DEATH IN CUSTODY FAMILIES TAKE DEMANDS TO PARLIAMENT

Sent to Occupy Groupspaces  22/10/2012

PRESS RELEASE 22nd October 2012 –  No Embargo

DEATH IN CUSTODY FAMILIES TAKE DEMANDS TO  PARLIAMENT

SCREENING & PRESS CONFERENCE

11.00am Friday 26th October 2012

Room W1, Off Westminster Hall, House of Commons, SW1A 0AA

The United Families & Friends Campaign (UFFC) is a coalition of
families and friends of those that have died in the custody of police
and prison officers as well as those who died in psychiatric and
immigration detention. We would like to invite you to a film screening
& press conference in advance of our national demonstration that will
take place the following day, details are below.

The screening of excerpts from the hard-hitting film ‘Who Policies The
Police?’ (52minutes/2012), which critically assesses the performance
of the Independent Police Complaints Commission into investigating
custodial deaths, will be followed by statements and a Q&A session by
the families of a number of death in custody cases including Sean
Rigg, Mark Duggan, Mikey Powell, Olaseni Lewis, David Emmanuel (aka
Smiley Culture) and Roger Sylvester.

The event will be an opportunity to find out the current position of
families in relation to the existing investigative and judicial
framework around custodial deaths. It is of crucial importance that
those who have been directly impacted by custodial deaths have the
opportunity to express their views in the political arena and we hope
that you will join us in this event.

Notes to editors:

UFFC is run directly by families of those that have died in state
custody. Since 1999 we have organised the Annual Remembrance
Procession, this will be the 14th year. We march from Trafalgar Square
to Downing Street where we present our demands to the Prime Minster.
This will take place on Saturday 27th October at 12.30.

Our Demands:

Replacement of the IPCC to ensure open robust transparent and thorough
investigations from the very outset of police deaths in custody – with
a removal of all ex-police officers for it to be a truly independent
body.

The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman should be placed on a statutory footing.

Deaths in psychiatric detention and / or of those detained under the
Mental Health Act, must be subject to a system of properly funded
investigation that is completely independent of the Health Service.

Officers and officials directly involved in custody deaths are
suspended until investigations are completed.

Immediate interviewing of officers and all officials concerned with the death.

Officers and officials should never be allowed to collude over their
evidence and statements of fact.

Full and prompt disclosure of information to the families affected.

Prosecutions should automatically follow ‘unlawful killing’ verdicts
at Inquests and officers responsible for those deaths should face
criminal charges, even if retired.

National implementation of police body cameras and cameras in all
police vehicles in the interests of both the officers and the public.

There should be an automatic right to non means tested legal aid for
families. There is a lack of funds for family legal representation at
Inquests whilst officers and NHS staff get full legal representation
from the public purse – this is unbalanced.

Email: contactuffc@gmail.com
Telephone: 07770 432 439

Posted by Dan Ashman on Oct 22 2012. Filed under Breaking News, Community News, Community Power, Community Submitted News, Events, Human Rights, Latest News, Occupy Law, Police, Police Brutality, Police Corruption, Politics, Protests. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry