Britain’s Rodney King Moment. The Romford Police Assault

Thursday 23rd January 2020 saw the magistrate's trial and ultimate acquittal of Metropolitan Police Officer, Detective Constable Kevin Rowley on the charge assault and battery of a young black boy. 

You may remember this officer seen on a video that went viral, where the officer is seen using his baton to repeatedly strike a terrified young 17-year-old black boy outside a parade of shops on Heath Park Road, Romford on April 22nd of last year.

The case was heard at Hendon Magistrates Court, a court that is miles away from inner London. I've seen this type of court scheduling before and its usually politically motivated. It's the common practice of moving controversial trials of police officers that take place in inner London, as far away from where the original incident took place, or in where that not possible in the tiniest inaccessible court venues. 

On this occasion, the trial was held, in what is a notoriously difficult part of London to get to for 10 am on a Thursday morning. 

I suspect, though I cannot prove, that the decision to have the trial in an area of the capital with virtually no African Caribbean communities, was based on finding a court that would be difficult to get to, and would prevent any protests outside the court itself, no doubt justified, on this occasion by concerns for 'the officers safety' 

Hendon Magistrates Court No 2 is a tiny court with a public gallery that seats around 20 people.  Two-thirds of the public gallery was packed with press and police officers

Last year London's black communities and many more besides, were left angry and traumatised by the shocking video showing a young black boy, pleading with DC Rowley to stop assaulting him.  Many Police officers have told me that they believe the violence used was both disproportionate and unnecessary.  I agree with that analysis.

The first thing to say about this prosecution is that for a police officer to face charges of battery and assault, on a black person, is an extraordinarily rare event. 

In over 40 years in challenging police abuses, this is the first such case I've come across.  So it was with some degree of relief and hopeful anticipation that the family of the young boy concerned, and I attended this trail.  

There's was the hope that maybe, this trial would hold the police to proper account particularly where the Met themselves admit to using disproportionate force when arresting black males. London's black communities believe they are being racially targeted for drug searches and are subjected to unnecessary violence on arrest, and all this against a backdrop where Black communities public confidence in the Met police is at an all-time low. 

So it was with some little hope that the family and myself sat in this far-flung tightly packed, little court.

However, once the prosecution began it was clear to me this wasn't going to be our day.  

As the trial unfolded I concluded that bizarrely, the witnesses for the prosecution appeared to me, to be witnesses for the defence.

I have purposely not written this sequentially, as in the order of evidence as it was given on the day. Instead, I have written this as a reflective piece pointing out some of the salient points that struck me as a former Policing Director of London and an ardent campaigner for justice.  

That will no doubt lead some to conclude that I'm presenting the evidence to suit my own perspective and people are entitled to that view. Nevertheless, I contend that many in the black community and those prepared to take a critical lens to this case will share my analysis. 

My motivation for doing so is to simply present a community perspective informed by decades of institutional police racism and the deeply embedded lack of trust that now exists between the London black community and the police. 

Let us start with DC Rowley's evidence to the court. He told the court that his attention was drawn to two black boys walking across a zebra crossing. 

He said: 'Initially we saw them as they crossed the zebra and the cars paused. One of them had a wad of cash notes in his hands raised to the sky. It looked a bit out of place." 

Black boys on zebra crossing looked out of place? 

Here I'm guessing that what he really meant is that these two black boys, looked out of place in the predominantly white area of Romford. 

He mentions that the cars paused, well yes, they were crossing the road, what’s the significance of that comment, and what did he expect the cars to do? 

He goes on to say one of the boys had a wad of cash in his hand, in fact, they didn't, the eldest boy was holding a single £20 note, pocket money of two brothers who lived locally, and coincidently the only black family in this area. These boys were simply on the way to the shops to change the £20 so they could split the cash between them. 

The officer went on to say, 'They looked like they had no purpose there. They walked into a fish and chip shop for five seconds, and walked back out again.'

Firstly, what leads him to conclude, they had no purpose there? Why? Are black boys not supposed to be in Romford? 

The boys were local and were simply popping into local shops asking if they could change a £20 note to split their pocket money. 

He goes on to say, 'Most people keep money in their wallet or their bag. I said to the other police officer, keep an eye out on those boys. I thought they looked a bit weird.'  

Had they been walking with a large amount of cash in their hand, then that may give rise to some suspicion, but these boys had a single £20 note and kids don't usually have a wallet and young men don't usually carry money in bags. When arrested the young man did not have a wad of cash, as described by Rowley, he had precisely £20. The prosecution decided not to pursue that point. 

As to the reason why they were stopped, well this comes straight out the police playbook and the most singularly cited reason offered by Met officers for stop and searches; 'I asked them what they had been up to and I was hit with a strong smell of cannabis.'

We've all known plenty of black non-smokers subjected to stop and search who have similarly been wrongly accused by police officers of smelling of cannabis. 

