Feel free to add to this as inevitable examples of police corruption / lies / brutality / incompetence come up on an almost daily basis.
Exhibit 1:
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/...an-rigg-8619815.html
IPCC to re-examine custody death of Sean Rigg
Police officers who used “unsuitable force” to restrain a schizophrenic man who died in custody face further scrutiny after a review criticised the police watchdog for failures in its initial investigation.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) will re-examine whether the five officers involved in the arrest and detention of Sean Rigg, a 40-year-old musician who died shortly after being arrested, five years ago, were guilty of misconduct. Its initial investigation, which found that “officers adhered to policy and good practice”, was criticised for a number of shortfalls in a review published today.
Rigg, who lived in south London, was arrested in 2008 for assaulting a police officer, public disorder and theft of a passport, which turned out to be his own. He died in Brixton Police Station of a cardiac arrest.
The review was set up by the IPCC after an inquest jury ruled that officers had used “unsuitable force” to restrain Rigg and found that the eight minutes he was held down in the prone position “more than minimally” contributed to his death. Officers were accused of lying to the jury to “cover up” their mistakes.
This is an interesting one because the so-called Independent Police Complaints Commission also can't be trusted:
www.london24.com/news/police_watchdog_cr...estigation_1_2198434
An independent review has criticised the way the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) handled an inquiry into the death of a man in custody.
Mr Rigg had been held in a prone position for eight minutes, and had been handcuffed with his hands behind his back from the time he was apprehended. His handcuffs were only removed after he collapsed.
Today an independent report into the IPCC’s handling of the case found the police watchdog had failed to robustly examine all the evidence. It also recommended further investigation into the care given to Mr Rigg when he arrived at Brixton Police Station, and said the IPCC should reexamine whether there was potential misconduct in respect of the actions of the police officers involved in Mr Rigg’s arrest and detention.
The IPCC has accepted the findings in the review, and Mr Rigg’s family has welcomed the report.
Dr Silvia Casale, who put together the independent review with James Lewis QC and Martin Corfe, said: “We found that the IPCC investigation and report concerning the tragic death in custody of Sean Rigg in 2008 should have been more robust, in particular as regards its pursuit of lines of inquiry and critical analysis of the evidence. Our recommendations focus on what can be learnt from that case for future investigations into deaths in custody.
“We welcome in particular the significant changes underway and the developments in the pipeline, in terms of the IPCC’s management of cases and methods of investigating and reporting. These improvements will help the IPCC to fulfil its important and complex mandate: to ensure that the UK meets its obligations to protect the right to life and to prevent deaths in custody.”
The review also criticised the way the IPCC had failed to robustly examine CCTV evidence the amount of time Mr Rigg was restrained in the prone position, and the support the IPCC gave to Mr Rigg’s family.
Mr Rigg’s oldest sister Marcia Rigg, speaking on behalf of the Rigg family said: “My family sincerely welcomes this unprecedented thorough review of the IPCC’s original investigation into the death of our beloved Sean, and the true and honest findings and recommendations of the review.
“We also welcome the IPCC’s acceptance of the failures in its investigation, its wholehearted apologies to us for those failures and its promise to take action on the recommendations, including to re-examine any potential police misconduct.
“It is the family’s strong opinion that possible criminal offences should also be considered afresh and we will be discussing that soon with the Commissioner now overseeing this case, Mary Cunneen.
“It has been a pleasant surprise for us to see that the IPCC accepts the need to put its house in order for the betterment of all future investigations into deaths in police custody. The Rigg family respectfully insist that all such investigations must be robust, fearless, transparent and properly effective. If the review’s recommendations are fully implemented, this can only improve public confidence in the IPCC, which society does need to fulfil its purpose. But the police and the police federation need to sit up and take notice of this Report – they need to put their houses in order rather than obstructing the IPCC in its statutory role.
“Almost five years after Sean’s unnecessary death, my family’s pursuit of justice and our dignified determination to arrive at a truly clear picture of what happened to Sean on August 21 2008, has hopefully contributed to real and positive change into the way the IPCC and all key agencies should fulfil their obligations, by law, into a death in custody so that no other family should ever have to endure the pain, grief and anger we and other families have endured.
“We look forward to seeing the IPCC’s action plan in the coming months and working with Mary Cunneen and Catherine Hall on their review of Sean’s death in the coming weeks and months.”
Dame Anne Owers, chair of the IPCC, said: “The Rigg family has demonstrated determination and dignity over a long period of time. Above all they have been committed to getting answers about the circumstances of Sean’s tragic death. I am conscious that the shortcomings identified in this review, and the length of time it has taken to get to this stage, have added to the distress and grief of the Rigg family and I have apologised to them for this. I hope it will be of some comfort that they have helped shape our work in future and our approach to bereaved families like theirs.
“I would like to thank Dr Casale and her team for the valuable work they have done. Their review has produced telling and important findings which the IPCC has accepted. We are already taking a critical look at the way we investigate deaths in general, and this specific review, and the lessons to be learnt from it, will play an important part in the way that we develop and change our approach.”
Key findings
The independent review made a number of recommendations to the IPCC about procedures in general in cases involving a death. It recommended:
•Independently investigating all deaths in custody at the outset;
•Interviewing officers and staff involved as early as possible with transcripts produced of interviews in which officers’ accounts are probed;
•Ensuring IPCC Commissioners take a proactive role during investigations;
•Taking a multi-disciplinary approach both internally and externally;
•Exploring the use of non-police experts in areas such as mental health, restraint and CCTV;
•Taking a more analytical approach in investigation reports;
•Taking a broader approach in deaths investigations rather than focusing just on criminality or misconduct;
•Providing better support to bereaved families.
