Sunday, March 17, 2013
Black deaths in custody (UK)
http://www.irr.org.uk/news/black-deaths-in-custody/
Written by Harmit Athwal
Deaths in police, prison and psychiatric custody since 1978. We list below those deaths of black and minority ethnic individuals which have taken place in prison, police or hospital custody and which have given rise to concern because of unexplained or mysterious circumstances surrounding those deaths and / or allegations of maltreatment, dereliction of duty or brutality.
Each entry in this list contains the following details: Name, Age, Date of death, Category code , Circumstances surrounding death, Inquest verdict. Catgeory codes: Po: Police; Pr: Prisons, Young Offenders Institutes, Remand Centres; Ps: Psychiatric Hospitals.
Michael Ferreira, 19, 10/12/78, Po, Died in Stoke Newington police station after being stabbed in a racist attack, Inquest verdict unknown
S. Singh Grewal, 40, 02/08/79, Po, Died in Southall police station, Inquest verdict unknown
Henry Floyd, 26, 23/08/79, Po, Found hanged in cell of West End Central police station, Suicide
John Eshiett, 26, 24/10/79, Pr, Died in Brixton prison while awaiting trial, Inquest verdict unknown
Richard Campbell, 19, 31/03/80, Pr, Died of de-hydration after being force fed and large quantities of drugs in Ashford remand centre, Death by self neglect because of inadequate medical facilities
Leroy Gordon, 20, August 80, Po, Died in Pershore police station after crowd suspecting him of robbery-sat on him, Asphyxiation due to compression of the neck
Winston Rose, 27, 13/07/81, Po, Died in police van after being restrained by police officers taking him to psychiatric hospital, Unlawful killing at the hands of the police
Shohik Meah, 43, 06/11/81, Po, Died in Thornhill Road police station – Birmingham, Inquest verdict unknown
Paul Worrell, 21, 12/01/82, Pr, A suicide risk; was found hanged in Brixton prison after obtaining the materials to kill himself, Open verdict
Changa Singh, 60, 25/03/82, Po, Died of alcoholic poisoning in Cathay Park police station, Misadventure
Franklyn Lee, 20, September 1982, Po, According to the police died of injuries sustained during a burglary, Inquest verdict unknown
Simeon Collins, 17, 10/12/82, Po, Died of acute injuries to liver and spleen day after being arrested by City Road police, Accidental death
Colin Roach, Age unknown, 12/01/83, Po, Died of gunshot wound sustained while he was in Stoke Newington police station, Suicide
James Ruddock, 44, 14/02/83, Po, Died after being denied treatment for diabetes and sickle cell for 12 hours in Kensington police station, Natural causes attributed to self neglect
Nicholas Ofusu, 31, 06/05/83, Po, Death by misadventure
Mathew Paul, 19, 06/05/83, Po, Found hanged in Leman Street police station, Suicide due to lack of care
Leslie George Singh, Age unknown, 06/12/83, Pr, Fell from 4th floor of Hammersmith hospital after being transferred from Wormwood Scrubs, Inquest verdict unknown
Michael Dean Martin, Age unknown, 06/07/84, ?, ?, Accidental death aggravated by lack of care
Curtis Marsh, 27, 21/10/84, Pr, A suicide risk who hanged himself inside Brixton prison, Suicide
Chittaranjan Joshi, Age unknown, 02/01/85, Pr, Found hanged in his cell while on remand in Pentonville, Suicide
Harold Roberts, Age unknown, 11/03/85, Ps, Suicide
James Hall, Age unknown, 30/03/85, Po, Inquest verdict unknown
John Mikkelson, 34, 15/07/85, Po, Unlawful killing; after police appeal verdict changed to death by misadventure
Cynthia Jarrett, Age unknown, 06/10/85, Po, Accidental death
Keith Hicks, 34, 1986, Pr, A schizophrenic epileptic who died in Brixton prison, Misadventure
Anthony Lloyd Powell, 18, February 1986, Ps, A schizophrenic, died after being given an injection of modecate, Open verdict
Stephen Bogle, 27, 12/08/86, Po, Natural causes aggravated by lack of care
Donald Chambers, 29, 11/09/86, Ps, Death by misadventure
Anwar Kureshi, Age unknown, 06/10/86, Pr, An obvious suicide risk – managed to hang himself in Brixton prison while on remand, Suicide
Caiphas Lemard, Age unknown, 08/10/86, Po, Non-dependent drug abuse aggravated by lack of care
