United4Justice: Affected families speak out

adapted from original article by Harmit Athwal of IRR
22nd May 2010 (see footnote)

Families and campaigners gathered in Leicester to pay tribute to those that had died in custody.

At a meeting and event organised by the 4WardEver UK Campaign in association with the Friends of Mikey Powell Campaign for Justice, Habib Ullah Campaign and the Leicester Civil Rights Movement, there was no mistaking the serious issues being addressed.

See Picture Gallery >

Banners and posters of dead loved ones adorned the walls and stage, the hall was crowded with stalls of books and DVDs and information on families and organisations campaigning on deaths in custody, films were shown and family members and campaigners gave speeches. And, in a grand finale to the evening, entertainment was provided by Yaz Alexander, Lennox Carty, The Trooperz, Genesis Elijah and The Broombusters – which went down a storm.

The day marked what would have been the forty-fifth birthday of Mikey Powell, who died in September 2003 after being detained by police in Birmingham. Mikey, who was suffering from mental health problems, was knocked down by a police car, restrained with batons and CS spray and taken to Thornhill Road police station where he was found not to be breathing. In November 2009, an inquest jury found that Mikey died as a result of the position the police officers had placed him in the van.

Read full article >

How the police killed Mikey Powell

from The Tribune
27th March 2010

A family of a black man who lost his life in police custody are campaigning to make sure that no one else has to suffer the six years of hell that they have endured trying to hold a local police authority to account.

The family of Mikey Powell have worked with the coroner to produce a list of actions they believe should be circulated to police and health authorities throughout the West Midlands and the whole country so that any restraint during arrest is appropriate, and officers give proper regard to family members and friends who may hold vital information about a person’s medical condition. They also want to ensure that people with potential mental health problems are taken to a hospital rather than a police station for the correct supervision.

Powell died after being detained by West Midlands Police on September 7 2003. He was 38, had three children and worked as a team leader in a local metal factory. At the time of his death, he was living with his mother in the Lozells area of Birmingham. He had been unwell and, while suffering a mental ill-health episode brought on by a bout of depression, he smashed a window at their home. His mother called the police for help, assuming they would take him to hospital.

Read full report >

Attend the remembrance event!
Click here >