In the minds of London's black communities, we consider this as a joke. It always amazes me that while white people report higher drug use, according to the British Crime Survey. much more than black communities, they are not subjected to the same level of racially targeted police stops and searches. 

The officer goes on; 'It was coming from them. I told them they were going to be detained as part of a drug search. [The youth] said, 'you're not searching me, I know my rights.' 

The officer then reports that at this moment the second boy had runoff. Yes he did, he ran to his nearby home to alert his mother and followed in hot pursuit by another officer. 

Rowley’s statement here strikes me as being almost scripted in an effort to begin to frame the boy into the widely held violent black youth stereotype. It’s the trigger words used as a nod and a wink to the magistrate, igniting shared white stereotypes and fears. 

The problem was that this evidence was contradicted by a witness who had previously given evidence in which she says she saw the events from an adjacent window overlooking the scene and described the initial encounter as 'quite calm'.  

Teri Vigers told the court,

'He was a little bit hesitant, he obviously didn't really want to be there, he was a bit edgy but did allow the police officer to put him in handcuffs without any problem.’ 

Well yes, being a young kid and being subjected to a stop and search, given the awful reputation of the Met would make most people ‘a little bit hesitant'

Her description of the encounter is at odds with Rowley’s who said the boy was extremely agitated. 

Vigers goes on to say, 

'He asked the young boy to sit down on the floor, it looked like he was trying to call for backup or speak to someone on the radio.' 

'The young boy was asking about his brother, I think he was trying to find out about his brother.' 

Ms Vigers told the court she had given her witness statement to  
the police the day after the event. 

This was a surprise as the family had not at that stage, submitted any formal complaint, so why and for what reason was a statement taken by the police? It could be inferred that the police coached her to provide a helpful statement, as they knew instantly that what Rowley did was wrong. 

Personally, I was disinclined to disbelieve her evidence from this point on. 

Back to Rowley, he stated in court that once the second boy ran off: 

‘I'm now alone with an agitated and aggressive male who is not complying. He's made it clear that I'm not searching for him. It's a concern for me as I'm alone with this male.' 

The officer told the court that the boy said he wanted to see his brother and that he tried to reassure him.'

So the older boy was concerned for the safety of his little brother. Given the acute lack of trust in the police, it's perfectly reasonable that he should be concerned. 

Witness Terri Vigers also went on to say, after Rowley had placed the boy in cuffs that the boy had sat down, stood up, then sat down, then stood up again, and was the edging away from the officer while DC Rowley goes onto say that boy was struggling like a man possessed.  

'First of all, we could smell cannabis. But this behaviour was not possession of cannabis. I've had experience of catching people with knives, drugs, guns.

'He was putting up such a fight I didn't know what he had on him. He hadn't been searched at this point.

'He was aggressive, desperate to get away, pulling me, dragging me, pushing me. It was not the behaviour of someone who has a single count of possession on him.’

'He might be 17, but he's my height and build, and he was very strong. Because he was so aggressive, he had a lot of adrenaline.'

So the boy complied with arrest and allowed himself to be cuffed without and resistance. As for the officer's description, this is a regularly used trope used by police officers, in controversial arrests where they routinely describe black people as possessing superhuman strength, being violently aggressive. A set policing script that has been used regularly for the last 40 years. 

Rowley goes onto to state; 

'I wasn't trying to hurt him. All I was trying to do was detain him. Because he was in such a rage he was not listening to anything I was trying to do.'

Another witness who lives locally a Mr Anthony Bailey gave his evidence. Mr Bailey said:

'As part of my job I use restraint. He was struggling to restrain the youth. 

He went onto say, 

'He was struggling to keep him there from what I have experienced in safeguarding.

Really? What job is that then? He wasn't asked. The terms restraint and safeguarding are terms usually used by people with either professional policing or security experience or both. The prosecution didn’t ask him. 

His evidence was that the young man whilst cuffed was violently swinging the officer around from side to side. 

This, of course, is in direct contradiction to Ms Vigers testimony that described the boy as doing nothing more than 'edging away'

Bailey then says, ‘The officer struck him as the teenager did not respond to his command to get down.' I find the word 'command' interesting. 

Returning to witness Teri Vigers she went on to state, 

‘The police officer said he would have to use force if he didn't listen. He removed his stick and repeated quite a lot of time he didn't want to use it.’

'The police officer stated he didn't want to use force and then struck him on the legs.'

She said the boy was 'trying to irritate the police officer' by screaming, in order to draw a crowd, well yes being beaten will lead you to scream. And let's be real, this isn't Brixton that crowd was white, and even they were angry at what they saw as evidenced by the commentary on the video.

She goes on to say, that Rowley had been ‘reasonably calm until he used the baton.’

'I think I recall him saying he didn't want to use force that was after they moved across to the shop.’

'He's obviously got to the point where he was being really nice and really calm and raised his voice and withdraws the baton.’

She makes the whole incident sound like an exercise in textbook community policing. 

