbows, left hand and a split lip consistent with being punched or slapped. 

Mohamud's death and the South Wales Police's refusal to properly inform his family or provide any details as to the circumstances of his arrest constitutes a new low in police-community relations. 

In my earlier article on this issue, I pointed out that there appeared to be a conspiracy to mislead the public by South Wales Police who had publicly declared at the point of referral to the IOPC that there was no evidence that police officers were in any way responsible for his death, and the IOPC itself that put out a press release stating that there was no evidence the Police had used excessive force at any time during the arrest or detention of Mr Hassan. 

This was an unforgivable and largely inexplicable rush to judgement that appeared to dismiss Mr Hassan's family and broader community concern about the circumstances surrounding his arrest and subsequent death. 

   L-R Fahiya Abdulla (Mum) Mohamed Deria (Dad) and Zainab Hassan (Aunty) 

                                                     © Lee Jasper 

The whole tone and tenor of these initial public communications gave the impression that there was no connection between his arrest and subsequent death. My suspicions about the extent of a coordinated cover-up are further evidence by new facts emerging in this case.

It has come to my attention that the Coroner's official briefing to the post-mortem pathologists stated that Mohamud had been arrested at a party and had been consuming drink and drugs. 

Once again, we see an attempt to smear and repeat falsehoods to sway or unduly influence, not only the public but unbelievably the forensic pathologists responsible for identifying the cause of death. This blatant lie propagated by the Coroner is fundamentally undermined by the forensic facts. This assertion was not borne out by the results of the toxicology report received by the family. 

The critical question is where did the Coroner get this information? 

The only reasonable conclusion is that that information came from either South Wales Police or the IOPC. In response, Mr Hassan's legal team has written to the Coroner demanding an explanation of how this erroneous information ended up in a critical briefing note to the pathologists. This reveals precisely what we have long alleged, that the current system of inquiry into suspicious deaths in police custody is institutionally racist, and not fit for purpose.

The stereotypical allegation of drink and drugs usually precedes the detailed witness statements of police officers who routinely rely on the racial tropes of "he was stronger than any individual I've ever seen" or had "superhuman strength". Such tropes are usually deployed as an 'explanation' for the Police using massive and disproportionate force on black people. 

We can all write the playbook for this kind of institutional injustice playing out before our eyes. It would appear to me that this could be part of a conspiracy to obscure the truth by seeking to smear the victim with convenient racial tropes that carry powerful currency within the context of institutionally racist organisations, 

This apparent corporate conspiracy looks as though it could potentially involve the South Wales Police. IOPC and now the Coroner himself. If there was ever a case that required the Attorney General's urgent independent intervention, then this is it. 

Unfortunately, black communities have even less trust and confidence in Tory Attorney General Suella Braverman, than they have in the Police. This government is ideologically united in refusing to recognise institutional racism and black injustice. This is why we need to demand that the investigation into this case sets new precedents weighing the scales of justice back into balance,

We are also aware of more media management by the IOPC that has established a local "Community Reference Group" with the intention of "ensuring that stakeholders are kept informed about the progress of the investigation and ensure that we understand the views of communities in a timely and appropriate manner. In this way, we can respond to current or emerging concerns, and, where required, conduct further stakeholder engagement."

This group has been established without any discussion with the family or their legal representatives. Given its principal focus of this group is to respond to community concerns one would have thought that first and foremost, the primary concerns of the family would be integral and formulating its terms of reference, and indeed its membership. 

The family has no confidence in the IOPC and their legal representative has written to them demanding that no details of the investigation are discussed with this group without the family's expressed authority. 

Thankfully many local people who were approached by the IOPC immediately saw through their approach and refused to take part. 

The families. one that's shared by many in the wider community, are that this group is being used for nothing more than media manipulation purposes, and is a cynical public relations exercise. Why else would the family not be consulted about its creation?

The family and the legal team are still waiting to receive copies of the police bodycam videos that show what happened to Mohamud during his arrest and detention. I would urge you to support this demand by signing and sharing the petition linked here. The delay in providing these is inexcusable. The IOPC's rationale for withholding these videos is,

"At this very early stage of our investigation, it would not be appropriate to release footage into the public domain. This footage may need to be used in any future possible proceedings - whether they be criminal, misconduct or inquest - which could potentially arise from the investigation."  

This legalise is, of course, utter nonsense. There are plenty of examples of criminal incidents being caught on camera that appear instantaneously in the public domain without any consequent implications for the legal process. In the United States, such videos are released without delay without any apparent consequences for the victims of the officers themselves. There is no legal requirement for these videos to be withheld from the victim's families. 