Akhtar Moghul, 47, 27/01/87, Pr, Died in Holloway prison while on remand – spoke no English and was allegedly denied medical treatment for a heart condition, Natural causes aggravated by lack of care
Clinton McCurbin, Age unknown, 20/02/87, Po, Death by misadventure
Ahmed Katangole, 24, 23/03/87, Pr, A suicide risk was found hanged in his cell at Pentonville, Suicide aggravated by official indifference and lack of care
Jasbir Singh Rai, 32, 23/04/87, Pr, Found hanged in Wakefield prison, Inquest verdict unknown
Nenneh Jalloh, Age unknown, 24/04/87, Po, Death by misadventure
Mohammed Parkit, 50, 01/05/87, Po, Open verdict
Anachu Osita, 28, 18/05/87, Pr, Natural causes aggravated by lack of care
Tunay Hassan, 25, 26/06/87, Po, Drug dependency aggravated by lack of care
John Ryan, 24, July 1987, Pr, Died in Winson Green hospital, 3 days after being admitted suffering from dehydration, had been seen drinking his own urine, Death by lack of care
Terence Brown, 35, August 1987, Ps, Open verdict
Anthony Mahony, 24, 19/08/87, Pr, Died almost naked in a strip cell in Brixton prison; had a history of mental illness, Natural causes aggravated by lack of care
Mark Ventour, Age unknown, 24/09/87, Po, Asphyxia caused by chewing gum in throat
Joseph Palombella, 40, October 1987, Po, Inquest verdict unknown
Femi Adelaja, 36, February 19, Pr, Died of a heart condition in a cell at Old Bailey; was denied treatment for sarcoidosis of the heart, Inquest verdict unknown
Samuel Carew, 22, 05/02/88, Pr, Killed himself in Brixton prison’s hospital wing, Suicide
Armando Belonia, Age unknown, 16/03/88, Pr, Died of pneumonia in locked hospital wing of
Wandsworth prison, Natural causes aggravated by lack of care
Bahader Singh, 26, 13/05/88, Pr, Died in India hours after leaving Barlinnie jail where he had suffered physical and racial abuse, Inquest verdict unknown
Oakley Ramsey, 25, June 1988, Po, Inquest verdict unknown
Kelroy Briscoe, 32, 20/06/88, Pr, Hanged himself in Wormwood Scrubs, Inquest verdict unknown
Joseph Watts, 30, 23/08/88, Ps, Accidental death
Derek Buchanan, 19, 04/09/88, Po, Drowning
Sajjan Atwal, 36, 04/09/88, Pr, Hanged himself in Winson Green; was a suicide risk and had made other attempts on his life, Lack of care – verdict was quashed and a new verdict recorded of suicide due to lack of care
Martin Richmond, 30, 04/12/88, Pr, Found hanged in Brixton prison, Open verdict
Wayne Tombison, Age unknown, December 88, Pr, Found hanged in Wandsworth prison, Inquest verdict unknown
David ‘Duke’ Daley, 44, February 1989, Po, Open verdict
Nicholas Bramble, 17, March 1989, Po, Accidental death
Vincent Graham, 40, July 1989, Po, Inquest verdict unknown
Jamie Stewart, 22, 02/07/89, Po, Death by misadventure due to excessive overdose of cocaine
Edwin Carr, 39, 12/07/89, Po, Inquest verdict unknown
Mr Romany, Age unknown, October 1989, Pr, Found dead in Chanings Wood prison; other prisoners said his screaming for a day and a night had been ignored, Inquest verdict unknown
Siho Iyugiven, 27, 05/10/89, Pr, Kurdish asylum seeker set himself alight in Harmondsworth detention centre after being refused asylum, Misadventure
Germain Alexander, Age unknown, 06/12/89, Pr, Died after being removed to strip cell in Brixton; had bruising all over his body, Natural causes aggravated by lack of care
Kimpua Nsimba, 24, 15/06/90, Pr, Zairean asylum-seeker found hanged in Harmondsworth detention centre; no-one had spoken to him in over 4 days, Suicide
Oliver Pryce, 30, 24/07/90, Po, Unlawful killing
Aslam Khan, 29, 12/10/90, Pr, Hanged himself while on remand in Brixton, Inquest verdict unknown
Edwin Robinson, 28, 30/11/90, Pr, A suicide risk with a psychotic illness hanged himself in Brixton prison, Killed himself because of lack of care
Delroy McKnight, 29, 19/01/91, Pr, Cut his own throat with glass from cell window and bled to death in Wandsworth prison, Killed himself while the balance of his mind was disturbed and death was contributed to by lack of care
Vandana Patel, 21, 29/04/91, Po, Died after being stabbed in DVU in Stoke Newington police station, Inquest verdict unknown
Kwaku Ohene, 30, 13/06/91, Pr, Had mental problems and committed suicide in hospital wing of Swaleside, Death aggravated by lack of care
