The case of Mohamud Hassan has taken an explosive leap forward today as the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) announced an additional four South Wales police officers including a custody officer, have today been served regulations 17 notices.
Chief Constable of South Wales Police, Jeremy Vaughan Must Resign.
Three of these notices are concerning his time in custody at Cardiff Bay Police station, and the other relates to officers who attended his home address at the time of his arrest.
One of these notices includes an allegation of gross misconduct relating to honesty and integrity, including whether or not there were false or omitted entries made in custody logs concerning welfare checks on Mohamud.
All the evidence increasingly points to the fact that this was an entirely avoidable death.
Another charge relates to police officers' use of force whilst escorting Mohamud into the police station.
These are explosive allegations that provide solid evidence that the Hassan family's accusations that police officers beat up Mohamud are entirely credible.
Accusations its important to note, that have been routinely denied by the South Wales police and the IOPC, accusations that have been consistently articulated by the family and their legal rep Hilary Brown. Both should be congratulated for their persistent demand for the truth and their rejection of public statements by the South Wales Police Chief Constable and the IOPC that initially suggested no evidence of disproportionate violence or any issues of concern concerning the arrest of Mohamud Hassan.
I wrote previously about this apparent conspiracy between South Wales Police and the IOPC. They were issuing public statements designed to allay public concerns that there was anything to be unduly concerned about this case.
The IOPC issued a press release stating that "preliminary indications" show that Mohamud had not suffered any physical trauma that could have resulted in his death on the 12th January 2021. The fact that four additional police officers are now subject to serious accusations makes a mockery of this statement and completely validates the stance taken by the family, Hilary Brown and indeed this blog.
This critical development fundamentally undermines both the IOPC's and Chief Constable of South Wales Police Jeremy Vaughan initial press statements. Press statements that sought to reassure the public or calm rising tensions, implying there was no case to answer in response to the accusation that South Wales Police were in any way responsible for Mohamed's death.
The Chief Constable issued a press statement on the 15th January 2021 in reference to his referral the case to the IOPC,
"...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."
The Hassan family and Hilary Brown have consistently demanded that the IOPC release the police bodycam videos, the custody records and that the officers concerned should be immediately suspended.
That is a demand that we now repeat urgently in the light of these developments.
All of the officers concerned must be immediately suspended, and given the public statements of the Chief Constable of South Wales police, I firmly believe that he should now be forced to resign.
Another charge relates to police officers' use of force whilst escorting Mohamud into the police station.
These are explosive allegations that provide solid evidence that the Hassan family's accusations that police officers beat up Mohamud are entirely credible.
Accusations its important to note, that have been routinely denied by the South Wales police and the IOPC, accusations that have been consistently articulated by the family and their legal rep Hilary Brown. Both should be congratulated for their persistent demand for the truth and their rejection of public statements by the South Wales Police Chief Constable and the IOPC that initially suggested no evidence of disproportionate violence or any issues of concern concerning the arrest of Mohamud Hassan.
I wrote previously about this apparent conspiracy between South Wales Police and the IOPC. They were issuing public statements designed to allay public concerns that there was anything to be unduly concerned about this case.
The IOPC issued a press release stating that "preliminary indications" show that Mohamud had not suffered any physical trauma that could have resulted in his death on the 12th January 2021. The fact that four additional police officers are now subject to serious accusations makes a mockery of this statement and completely validates the stance taken by the family, Hilary Brown and indeed this blog.
This critical development fundamentally undermines both the IOPC's and Chief Constable of South Wales Police Jeremy Vaughan initial press statements. Press statements that sought to reassure the public or calm rising tensions, implying there was no case to answer in response to the accusation that South Wales Police were in any way responsible for Mohamed's death.
The Chief Constable issued a press statement on the 15th January 2021 in reference to his referral the case to the IOPC,
"...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."
The Hassan family and Hilary Brown have consistently demanded that the IOPC release the police bodycam videos, the custody records and that the officers concerned should be immediately suspended.
That is a demand that we now repeat urgently in the light of these developments.
All of the officers concerned must be immediately suspended, and given the public statements of the Chief Constable of South Wales police, I firmly believe that he should now be forced to resign.
At the recent Inquest, Micheal Mansfield QC complained that the IOPC's preferred communication method with the Hassan family is through a press release. Once again, today, news of these developments was communicated in a press release. The shock and horror of receiving this news in this brutal fashion by the Hassan family can only be imagined.
The Welsh Parliament needs to understand that this case has now escalated into a critical issue. As the democratically elected political representative of the people of Wales, they must intervene and demand the officers' suspension, the release of the police bodycam videos, and the resignation of the chief constable of South Wales Police.