The immediate release of police videos should be an automatic right for victims of controversial arrests and their families. It is both a wretched and despicable denial of justice that the Police and IOPC do not provide immediate access to footage that shows final hours of their love one's life.

This tragic case has seen expressions of grave concern by communities, politicians, and the media at a local, regional, and national level and has seen demonstrations demanding justice for Mohamud and his family in Cardiff and London. His case has assumed national significance, and I have no doubt that had we not been in a lockdown we would have organised a national demonstration in Cardiff that would have been attended by tens of thousands of people. 

In support of the family, we will continue to demand that this case sets new precedents in transparency and police accountability in investigating suspicious deaths in police custody and for those who were recently released from Police custody.

Mohamud’s father Mohamed Deria on behalf of the wider close-knit family wishes to thank those people who have supported the families demand for the truth as to what happened to their beloved son during his arrest and detention, and their call for transparency and honesty in the investigation into the cause of his premature death.

We invite you to join us in demanding a new normal.

BTEG's BAME youth questionnaire.

Why do young black and Asian people’s views matter?

Jeremy Crook OBE, BTEG CEO

These are extremely tough times for young people. 

The Black Training and Enterprise Group (BTEG) delivers programmes for young black, Asian and mixed heritage people in schools and community groups, and we use our links with government and employers to champion actions that can improve their success rates in education and employment. 

We have campaigned for many years to increase apprenticeship opportunities for our young people, especially in sectors where there is under-representation, such as engineering, construction, and technology. One-third of school age young people are from ethnic minority backgrounds but only 8% of apprentices aged 16-19 are ethnic minority.  

The Government is urging employers to ‘build back better’ after the pandemic. We all want to see businesses bounce back when the lockdown ends but there have been many job losses and, sadly, many firms have had to close their doors for good, despite financial support from the government. 

But we must ensure that ‘build back better’ also means ‘build back fairer’. 

With rising youth unemployment, we are deeply concerned that young black and Asian people will find it even harder to secure employment. Unemployment rates for African, African Caribbean, Pakistani and Bangladeshi heritage young people tend to be higher than other ethnic groups even at graduate level. 

So, we need to do everything possible to ensure employers and government ‘build back fairer’.  Employers need to judge young people on their merit and character and not on their skin colour or faith.

The lives of young people have been severely disrupted on all fronts educationally, socially and economically.

Children and young people are familiar with on-line communication and they have done extremely well. But we have heard young people talk about how difficult it is to stay motivated when they have been confined to studying or working from home and are not able to do all the things they normally do. Their daily routines have been broken and their plans have been put on hold. Those from poorer backgrounds have had the added difficulties of lower incomes, less space at home and exposure to higher Covid-19 transmission rates. 

As a country we must make sure that young people receive the wholistic support they need to get through the pandemic and be a key part of the national recovery.  

We need to hear the views of young people and to know what is important to them - their views on Covid-19, Black Lives Matter, mental health, education and their employment prospects. 

2021 marks 30 years since BTEG was established. To mark this anniversary, we are conducting a national survey of young people from African, Caribbean, South Asian, South East Asian or mixed ethnic background. 

We think it is important to have good evidence that we can share with policy makers, including government ministers, mayors, employers and local councils, and, importantly, with other charities that support young people. Evidence/data matters. For BTEG it informs our priorities and the projects we develop.

Surveys provide evidence on what large groups of people think and feel about specific issues, so please share this blog and survey link  https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BTEG2020 with young people and youth groups.

 

 

Mohamud Hassan: A Response to the Chief Constable of South Wales Police Press Statement.

Lee Jasper is a former Deputy Mayor of London with responsibility for Policing (2000-2008)

 

 

This article should be read in conjunction with South Wales Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan's and the Independent Office of Police Conduct press statements linked below. 

 

Sunday, the 17th January 2021 was the day of the funeral for 24-year-old Mohamud Hassan of Cardiff, who died on Saturday, 9th January 2021 after his Cardiff Bay police station release. I have been supporting the family by highlighting his case, and today again I offer my sincere condolences. 

 

One can only imagine the pain and grief they will endure today and for the foreseeable future. Across the country, black and other communities have expressed their sadness, anger and concern about the circumstances of the arrest and ultimate death of Mr Hassan. A young 24-year-old had his life in front, hope expectant for the future and now at such a tender age body will be committed to the ground.

 

This is an all too common story for a black community, whose history is scarred with the trauma of such sudden and unexplained loss. Time and time again, we see the tragic repetition of black death trauma involving the Police. As we say goodbye to our dear brother, we must commit to demanding wholesale reconstruction of the process of independent police complaint and a coroner's inquiry processes that have proven to be incapable of delivering justice for our communities. 