Ian Gordon, 24, 12/08/91, Po, Psychiatric patient shot dead by Telford police, Lawful killing
Orville Blackwood, 31, 28/08/91, Ps, Died after being given injection of ‘calming’ drugs in secure unit at Broadmoor, Accidental death; on appeal to High Court by Orville’s family, verdict quashed and a verdict of accidental death recorded again
Omasase Lumumba, 32, 08/10/91, Pr, Died of a ‘heart attack’ while being ‘controlled and restrained’ by 6 guards in Pentonville, Unlawfully killed using improper methods and excessive force in the process of control and restraint
Arthur Allison, 50, 1992, Po, Died four days after being arrested by Leicester police, Inquest verdict unknown
Melita Crawford, 24, 03/01/92, Pr, Had mental problems and was found dead while on remand at Risley, Misadventure
Mark Fletcher, 21, 08/01/92, Ps, Detained under the Mental Health act and died in All Saints psychiatric hospital after being given an injection in his spine, Cardiac arrest
Munir Yusef Mojothi, 26, June 1992, Ps, Died of overdose in Clifton hospital after being given 2 injections of droperidol, Lack of care
Jerome Scott, 27, 23/06/92, Ps, Collapsed and died on the way to hospital in a police van after being given two injections, Therapeutic misadventure
Errol Commock, 24, 03/07/92, Pr, A known suicide risk committed suicide in hospital wing of Winson Green, Suicide
James Segawa, 28, 28/08/92, Pr, HIV+ asylum-seeker died in Belmarsh after officials refused to believe he was ill, Inquest verdict unknown
Ian Francis, 28, 05/09/92, Pr, Died of blood poisoning twelve days after injuring himself at Send prison, Death by natural causes
Leon Patterson, 32, 21/11/92, Po, Died while on remand at Stockport police station, Unlawful killing verdict was overturned in 1994 and changed to ‘Misadventure to which neglect contributed’
Nadeem Younus, 21, 04/12/92, Pr, Died of an overdose in little Hay prison after obtaining paracetamol tablets from the hospital, Open verdict
Randhir Showpal, 43, 19/12/92, Po, Died in Norbury police station after being detained under the Mental Health Act, Misadventure
Warren Jones, 26, 01/01/93, Pr, Found hanged in Leicester prison, Suicide
Adejare Akinbiyi, 30, 10/03/93, Pr, Died after suffering a succession of severe asthma attacks in
Belmarsh, Accidental death brought about by lack of care
Turan Pekoz, 43, 16/03/93, Pr, Died after setting himself alight in Quest House immigration centre (Croydon), Misadventure
Joy Gardner, 40, 01/08/93, Po, Died after being arrested by ‘specialist’ officers from the Extradition Unit of the Met; was gagged with 13 feet of tape, Inquest adjourned till trial of officers involved, officers later acquitted
Rupert Marshall, 29, 30/01/94, Ps, Died in Horton psychiatric hospital after being injected with an anti-psychotic drug, Inquest verdict unknown
Kwanele Siziba, 27, 27/04/94, Po, Fell 150 feet to her death, attempting to flee what she believed were immigration officials, Misadventure
Carl Owens, 22, 31/05/94, Pr, Died while on remand of a methadone OD in segregation unit of Brixton prison, Misadventure
O. Akinbobola, 24, 26/06/94, Pr, Found hanged in cell at Woodhill prison; had protested innocence and had gone on hunger strike, Suicide
Mark Harris, 31, 10/07/94, Po, Found hanged after arrested by Bristol police officers, Open verdict
Jonathan Weekes, Age unknown, 10/08/94, Ps, Died in Chase Farm hospital, Natural causes – pneumonia
Shkander Singh, 37, 19/09/94, Po, Died in Stewart Street police station (Glasgow); Had been heard shouting and crying in cell but was ignored, Heart Failure
Norman Manning, 26, 29/09/94, Pr, Stabbed to death by inmates in Long Lartin prison in November 1997, 41-year-old Frederick Low was convicted of Norman’s murder
Joseph Nnalue, 31, 23/10/94, Po, Died after falling from balcony in flat in Stockwell – police and immigration officials wee calling at his flat at the time, Accidental death
Tyrone Wilson, 34, 18/11/94, Po, Died 18 days after police were called to his flat in Ipswich, Inquest verdict unknown
Oluwashiji Lapite, 34, 16/12/94, Po, Died during a struggle with police officers from Stoke Newington police station, Unlawful Killing. In June 1998 the CPS reaffirmed its decision not to prosecute the officers involved.