Yet none of the video audio captured any of this, and yet Vigers, Bailey and the Rowley all claim these words were spoken throughout the later part of the encounter i.e. outside of the parade of shops. All were very clear on this particular point.  

The audio from the video is clear and there are no instructions heard from the officer to the boy to sit down, nor is there any warning offered to the boy. Yet everything else is captured, comments by the crowd, traffic noise and the boy himself. Was the officer whispering? 

Vigers, Bailey all say that they heard the officers comments in their homes and yet we can hear nothing on the audio. Vigers says she heard the boy expressing concern for his brother from inside her home. Yet throughout the video, the officer shouts get down once.  

Another witness, an elderly white gentleman whose name I did not catch stated he knew the officer personally and was concerned and had wanted to help him.  How did he know the officer, Rowley was in plain clothes that day so what was their relationship? The prosecution simply ignored the response.

Hard of hearing, the man was shown a video of the incident and asked if he recognised a man standing near the incident, in a red t-shirt hands on his hips. After scrutinising the video, the man answered he did not recognise the man. 

That was strange because the man he was asked if he recognised, was the actual witness himself, which he later conceded to. His evidence clearly couldn't be relied upon. 

The prosecution went on, in my view to demonstrate inconsistencies in DC Rowley's initial description of events and the evidence he gave in court however despite this, and the contradictions I've highlighted, the magistrate acquitted the officer. 

Of course, the family are deeply disappointed and will be considering the verdict and what options are available to them. There is still the option that the officer though found not guilty of assault could be disciplined by the Metropolitan Police service. 

Let us hope, for the sake of police, community relations that this option is exercised. 

Am I surprised? Not really, I've seen such travesty's of justice before and will no doubt see them again. This case will, however, reinforce the black community strongly held belief that when it comes to the police, disproportionate violence and black people there is little if any justice to be had.     

Speaking to the family they’ve had enough and lost all confidence in British justice, policing and criminal justice. They told me their packing up and leaving the country, which they said had become a hostile environment for young black people. 

They didn’t want their sons to suffer the indignity of false accusation, baseless suspicion and violent arrest. They felt betrayed by British institutions. They spoke of the weight of racism being too heavy a burden to carry for their sons.  They want them to prosper in a country where talent, not colour is the defining characteristic of young black people.

Angry, depressed and determined, they are heading home to Africa, Ghana to be precise where their sons can be free of the racism so brutally inflicted on them in the UK.  

The boys mother spoke to me and said, ‘As black people we’ve spent decades, pleading, begging, cajoling and appealing to the angels of their better natures only to be kicked in the teeth, targeted, excluded and arrested. There comes a time when enough is enough and our duty as parents is to safeguard our children from this toxic racism takes priority.’  

I for one couldn’t fault her logic. From the criminalisation of our communities to exclusions from school, the Windrush scandal Britain, raging unemployment and poverty Britain has become hostile and unapologetic for its growing culture of unabashed, unashamed racism and many like this family, are saying maybe its time to leave. Those of us who remain must fight on. 

Dalston Junction Police Assault: School Girls Mum Makes Witness Appeal.

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Mum Joy McIntosh Witness Appeal.

Black youth in London are increasingly subject to disproportionate and violent arrests at the hands of the Metropolitan Police. Such was the case this weekend where a video of the violent arrest by Metropolitan Police officers, of a16-year-old black girl at Dalston Junction, went viral, attracting strong criticism of police force that appears out of control. 

No doubt, many will sigh at this point, drop their heads and think, "Here we go again, another gross exaggeration, and yet another anti-police critic, inflating a legitimate arrests, into some overblown political bandwagon." 

Of course if you're black and fully awoke, you will know, that history records, that all claims of serious racism, are always and routinely furiously denied in the first instance. So first of all let's deal with the objective and broader context of my statement.

The extent of the deterioration of relationships between the Metropolitan Police Force and London black communities has sunk to a new low, as increased levels of institutional racism in policing, continues to poison relations between black communities and an increasingly notorious Metropolitan Police Force.

Using this descriptor “force” will no doubt surprise some, but for many of London black communities, the Met is no longer perceived as a public service, and increasingly seen, by many communities as an, aggressive and hostile occupying force.

And today, relations are pretty bad indeed. Earlier this year as a result of a series of freedom of information requests, I discovered that, according to annual public confidence survey data supplied to me by the police themselves, in London’s  black communities, trust and confidence in the Metropolitan Police Force, rarely rises above 50%, and disturbingly in some of the key areas – such as Lambeth, Newham, Haringey and Hackney – regularly drops to as low as 30%.

In terms of violent arrests, the overwhelming picture is that the Met is particularly violent when arresting black suspects, according to their own figures.  These  show that whilst the black community makes only 13% of London’s population, they represent a staggering 36 % of all police violent arrests in London in a three-month period.  

This represents around 20,000 violent arrests of black people every single year, and that assumes all violence arrests are reported by police officers, something I personally doubt. There could be many more. 