 

In response to substantial public concern, the Chief Constable of South Wales Police, Jeremy Vaughan has been forced to issue a public statement.

 

In his statement, he writes that Mohamud Hassan's death was a

 

"...tragedy and we will continue to offer our deepest condolences to his family. There is nothing we can say to ease their pain, and we will support them anyway we can."

 

There is no more pleasing sound than gently closing stable doors. Such statements are all very well when seeking to minimise collateral damage of widespread public concern, but this one is particularly problematic. 

 

His sympathy and concern statement is exposed and undermined by the fact that neither he nor anyone else from South Wales Police made any effort to contact family in the immediate aftermath of Mohamud's death. 

 

The Chief Constable then speaks about referring the case to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). 

 

He says, 

 

"...we did not do this because we thought that police officers had done anything wrong, but because it was the right thing to do, to give an independent view on the decisions that we made and the actions that we took."

 

That is a quite remarkable and astonishing statement to make. Let me explain why.

 

It would appear that as far as South Wales Police are concerned, this is an open and shut case. Jeremy's statement suggests that he had concluded that there was no case to answer, literally within hours of Mohamud's death. His comment quite clearly states that he referred the case to the IOPC, believing that his officers had done no wrong.  

 

According to the initial IOPC press statement, South Wales Police advised them about Mr Hassan's the day after his death on Sunday 10th January 2021 

 

I have written on this previously. In an earlier article on this blog, I pointed out that the IOPC press release dated Tuesday, 12th January 2021, stated that "preliminary indications" concluded that there is no evidence of any serious 'physical trauma injury' that can explain a cause of death. 

 

Unless I have misunderstood, I find this to be a quite remarkable statement.

 

The Chief Constable it appears concluded within hours of Mohamud's death that his officers had done nothing wrong and the IOPC some 48 hours later, issues a statement saying that there was "no physical trauma" suffered by Mohamud that could explain the cause of death.

This is a quite remarkable statement. So not only had the Chief Constable concluded within hours of Mahamud's death that his officers had done nothing wrong, but the IOPC had also reported some 48 hours later, that there was "no physical trauma" suffered by Mahamud that could explain the cause of death. This in spite of the fact that they had sight of the interim post-mortem examination report that confirmed Mohamad’s body was battered and bruised. 

This is selective reporting on their part as the report confirmed that Mohamud had, as his family has consistently stated, suffered some physical trauma including a split lip and numerous bruises consistent with being slammed against 'hard surfaces'.  So why didn’t the IOPC statement report all the facts? 

It seems to me that the prior assumption of the Chief Constable was that there was no case to answer. His view is then reinforced in the IOPC selective press statement issued on the 12th January 2021. 

The IOPC joins the Chief Constable in a rush to judgement yet we understand that the IOPC has not yet secured all the necessary witness statements central to this case. 

You can see my point. Mr Hassan body had visible injuries, and despite that somehow the Chief Constable Jerry Vaughan and the IOPC issue press statements giving the impression that the South Wales Police have done no wrong, without acknowledging the fact that Mohamud did have injuries. 

He then goes on to say that "I determined that we should pursue the evidence wherever it takes us." It seems to me you've already concluded where the evidence takes you.

 

The Chief Constable then makes a valid point about the prevalence of racial discrimination and disadvantage in all parts of society. He goes onto to say that it's essential that concerned voices should be heard. He then issues an implicit threat to enforce Covid19 emergency policing powers on those wishing to make their voices heard.

 

The Chief Constable then goes on to say that he needs his officers working hard to respond to incidents of "domestic violence and abuse, to respond to sexual violence, knife crime and all other forms of violence and hatred." It would seem to me that the simple insertion of knife crime is a either a subliminal or a consciously non-too subtle attempt to use that issue as a dog whistle reference, to conjure up racial stereotypes.

 

Further, he appears to be suggesting that demonstrating against perceived injustice comes at the cost of failing to protect other vulnerable victims. It's a classic divide and rule tactic and attempts to gaslight the black community.

 

There are still many questions to answer in this case. 

 

At this stage, key among them is how do South Wales Police account for Mohamud's injuries? 

 

Another is why the IOPC felt it necessary to issue a press release stating that "preliminary indications" show that Mohamud had not suffered any physical trauma that could have potentially resulted in his death.

 

The fact that South Wales Police and the IPOC refuses to release the police officer body cam and CCTV footage of Mohamud's arrest and his eventual release without charge to his family. Why?