Mark Holness, 28, 14/01/95, Pr, Found hanged in his cell at Whitemoor prison, Inquest verdict unknown
Lungile Simelane, 27, 06/05/95, Pr, Found hanged in her cell at Holloway prison, Inquest verdict unknown
Brian Douglas, 33, 08/05/95, Po, Died 8 days after being restrained with new batons by Clapham police officers, Misadventure
Dajin George, 26, 05/06/95, Ps, A schizophrenic died after falling 15 floors from a flat in Leyton, was meant to be under supervision by hospital staff, Inquest verdict unknown
Mohammed Massaquoi, 22, August 1995, Pr, Found hanged in his cell at Highdown prison, Inquest verdict unknown
Muttavel Vasanthan, 25, 25/08/95, Pr, Sri Lankan asylum seeker found hanged in his cell at Norwich prison, Inquest verdict unknown
Peter Williams, 19, 31/08/95, Pr, Found hanged in his cell at Aylesbury YOI, Inquest verdict unknown
Raja Khan, 24, 05/10/95, Pr, Found hanged in his cell at Mount prison, Inquest verdict unknown
Denis Stevens, 29, 18/10/95, Pr, Found dead in punishment block of Dartmoor prison; had been restrained in a body belt for 24 hours, Accidental death – December 1997, despite appeal to Court of appeal by family who wanted verdict of unlawful killing, coroner would not allow this, family boycotted resumed inquest
Brian Augustine, Age unknown, 30/10/95, Pr, Found hanged in his cell at Pentonville prison, Inquest verdict unknown
Kenneth Severin, 25, 26/11/95, Pr, Found dead in his cell at Bellmarsh after being restrained face down by 8 guards, Open verdict
Wayne Douglas, 25, 05/12/95, Po, Died in Brixton police station, Accidental death
Alton Manning, 33, 09/12/95, Pr, Died after being forcibly restrained by 8 guards at Blakenhurst (private) prison, Unlawful killing. In March 1999 the CPS decided not to prosecute the officers involved in his death, saying that there was no realistic prospect of obtaining a conviction
Newton White, 33, January 1996, Ps, Drowned in bath at Denis Hill Unit of Maudesley hospital, Open verdict
Noorjahan Begum, 35, 15/03/96, Po, Died after falling from balcony of flat where she was living; two immigration officials were calling at the flat at the time, Accidental death
Ibrahima Sey, 29, 16/03/96, Po, Died after being sprayed (while handcuffed) with CS spray in Ilford police station, Unlawful killing. In October 1998 the CPS decided that thare was not enough evidence to prosecute the officers involved in his death.
