Sean Rigg Memorial 2012 – Brixton
Sean Rigg, a 40-year-old black musician and music producer was assaulted and arrested by police on August twenty first 2008 and brought to Brixton Police Station the place he died because of police violence.
Wikipedia fills in some particulars about what occurred. Police had been referred to as to Rigg, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and had develop into “uncooperative and aggressive” in his hostel earlier within the day however they turned down 5 999 telephone requests from hostel employees asking for pressing help. They solely ultimately turned up after various calls from members of the general public about his “unusual behaviour” on the road exterior.
4 officers arrived, chased and handcuffed him, then restrained him face down, leaning on him for 8 minutes, earlier than putting him “face-down along with his legs bent behind him within the caged rear part of a police van” and driving to Brixton Police Station, the place he was stored locked within the van unmonitored for an additional 10 minutes earlier than, by then “extraordinarily unwell and never totally aware” he was taken into the police station.
It took 25 minutes for police to name their health worker to look at him, and the custody sergeant advised the physician he was “feigning unconsciousness.” Ten minutes later the physician discovered his coronary heart had stopped and he was not respiration. CPR did not revive him however he was solely formally pronounced useless after being taken to a close-by hospital.
This was the beginning of a right away and sustained effort of lies and obfuscation by the law enforcement officials concerned, the Metropolitan Police, the Unbiased Police Complaints Fee, the Crown Prosecution Service and even courts to cowl up what had truly occurred and shield the law enforcement officials who killed Sean Rigg.
And the story would have ended there, however for the extremely decided efforts of his household to uncover the reality. The Sean Rigg Justice & Change Marketing campaign was arrange, led by his sisters Marcia Rigg-Samuel and Samantha Rigg-David and supported by the remainder of the household. Considered one of many family-led campaigns which togther make up the United Households and Mates Marketing campaign, it additionally acquired assist from different organisations together with Inquest and Black Psychological Well being UK and has slowly managed to deliver the lots of the details out into the open.
4 years later, on August twenty first 2012 I used to be in a full Meeting Corridor inside Lambeth City Corridor for the Sean Rigg Memorial the place various audio system together with Sean Rigg’s sisters gave particulars that they had managed to uncover of his demise, the deceptive press releases from the police and their makes an attempt to cowl up and the overall failure of the IPCC to hold out a correct investigation. On the finish of the assembly the 50 minute movie ‘Who Polices the Police’ directed by Ken Fero of Migrant Media was proven.
Audio system additionally talked about different circumstances of suspicious deaths in police custody the place once more there was no correct investigation – and no police officer has ever been discovered accountable.
Mona Donle spoke about an incident she had witnessed two days earlier throughout the highway in Windrush Sq., the place police arrested one other man who was clearly disturbed and appearing unpredictably. One officer choked the person by holding his forearm throughout his throat, then one other officer stamped on him. The foot was on his face when he handed out and other people stored telling the police to name an ambulance. One other witness to the occasion advised me it was round twenty minutes earlier than the person got here spherical – and he nonetheless had the clear impression of the boot throughout his face. The police document of the incident made no point out of any violence and prompt the ambulance got here ‘roughly’ 5 minutes after the arrest.
The inquest into Sean Rigg’s demise had introduced out some extra of the main points, and its verdict 3 weeks earlier had ‘concluded that the police had used “unsuitable and pointless pressure” on Rigg, that officers did not uphold his fundamental rights and that the failings of the police “greater than minimally” contributed to his demise‘.
Three law enforcement officials had clearly dedicated perjury of their proof to the inquest and have been arrested in 2013. One was cleared by the IPCC and in 2014 the Crown Prosecution Service introduced it might not deliver legal fees regardless of what appeared to most individuals compelling proof. Later the Rigg household marketing campaign compelled the CPS to assessment that call and one officer was charged, and the case was introduced. Inexplicably the jury determined to acquit him.
The inquest verdict additionally led to the organising of an exterior assessment of the IPCC investigation, which gave an especially damning verdict on there whole failure to correctly examine the occasions. It and different investigations into the IPCC led to this being changed in 2018 by the Unbiased Workplace for Police Conduct. It can shock no-one if that can be changed in a number of years time.
After the memorial assembly round 200 of these current marched behind the Sean Rigg Marketing campaign banner from the city corridor to Brixton Police Station, the place flowers have been laid on the memorial tree exterior, candles lit and a minute’s silence held for Sean Rigg and different victims of police violence.
Samantha Rigg and Mona Donle then took a proper grievance into the police station concerning the police assault two days earlier and have been adopted in by a crowd, packing out the small foyer. Police made a replica of the grievance and gave them a signed and dated copy. They requested to see the officer in cost, and after a couple of minutes he got here to a aspect door and answered what questions he may concerning the arrest.
There nonetheless, 14 years on from his demise, regardless of the massive struggle by his household, has been no justice over the demise of Sean RIgg. Nor for the households of others who’ve died in police custody, prisons and many others.
No Justice, No Peace.
Tags: Brixton, Brixton Police Station, CPS, formal compalint, IPCC, Lambeth, Lambeth City Corridor, London, march, Marcia Rigg, Marcia Rigg-Samuel, memorial tree, Mona Donle, no justice, no peace, perjury, peter Marshall, police, Samantha Rigg-David, Sean Rigg, silence, Who Polices the Police
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