And where the police have to rely on supporting partner agencies, then we often see these agencies, themselves infected with racist practices, actively colluding with police violence and racism to mask their own failures.  TfL is a case in point. 

Now lets consider the case of 16 year old, London black college student, and daughter of Mum Joy McIntosh, who on Friday 1^st December was travelling on the bus 149 around 6pm heading toward Dalston Junction. Let's call her A. 

While on the bus A was approached by a couple of TfL ticket inspectors, what then followed seemed to be a huge misunderstanding. 

As a result TfL ticket inspectors then, followed her off the bus and began physically restraining her. A is just 4 ft.11 and weighs around seven stones. 

By this time a crowd had gathered concerned at the apparent treatment of this tiny black schoolgirl being aggressively manhandled. 

Increasingly intimidated by a gathering crowd who were appalled at the disproportionately violent treatment of A, the TfL inspectors called for police back up. 

Meanwhile the growing  crowds became increasing angry and hostile. The inspectors then bizarrely began shouting ‘stop resisting’ as they violently restrained A. 

This is, of course, an age-old police tactic of attempting to create a public impression of a suspect resisting arrest or restraint, whilst violently attacking said suspect. 

A, was then kneed in the stomach by one of the Inspectors and started to cry out for help. As the crowd started to react, one of the Inspectors then inexplicably escalated this situation and violently secured A in a head lock – all the time shouting ‘stop resisting’ A was frightened, terrified and distraught. 

The police then arrived and placed her in handcuffs forcing her hands way up her back and placing her in a police van.

Throughout the time she was being assaulted, by the police officers and TfL inspector’s, the crowd were filming and becoming increasingly agitated. 

A solitary white woman who witnessed the police violence (black people, particularly black men, please take note) tried to intervene. She was violently abused and pushed by a police officer, who then placed her in a headlock and repeatedly punched her. She was subsequently arrested and charged with police assault.  

At this point a larger crowd had gathered and A was calling out for some one to call her mother. A bystander did so and told her mother “Hello, hello ?... I've been ask to ring you urgently, I'm here at Dalston Junction and the police are assaulting your daughter.”  

When A’s mother, 36-year-old Joy McIntosh and her 18 yr old son arrived on the scene, she was confronted with utter chaos. Joy reports seeing massive angry crowds and tens of police officers, all shouting and milling around. 

When Joy, a woman of strong faith, saw her distraught daughter in the back of a police van, she sought to approach and comfort her, but was immediately pushed back by police officers. Joy was then kettled by officers who refused her access to her daughter or her son

When her son protested at the treatment of his mum, the 18yr old was pinned to the ground by police and violently arrested, aggravating the crowd even more. 

© Joy McIntosh 

“The level of violence I saw from the police officers at the scene shocked me to the core. It was unbelievable. I was so frightened for his life that although surrounded by police I just kept shouting “keep calm son, stay alive” repeatedly.”

Both her children were taken to Stoke Newington Police Station, where A says she was denied her rights as a juvenile and subjected to bullying and intimidation by police officers. 

She demanded her mother be present as an appropriate adult, whilst she was being interviewed, the police refused, and instead brought in a preferred social worker and a local stranger from the boroughs appropriate adult scheme, and this despite her mother being in attendance at Stoke Newington Police station at all times. 

A was arrested on Friday evening around 6pm, interviewed around 11pm, kept in a cell overnight and finally released on bail on Saturday around 6pm. Her brother was released later that day and both were given bail conditions not to stay at their mother’s house and subjected to a nightly curfew from 3am to 7pm. They are both due to return in two weeks time. Again a massive, punitive over reaction. 

The frequency of these types of incidents, where we see Met officers, engaged in the violent arrest of London black folks is increasing.

Each month thousands of London's black communities find themselves experiencing disproportionate violence, whilst being arrested. It's just a fact of life, that the Met in particular, are arresting black youth's in such numbers that feelings on the streets today, are strongly reminiscent of London circa 1986. 

Met officers, seem to have no regard for whether black suspects are children, young adults or elderly pensioners, the response of far too many officers is routinely violent. (remember Bristol, St Paul’s pensioner Ras Judah?) 

Institutional racism has resulted in the British Police more generally, and the Met in this particular instance, losing public legitimacy. The Met, whether tackling criminals or racially profiling back youth, are viewed with such deep suspicion as a direct consequence, of their worsening and unacknowledged institutionalised racism. Such public opposition to perceived racist policing is becoming increasingly common in London. The principle of policing by consent requires the Met and the Mayor to urgently address this crisis of confidence of London's black communities. 

The deep irony here, is that it's Tory Prime Minister Thersea May who has been much more vocal on this issue of police racism, and to be fair, she at least has a semblance of a coherent policy focus. Why not the Mayor of London? Surely we would expect a Muslim Mayor, elected in large part with support from London's black communities, to have a policy to tackle police racism that is in advance of a Tory Prime Minister?