Ziya Bitirim, 47, April 96, Po, Died after collapsing and vomiting during his arrest, Accidental death
Donovan Williams, 36, April 96, Po, Died after collapsing in his cell during a search in Peckham police station, Accidental death
Dominic Otoo, 19, 22/05/96, Pr, Found dead in Hindley remand centre, Natural Causes
Ahmed El Gammal, 33, 13/8/96, Po, Died after struggling with police from Leyton police station, Inquest verdict unknown
Fred Tokunpor Akiyemi, 46, 4/10/96, Po, Died after falling from 5th floor of flat; Peckham police were calling at his flat at the time, Inquest verdict unknown
Veron Cowan, 32, October/November 1996, Ps, Died in secure unit of Blackberry Hill hospital, Natural Causes
George Bosie Davies, 36, 7/10/96, Po, Died in Marylebone police station after being arrested on suspicion of being drunk, Inquest verdict unknown
Oscar Okoye, 53, 11/11/96, Po, Died 5 months after being arrested by Streatham police on suspicion of being drunk, Natural causes
Herbert Gabbidon, 68, 10/01/97, Po, Died while in the custody of Walsall police who were deporting him back to Jamaica, Inquest verdict unknown
Peter Austin, 30, 30/01/97, Po, Found hanged in Brentford magistrates court, Lack of care contributed to accidental death
Ronnie Clarke, 38, 06/03/97, Pr, Found unconscious in cell at Wellingborough; taken to Kettering hospital where he died without regaining consciousness, Inquest verdict unknown
Abel Mukuna, 39, 12/03/97, Pr, Died in Greenwich hospital five days after being admitted from Belmarsh, Inquest verdict unknown
Marlon Downes, 20, 23/03/97, Po, Found hanged in cell of Harlesden police station, Open verdict
Peter San Pedro, 25, 3/04/97, Po, Died after walking into path of lorry hours after being arrested and sprayed with CS spray, Open verdict (December 98)
Lytton Shannon, 36, 1/05/97, Po, Collapsed and died after being arrested by Wolverhampton police, Inquest verdict unknown
Jason Sebastian, 23, 19/09/97, Pr, Found hanged in Belmarsh following 4 day segregation as punishment, Open verdict
Elliott Mitchell, 20, 26/02/98, Pr, Found hanged in Reading remand centre, Inquest verdict unknown
Christopher Alder, 37, 1/04/98, Po, Died after being arrested by Hull police; dragged to the station; placed on floor face down and handcuffed. In June 2002 a judge ordered the jury to clear 5 police officers charged with manslaughter and misconduct in public office charges because of conflicting evidence on how he died, Unanimous unlawful killing verdict
David Bennett, 38, 31/10/98, Ps, Died after being restrained face down for over 20 minutes by at least three nurses at the Norvic Clinic (Norwich), Accidental death aggravated by neglect; coroner made six recommendations
Patrick Louis, Age unknown, 2/11/98, Po, Died in the custody of Plumstead police who arrested him for being drunk and incapable, Inquest verdict unknown
Roger Sylvester, 30, 18/01/99, Po, Died 7 days after being restrained by police in Tottenham, Inquest verdict unknown
Robert Allotey, 37, 24/01/99, Po, Collapsed and died after being arrested by Wolverhampton police, Inquest verdict unknown
Paul Jemmott, Age unknown, 3/05/99, Pr, Attempted suicide by hanging at Aylesbury YOI and died five days later in hospital, Inquest verdict unknown
Leon Marshall, Age unknown, 15/07/99, Po, Died in hospital two days after being arrested for drugs related offences; officers were aware he had swallowed drugs but failed to take him to hospital, Accidental death
Spencer Weston, 21, 8/99, Po, Died after being hit by a car during a police chase. Spencer was involved in a fight in Leicester city centre between black and white youths and suffered head injuries from a racist attack. Chased by police wanting to make an arrest, he received fatal injuries after falling in the path of a passing car. The inquest into his death in May 2003 recorded a narrative verdict that
‘Spencer James Weston received fatal multiple injuries when he was hit by a motor car. At the time of the road traffic collision the deceased had evidence of MDMA (Ecstasy) at a concentration of 66 milligrams per litre and quite high levels of alcohol in his blood. He had also been seen a few minutes prior to the collision to run from the scene of a public order disturbance, with a head injury of unknown severity. The head injury, together with the alcohol and ecstasy, may have impaired his judgement.’
