United4Justice: Affected families speak out

The audience listensadapted 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 Campaign UK 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.

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How the police killed Mikey Powell

Mikey Powellfrom 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.

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Inquests fail to restrain the police

Police Officers On Dutyfrom the Mikey Powell Campaign
9th January 2010

The following is the full unedited version of an article written by Simon Hattenstone.

Simon Hattenstone is a writer for the Guardian, and the following article has been produced on this site with his consent.

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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.

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