He, the London Assembly and the Commissioner must explain why it was necessary for a 16-year-old child, to be subjected to the kind of arrest, usually reserved for the most serious and dangerous of criminals, for nothing more than failing to be in possession of an Oyster card that, in any event, entitles all London 16 yr olds in study to free travel anyway? She lives in London. Its an administrative technicality not a major crime. 

The fact is that both TfL Inspectors and Met Police unnecessary use of violence unduly provoked and inflamed this situation. Given the public interest, and in the interests of good community relations, all charges against A, her brother and the brave woman who sought to intervene, should be dropped immediately.

Still questions remain for example why was A mother denied access to her 16-year-old daughter whilst at Stoke Newington police station?

Why, was it thought necessary, to hold a16-year-old child for 24 hours for such a minor offence? I have long raised the issue of the undue detention of black children by the Metropolitan Police Force.

Huge changes to London's bail system is resulting, in far too many young, vulnerable suspects, being unduly detained for long periods of time. As black public support for the Metropolitan Police Force wanes, so the potential increases for relatively minor incidents, to spark widespread civil uprisings. 

Across London, there is emerging consistent anecdotal evidence, that black parents and adults are being denied the opportunity to act as an appropriate adults when in attendance at London’s police stations, and that black children are being held for excessively long periods of time,as a result. In the current context the violent arrest of children could be the spark that ignites wider opposition to perceived or actual police racism. 

There are serious questions to be asked of local appropriate adult schemes who seem happy to collude with this abuse presumably being paid per child. They must be held accountable and must now inquire whether or not a parent or significant other, is in attendance at police stations. I would welcome the publication of monitoring figures detailing the numbers and length of time young people are sending in custody, by ethnic group and gender. 

In terms of a London political response to the culture of known racism within the Met, its simply not there in any substantive form. Its simply not an item for discussion. Don't believe me? Try doing a basic search for Mayoral policy or London Assembly debate on this issue. The challenge is simple and straight forward for the Mayor Sadiq Khan and that is to respond to the David Lammy MP Review challenge of “explain or change.” 

Rather than genuine dialogue and community engagement, we have endured  increasingly desperate attempts, by the Met to justify, the unjustifiable, quoting knife and violent crime as their operational rationale for their obvious racism. 

Except it isn't any justification at all and as most informed observers know, there is no relationship between the incidence of violence and rates of stop and search. 

Terrell Decosta Jones Burton a child form another family of faith.

Disproportionate stop and search; disproportionate violence; disproportionate arrests; disproportionate refusal of bail; disproportionate charging for like-for-like offences when compared with white suspects with worse or similar previous antecedents; disproportionate deaths in police custody; disproportionate number of Met black officers subject to disciplinary investigations by their fellow officers. 

Nuno Cardoso 25 law student.

Since the trauma of this incident Joy has been inundated with support of the wider community.  

Tensions are high across London, in the wake of the notorious incidents including Sarah Reed, Edson Da Costa, Rashan Charles and what appears to be the savage beating by police of another 15 year old Terrell Decosta Jones_Burton. 

And now we hear of the case of 25 year old law student, Nuno Cardoso who is the latest young black man, who died after being detained by police.

This is what his Mrs dos Santos, Nuno's grieving mother had to say,

Doroteia dos Santos

'The boys feel they are being attacked – and I feel the same. They stop and search all the boys. Not just because they have dreadlocks or long hair, but every black and mixed race boy in this country – they have the same problem. The police need to involve themselves more in communities. They need to give more space for the parents. They are not talking to us. They need to be holding meetings, public meetings, on the estates. From September until now there have been three deaths in custody. This shows something is wrong. Maybe they are not being trained.”

I could go on, but you get the picture. London is experiencing a resurgence of institutionalised racism within the Metropolitan Police force. This important, but as yet largely unrecognised fact, is clearly discernible from the discreditable and undisputed figures, detailing significant disproportionality and discrimination in all significant aspects of London policing.  

This situation as it stands today, is that black Londoners are no longer prepared to give the Met police the benefit of doubt, when judging the appropriateness of police interventions involving black people. The reason a relatively minor incident such as occurred at Dalston, provoked such a strong reaction, is because very few black people, or indeed many ordinary Londoners, now trust the police to do the right thing where black people are concerned.  In this context even a legitimate police intervention could lead to widespread disorder as a result. 

The Mayor of London has to reign in the Met. He has to get a grip of the real reality he faces, namely a level of resurgent institutional racism that has become re-energised, as a direct result, of the abandonment of the  recommendations outlined within the McPherson report on racist murder of Stephen Lawrence. Race is no longer a political priority in London.

From a Labour Mayor and former 'campaigning' solicitor, a man who represented Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam, this is a scandal, and mistake for which the City, and the country at large will pay a heavy price.

Further it is equally bizarre that a Tory Prime Minster talks more about these issues than both Labours leading lights, the London Mayor and the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Is Labour ducking the issue of police racism? In the absence of any substantive evidence to the contrary, its a reasonable conclusion. 

