3 February 201015 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Vancouver police criticized for deaths

originally published by: rabble.ca
27th January 2010

Police-led investigations of deaths that occur in police custody are inherently flawed, with normal procedures thrown out the window, punitive actions rarely being taken, and officers existing “above the law.”

That’s according to a panel of experts organized by the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA), who at a Vancouver forum last Thursday called for immediate reform by replacing police-lead investigations with civilian teams.

Change is most desperately needed in British Columbia, panel members say, where a number of civilian deaths in police custody have prompted public outcry. In all of these cases, no officers have been charged, with some only facing a few days suspended leave as punishment.

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9 January 201015 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Inquests fail to restrain the police

from the Mikey Powell Campaign
published: 9th January 2010

The following is the full unedited version of an article written by Simon Hattenstone. Simon is a features writer for the Guardian, and this article has been reproduced with his consent.

See version published on The Guardian website >
(originally published: 27th December 2009)

Last Friday an inquest reached a shocking conclusion, though you’d be hard pressed to have heard about it. In a damning narrative verdict, the jury concluded that Mikey Powell had died from positional asphyxia following police restraint.

8 January 201015 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Police criticised over cocaine custody death

originally published: 7th January 2010
all credits: The Independent

Police did not implement procedures “appropriately” when they dealt with a man who had a wrap of cocaine in his mouth, an inquest concluded today.

Jason McPherson, 25, of East Acton, west London, died after collapsing at a police station after being taken in to be searched on January 18, 2007.

He had put a packet of the drug in his mouth, which led to a struggle with officers at Notting Hill station, the inquest at the Royal Courts of Justice heard. He died in hospital later.

The jury of 11 took five hours to return a narrative verdict on Mr McPherson’s death.