 

We have heard time and time again that giving these videos to the families or victims would somehow"undermine IOPC investigation" or somehow affect police officers' rights. 

This is, of course, just legal flimflam. 

 

If the Chief Constable is essentially saying, he has seen the videos and sees nothing of concern, why does he not simply hand over the videos to the family? 

 

Doing so constitutes no risk or danger either to the investigation or the officers concerned. Of course, In America, such videos are routinely released in the immediate aftermath of critical incidents that cause widespread public anger and anxiety without any apparent problems for the legal process or officers. 

 

Ironically, the reason why police body cams were introduced in the UK was to provide public reassurance concerning critical policing incidents. It makes no sense in the context of a case causing tremendous anger and anxiety that the Police should withhold video footage from the family.

 

Indeed, in my view, the family have an absolute right to both see and get a copy of what is essentially the last precious moments of Mr Hassan's life.

 

The Police often tell us concerning heavy-handed and repeated stop and searches, that if you've got nothing to hide, you've got nothing to fear.

 

The South Wales Police should apply that very same prescription to themselves. There can be no doubt that both local and national public concern is rising. That concern could be in part effectively addressed by the immediate release of the police video cam footage.

 

Both the credibility of IOPC Director of Wales, Catrin Evans and the IOPC in Wales is on the line, an institution already profoundly damaged by its continued failure to effectively hold police officers to account and root out the institutionalised racism and injustiuce so prevalent in the service. 

 

On this occasion, it looks like they have conspired to construct a version of events, designed to mislead the public. If that is the case, and it appears to be so, then that is a very grave mistake indeed.

 

Sign the petition to release the police bodycam and CCTV videos to the Hassan family here.

 

 

 

Mohamud Hassan's funeral details. #RIP

 

Exclusive: Mohamud Hassan Interim Post Mortem Report Published.

 

A third day o consecutive demonstrations took place in Cardiff today outside Cardiff Bay Police station as communities mobilised demanding justice of Mohamud Hassan 24 years of age, who was found dead on Saturday 8th January at his home, after being detained by South Wales police. 

Mohamud was subjected to a statutory post-mortem conducted on behalf of the state by Dr Ryk James whose interim report and findings whilst inconclusive at this stage on the precise cause of death, nevertheless flatly contradicts the assertion by South Wales Police that their enquiries "found no evidence of any significant injury or excessive force…" being used by their officers during the arrest and detention of Mr Hassan.

 

The question arises here is what constitutes "excessive force" for South Wales police? 

 

I'm guessing that their definition will differ wildly from the commonly held definition of the general public. We are perfectly aware that Home Office data tells us that while we make up 3% of the population, a massive 16% of the total number of people subject to the police use of force are black. It is also significant there has never been a single successful prosecution of a police officer for murder or manslaughter in the last 50 years.

 

Dr James's confirms that Mr Hassan had blood smears and splatters on his grey tracksuit. That there was clear evidence of a "Bleeding injury inside swollen upper lip which appears to be a split…" that additionally there were numerous “areas of bruising present mainly to the arms, elbows, wrists and left hand but with no evidence of any significant injury to the soft tissues, skeleton and internal organs."

The report goes on to confirm that Mohamud had what he describes as "minor skin and soft tissue injuries" and a split lip that could be a consequence of a "punch or slap"

 

He also cites injuries to his arm that he says could be the result of being strongly gripped and bruises on his body that were consistent with "impact against hard surfaces".

 

The Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) issued a press release on 12 January setting out the actions they had taken in relation to their investigation. Bizarrely they concluded even prior to the publication of a full pathology report  that...

 

“An interim report from a post mortem examination is awaited. Preliminary indications are that there is no physical trauma injury to explain a cause of death, and toxicology tests are required.”

 

How is it that the IOPC came to this conclusion on the basis of, "preliminary indications"? 

How is it possible to reach such conclusions and put them into the public domain, when it is clear that Mahamud had indeed suffered a variety of injuries? 

 

The extent to which any one of these injuries may have contributed to his death can only be finally concluded when all of the necessary forensic pathology has taken place. 

 

Why then did the IOPC issue this press statement that appears to be either prejudicial or seeking to influence independent pathology investigations and indeed public opinion? 

 

In any event it cannot be proper that the IOPC came to such an immediate conclusion on the basis of presumably what they were told by South Wales police. It should be of concern to everybody that the IOPC appears to be acting as a surrogate mouthpiece for the police.

 

This will be subject to a formal complaint on behalf of the family and poses serious questions about the credibility and the neutrality of the IOPC in this investigation.