Only by tackling Met institutional racism head on, can we hope to avoid an almost inevitable backlash from a London Black community that feels itself under siege from a hostile, aggressive an all-powerful Metropolitan Police Force. 

Please share this article. 

#AdrianMcDonald #BlackLivesMatter

When black people die in police custody nobody hears their screams, most don't give a damn and the Police just sit back and laugh at those of who complain and agitate for justice. Here's the case of Adrian McDonald who died in horrific circumstances in Stoke last year

Community/public response are all full of fury in the first weeks and by the end of the first month, everybody's moved on and forgotten about these horrific abuses, until it happens again, or it happens to someone they know.

Bottom line is, they are killing us with impunity because they do not fear or respect us. we are too weak and divided or more interested in killing each other. To obtain justice you must be either feared or respected, we are neither.

The majority of organisations we rely on are black organisations dependant on the state for funding from the Home Office or from local authorities. To many charities see fighting racism as "too political" and therefore conduct discrimination research studies that prove what we already know, that racism is real. They get PHD's we get nothing.

They're fearful of building mass movements for justice and prefer to to 'study' the problem through academic research rather than empowering communities to confront power.

Truth is we, need to go back to the tradition of non violent direct human rights actions if we are to obtain equality and injustice.

In the 1980's and 90's when we suffered these attacks, we fought back. I remember the times when all police officers had to walk in pairs in black areas for fear of attack.

No police vehicles could be left unattended anywhere in our areas or it risked being vandalised, the keys would be stolen,  tires slashed and/or a pile of dog shit, emptied rubbish bins on the seat. Back then we had 'front lines' that were defended. These have all now been "gentrified" of course.

When things with police got heavy, we'd block of roads for days at a time, we'd organise what we'd call Blockorama street protest parties, and put sound sytems on the streets to warn the people. We'd surround the police station, we'd do something.

And of course we exploded with political fury in 1976, 1981, 1986. The focus of our attacks back then was the police not Argos, Yes they got done over, of course they did, but our main focus was the police.

We didn't seek to complain to the Police Complaints Authority, we knew they were a cover for corrupt cops, what we did do is physically fought back and kept the police in our areas on a permanent war footing.

Our mantra was "one punch will do" as young men, we use to practice that one punch all day long, that and sprint running, you had to be able to knock a man out, get away clean by knowing every nook and cranny in your ends.

Once we perfected our technique, the next time we met a racist policer officer with his golliwog or National Front badge hiding under his lapel, he'd get knocked out. Of course many of us went to jail in the backlash that inevitably came, but those sacrifices led to the abolishment of SUS laws and the other important concessions.

There can be no progress without sacrifice, its impossible and today we have forgotten what ts like to sacrifice for a bigger clause. Think of the first enslaved African who said "hell no" and walked of the plantation. That African choose to take the first blows for black freedom.

Today, we fight back with a tweet or a hashtag, we go on demonstrations to march hither and thither. we sign protest petitions, have a conference.

Let me be clear, for the avoidance of doubt, I'm not arguing for a return to a 'war footing', we dont have the neighbourhood solidarity or collective unity to do that today, and in any event such violence is ultimately futile.

We've been localised to post code wars between ourselves, so the strategies of yesterday year cannot work today and in any, event wanton violence is ultimately both self defeating and costly.  No... Im suggesting a return to the first stage of any effective struggle for justice, and one we haven't tried here in Britain, at least in any menaingfull way, with any degree of consistency or focus, and that is non violent direct action. #NVDA

Today's reality is that they know we don't have the stomach for that kind of action. In a strange way we have become more culturally British than black, in so far as we've adopted the quintessentially British attitude of "Im alright Jack. Every body for himself and no one else".

Imagine if one thousand of us set out to get arrested and filled up the police cells, crammed with people arrested for taking non violent direct action against police racism? We'd have the Government weak and the police begging for a cessation in an instant. One action such as this would be enough to push them back.

In the 70/80/90's we knew who the 'enemy' was. Our focus was racist police and whatever our beef personally, we would always unite in fighting the common enemy. Today police racism, although not as crude and in your face as smacking you in the mouth and calling you a nigger, in terms of both its scale and effects, police racism today is much, much worse.

Let me tell you why, the extent to which the growth of insidious police racism has become institutionalised, systemised and pervasive cannot be underestimated. The police are racially profiling and racially charging black people for crimes that whites receive a caution for, at ten times the rate of that they were doing back then.

Today the rate of criminalisation of our people has reached industrial and epidemic proportions.

Most of our many black churches stay silent. The Pastors say "leave all judgement to God" close the church doors and take care only of their bank accounts and their sheep like congregations.

The failure of parenting and leadership. means many of our young people are consumed with self hate and murderous intent for each other, Family breakdown comes as a direct result of the highest long term unemployment rates in Europe, massive increase in real poverty, huge levels of education failure and school exclusions, then add to that the illicit drugs economy, c criminal violence, systemised and pervasive police and judicial racism, and you can see why our communities have become so criminalised, so fragmented and so disempowered.

Ethical leadership in our community is rare, tokenism and sticking plaster solutions are everywhere preferred to actively challenging racism. Our people prefer to spend their money on other things rather than invest in building an independent civil rights movement capable of defending our communities. There are new organisations like the new social movement Blaksox alongside others that are carving out a new course for the struggle for race equality in the 21st Century. They strive hard to provide the critical elements of a British black renaissance, financial independence, accountable, transparent and ethical leadership

We have to step up our struggle and learn to do things differently. We need to break out the old 'protest paradigm' and think in terms of economic indpendance, mass non violent protests and the development of a legal strategy that challenges racism in the courts and on the streets. Sound familiar?

These two strategies were developed during the US civil rights movement led by Dr King. They are the most effective strategies of politcal empowerment of the disenfranchised, employed by any African diaspora anywhere in the Western world.

Today, the sad truth is that any people who will not learn from their history are doomed to repeat it.

The recent surge in black men dying in police custody is the final signal that black people in Britain are neither feared no respected. Time to talk truth to power and stop being afraid. Our children's future is at stake.

How the police are 'policing' the Internet and shutting down black critics of institutionalised police racism, racial profiling and police brutality. My story....

 

Over the last two weeks, I've been tweeting questions around the arrest and subsequent death of Mr. Rashan Charles, a 20-year-old black who died after being violently restrained by a Territorial Support Group officer (TSG also sometimes referred to in the job as the Thick and Stupid Group) in Dalston, London.

There are several concerning aspects to this case, and its generated huge public concern across London, particular among London's black and ethnic minority communities.

Expressing concern and challenging the IPCC to ensure the fullest and frankest disclosure, a complaint echoed by the family, I thought it was absolutely vital, that there was no delay, in providing detailed information as to the precise circumstances surrounding Mr. Charles arrest. Some 17 days later, we still do not know what the officers account tells us about the tragic death of Mr Charles, the legal basis for his pursuit and restraint, and the rationale for stopping a vehicle, in which Mr Charles was simply a passenger.

With the news that the package, found in Mr Charles throat was not drugs and clear operational policing guidance, that suggests anyone suspected of "swallowing" legal substances, should be treated as a medical emergency, first and formost. Former Black Chief Superintendent Leroy Logan MBE was very clear in his analysis of what was required from officers on the day of Mr Charles's death. Naturally, I took to Twitter to raise issues of public concern and to support the family of Mr Charles, in an effort to get to the truth of what happened.

I've been one of the most active, British black community activists/commentators, online for a number of years.  a former Policing Director of London and a Senior Political Adviser to the former Mayor, and one of the leading advocates for policing reform in relation to antiracist policing practice throughout that time.

And as a result, I'm used to the vitriol of anonymous online trolls, whose entire existence is to provoke, gratuitously insulted and to attack.

They are the attack dogs of the alt-right and will single out, leading black people in public life, for the most vicious racism, sexism you have ever seen. 

People like Diane Abbott MP, Shadow Home Secretary,  young black people such as Cambridge student Jason Osamede Okundaye, and many more are subjected to horrendous online attacks and commentary. Anyone who its felt a threat is targeted for some action by these people. The result is black people who feel "intimidated" to speak out against racism. For me this means speaking out more, not less. As racism in Britain increases, so we must be much more vigilant in opposing its growth. 

As a consequence of raising issues around Mr Charles's, arrest I became a victim of a co-ordinated, high-tech lynching led by one Sgt Harry Trevithick Tangye 13908, a police sergeant in the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary and currently stationed at Exeter Armed Response Unit at Middlemoor, Exeter.

My contention was that the IPCC were lying to the public, that the arrest itself made no sense, had no legal basis and was disproportionately violent, in every respect. The video is clear and most people take an objective view can see no reason why Mr Charles to be subjected to overwhelming brute force. Lots of current and retired police officers were summoned by Sgt Harry Trevithick Tangye to provide backup.

The IPCC claimed that they have all the detailed officer statements and yet failed to inform Londoners as to the most basic of information, why was Mr Charles the subject of police interventions?

It can't be that hard to tell us, which policing powers were relied on to affect this "stop" I believe, that such information should be made available immediately. There can only be two reasons why this information is not published; the first is that the officer concerned has not been subject to a detailed interview where he gives his account

Such a delay, would be totally unacceptable if it were to become public news; secondly the expressed  legal basis for the stop doesn't meet, the requirements of PACE. 

As a result, and after me consistently pointing out these and other salient issues, complaints were organised/generated by this police officer, alleging I had sent abusive tweets, and that I was "inciting" hatred. Many officers called for my arrest, and some even made official complaints to the police, claiming that I was "inciting racial hatred against the police."  This resulted in Twitter placing temporary restrictions on my account, without warning. And whilst mildly annoying, it does point to the extent to which racism on MSN is supported by, and sometimes facilitated by the discriminatory application of Twitter rules. 