 

The South Wales police also refused to release police bodycam and CCTV video stating in a press release that "…footage cannot be released by South Wales police whilst the IPOC is investigating…" 

I find this entirely disingenuous. Police body cam video was introduced with the expressed purpose of providing clear and objective evidence in relation to controversial policing incidents. They can be no incident more controversial than the death of Mr Hassan in the circumstances described. . 

 

And before we hear cries of "it would undermine, disrupt or negatively affect the investigation process" I would remind everyone that in America these videos are released in many instances very soon after such incidents and without any apparent negative effect to the investigation process. We must continue to demand that if the Police have nothing to hide then they should be zero consequences for releasing this footage immediately. 

Here is a public petition demanding that the police body cam and CCTV footage is handed over to the Hassan family immediately. I would invite you to share, sign and promote. 

 

The Home Secretary and senior police officers need to wake up to the fact that we are now living in a post Black Lives Matter era that requires a paradigm shift in transparency and accountability and a rebalancing of the scales of justice. 

 

Nothing less will suffice and Black communities, supported by our allies are now demanding radical change. 

 

Post the murder of George Floyd and in the words of Dr Martin Luther King, British black communities have become ‘maladjusted to injustice’. Politicians and senior police officers will do well to wake up and smell the coffee. 

 

An independent post mortem examination will be conducted on behalf of the family Friday, 15 January Friday 2021 it will be interesting to compare both reports.  two

Remembering Sarah Reed on the 5th anniversary of her death.

Today the 11th Jan is the fifth anniversary of the death of Sara Reed please support remembering her name #SayHerName #Justice4SarahReed #BlackLivesMatter 

Black man dies after being violently arrested by Cardiff Police.

No sooner had 2021 began than we suffered the suspicious death of yet another 24-year-old black man in Cardiff Wales after contact with the police. 

Mohamud Mohammed Hassan 24 was arrested at his home in a shared multi-occupancy building on  Friday 8th January 2020 at 11 pm and was forcibly taken to Cardiff Bay Police station.  During his arrest, an upstairs elderly neighbour reported a massive commotion in his flat below. 

Mohamud was released from Cardiff Bay Police Station around noon Saturday 10th January without being charged He was so severely injured he took a taxi home. Seeing a close friend when he arrived outside his house, he told him "Look fam the police have beat the shit out of me."

An elderly lady and friend who lived above him saw Mohamud and was in deep shock at what she saw. His light grey tracksuit was covered in blood, and he had severe injuries to his mouth and was severely bruised all over his body.

She called his Aunt, who came over immediately. On seeing Mohamud, she broke down in tears. She insisted he go to the hospital, but he said he was too weak and tired and wanted to rest for a while before seeking medical attention.

Mohamud slept for a few hours, and when a friend attempted to wake him later Saturday evening, he was unresponsive. His friend called an ambulance, and a first responder arrived on a bike. Mohamud's bedroom was too small for her to give him treatment and, he had to be moved with the assistance of his friend and was laid on the kitchen floor while the paramedic administered CPR.

Two ambulance paramedics then arrived and declared him dead.

At least ten police cars attended and they locked off the residence. Mohamud was afforded no privacy nor dignity whilst he lay dead on the kitchen floor.  The family attended his home but was refused entry or sight of the body by Cardiff police.

The family felt they were poorly treated by the officers in attendance and were left totally in the dark. Bizarrely Mohamud was left on the kitchen floor until 6.45 am Sunday before being removed.  No Family Officer Liason nor anyone from South Wales Police has been in touch with family to explain what happened.

Lawyers for the family Virgo Consultancy Ltd Hilary Brown stated: "There are many questions that need to be answered, that can hopefully shed some light on the circumstances that saw a young, healthy black man arrested and after being released without charge in a distressed state, suffering numerous physical injuries we now need to establish if there is any connection that may have led to his death."

Lee Jasper Vice-Chair of BAME Lawyers 4 Justice said "Clearly Mohamud was perfectly fine before his arrest. The critical question the family want answering is what happened to him during his arrest,  in transit to and inside Cardiff Police station. He is very severely injured on his release, so was he offered medical assistance in the police station? His death marks a grim and tragically familiar start for 2021. Black Lives will continue to matter."

His family and the wider black community will want answers. Given the realities of the implicit institutional racism of the South Wales Police, the appalling weakness of the police investigation processes, and the Independent Office of Police Complaints' and the fact that no police officer has ever been prosecuted for a death in custody,  we're unlikely to get justice from a rotten system so stacked against the search for the truth. Nevertheless, that will not diminish our efforts to hold the police to account and demand justice.