Genuine voices of criticism of policing operations, cannot be subject to high-tech media lynchings, as a result of challenging police racism. It is outrageous, that retired and current police officers, were corralled by this Sgt and rallied to drive critics from MSM because they don't like, cannot handle trenchant criticism, of their own institutionalised racist practices. This is London not North Korea. 

One has to wonder how that happens in a democracy, that such political acts of censorship, informed by a policing "canteen culture" can be mobilised to shut down anybody they disagree with.

What I was actually doing, something I've done consistently over 30 years, and that is, pushing the authorities for the truth, and we know as London's black communities, that the use of force by police when arresting black people is routine. Figures produced by the Metropolitan police service, backup that reality, demonstrating that black and minority communities, whilst making up only 14% of London's population, accounted for 36% of all uses of force by the police.

This underpins, and gives credence to the view within black communities that the culture of institutionalized racism, within the police service is at its highest ever level, since the publication of Stephen Lawrence report in 1999. Back then, police, stop and search rates were around one hundred thousand plus a year,  in the capital today the stop and search rate has risen by over 300% . 

In 2013/14, a total of 332,036 recorded stop and accounts where carried out across the force.The police conducted 171,504 stop and searches under PACE Section 1 across the area covered by Metropolitan Police. (Stopwatch)

This was a reduction of 41% from the previous year. However, despite promises made by the former Commissioner Bernard Hogan Howe to reduce racial profiling the graph below shows that in fact, stop and search rates began to rise in November 2016 and are continuing to increase to this day, and with the recent  appointment of new Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, stop and searches and are back on the rise as can be seen from the graph below.

Stop and Search is rising in London. 

As you can see, racial disproportionately continues to rise year-on-year.  Recent reports published in the Telegraph demonstrate that racism within the police service is getting worse, not better.

And as can be seen from this article, discussing this officers police force, Devon and Cornwall constabulary has a bigger problem, than most, when it comes to racist police officers.

Black NFA's are the largest of any ethnic group.

HMIC finding that it only records around 82 per cent of reported offences.  And we have all heard of the terrible race hate attacks which see, Polish, gypsies and travellers and black people in that area, subject to the most horrific racial harassment.

What's also worrying, is the extent to which this officer seems to support racial profiling. As you can see below he asked the on line twitter polling question "Do you think there is a place stereotyping people in society?"  



Clearly this officer is convinced, that racial and ethnic stereotypes are useful perspectives in the policing of modern Britain.

Stereotyping is dangerous especially wheat comes to black people/

You will note that nowhere on the comments, that follow, does the sergeant seek to contest the  dangerous conclusion in anyway. This officer also has active YouTube channel where he posted videos of himself driving a police car at 140 mph, and being forced to issue a statement reassuring the public after many expressed concern and horror. The story was so concerning it was covered by the BBC.  

Even the BBC picked up on this officer publishing this article on the 6th August .

In addition to this, there is this officer’s gun totting persona. He seems to revel in the hype, and portrays himself as a ”John Wayne” kind of cop. When you analyse his MSM feeds, you find am arrogant, narcissistic, "gung ho" officer. Take for example this picture  below on his wordpress blog account.

All action hero, this one. Looks like a Hollywood movie. 

In any event, I intend to step up the forensic analysis of disproportionality within the Metropolitan Police Service. As we head towards Notting Hill Carnival, against the backdrop of Grenfell and the growing number of black deaths in police custody, I would have thought the police are other priorities, than trying to police online criticism.

All though stop and search is reducing, ethnic disproportionally is rising every year. 

This represents a new and dangerous precedent of online racial harassment, that Twitter is, happy to colluded with. These white police officers (and officers targeting me are 99.9% white) and that Titter would be so easily convinced, really doesn't surprise me, because I've long held the view that Twitter doesn't understand racism. It shares the same white privilege perspective that seeks to demonise and isolate those who challenge racism.

In the end, we will have to ensure that the same strategy that they have employed is replicated amongst black community activists, to defend leading black public figures and others who can quickly find themselves the object of such online racial harassment and hatred.

Harry and his mates, defending police racism and targeting black activists

Loving these headlines Harry. Hilarious.

Now even his own are beginning to recognise his "Dirty Harry like persona." 

"Detective Superintendent Darren Rawlings, force development programme manager for efficiency at Hampshire Constabulary, replied to Sgt Tangye, saying: 

"Why show this? Is it really necessary? Very naïve tweet. 140mph to a break in progress…"

Oh and by the way Harry, Im also now being contacted by police officers who you've attempted to bully and intimidate in the past. Somebody tweet him let him know he's made my day. 


NB: Twitter restricted my account for seven days. No RT's, no likes, no comments. All I can do is send direct messages, Literally five minutes after this post went up today they stopped me sending DM's 

Postscript...

Still waiting a response from Speedy Harry.