Sarah Thomas (aka Lai Hong Cheng), 34, 6/08/99, Po, Died in hospital two days after collapsing in
Stoke Newington police station, Inquest verdict unknown
Ertan Uzan, 25, 14/12/99, Pr, Found hanged in his cell in Brixton prison, Inquest verdict unknown
Mr. Benmerabet, 42, 3/1/00, Po, Algerian Mr. Benmerabet collapsed outside the Atomics nightclub in Kent; Kent police were called to assist the ambulance service but deny restraint was used, Inquest verdict unknown
Asif Dad, 26, 16/1/00, Po, Died in the custody of Chelmsford police; according to the police, Asif was arrested after they were called to a disturbance in the street and he collapsed and died after a struggle, Inquest verdict unknown
Robertas Grabys, 49, 24/1/00, Pr, Lithuanian asylum-seeker hanged himself at Harmondsworth detention centre, Inquest verdict unknown
Keita Craig, Age unknown, 1/02/00, Pr, Suffered with mental health problems; took his own life in Wandsworth prison, Killed himself while the balance of his mind was disturbed. February 2001 – High Court orders new inquest after judicial review of the verdict. New inquest in October 2001 finds the same verdict but adds a rider that neglect was a contributory factor to the death.
Zahid Mubarek, 19, 23/3/00, Pr, Victim of a racist attack in his cell at Feltham Young Offenders Institute; he was just 12 hours from being released; the attack left Zahid with massive head injuries and he died five days later, His assailant, his cellmate, 19-year-old Robert Joseph Stewart, was jailed for life for his murder in November 2000
Edita Pommel, 20, 5/5/00, Pr, Edita Pommel was found hanged in HMP Brockhill; she had complained about racial harassment from a prison officer; her death is now the source of an investigation being carried out by West Mercia police, Inquest verdict unknown
Cheryl Simone Hartman, Age unknown, 18/6/00, Pr, Cheryl was found hanged in her cell at Holloway Prison; Cheryl had a history of mental illness and had asked to go to prison for medical help, Open verdict
Sultan Khan, 50, 30/6/00, Po, Died after being restrained by police officers in Clarence Park, St Albans. He had just left a nearby mosque and was restrained using handcuffs and leg restraints. The PCA press release commented that he had been arrested for drugs offences. The inquest into his death opened in November 2001.
Rashid Kausmally, 48, 1/01, Pr, A Mauritian found dead in the hospital wing of Lewes Prison. He had been charged with rape and robbery offences committed in Brighton. He was a known suicide risk and died after putting a plastic bag over his head – suffocating to death.
Eugene Edigin, 19, 3/01, Psy, He attended the psychiatric unit at the Whittington hospital and was detained the day before his death under the Mental Health Act because of ‘erratic behaviour’. The following day he was found unconscious in his bed. The inquest in February 2003 recorded an open verdict. His family were critical of staff who, they allege, failed to monitor his diabetes.
Derek Bennett, Age unknown, 16/7/01, Po, Shot dead in the street by Brixton police who alleged they were called by a member of the public; Derek was carrying a novelty lighter shaped like a gun, Inquest verdict unknown
Michelle Allen, Age unknown, 2/11/01, Pr, Found hanged at Barking magistrates court; The company responsible for prisoners – Securicor Custodial Services – refused to comment, Inquest verdict unknown
Ricky Bishop, Age unknown, 22/11/01, Po, Taken to Brixton police station to be searched where he was restrained; then taken to Kings College hospital where he died, Inquest verdict unknown
Jospeh Crensil, Age unknown, 25/11/01, Po, Died after falling from a third floor window of a flat in Streatham; two immigration and two police officers were questioning five other men at the flat; Jospeh – who was hiding in the bathroom – tried to escape and fell to his death, Inquest verdict unknown
Nariman Tahamasbi, 27, 25/2/02, Pr, Found hanged in Lewes prison, he was serving a six-month sentence, for fraud and deception.
Marcus Downie, 21, 11/5/02, Pr, Found hanged in Chelmsford prison.
Lee Duvall, 23, 14/08/02, Po, Found dead in Ladywell police station a day after his arrest.
Fosta Errol Thompson, Age unknown, 15/08/02, Po, Shot dead by police in St. Werbergh’s area of Bristol, Inquest verdict unknown
Kwame Sasu Wiredu, Age unknown, 30/08/02, Po, Arrested and taken to Stoke Newington police station where he complained of stomach pains; a doctor claimed he was fit enough to be detained; he was later found collapsed in his cell and died in Homerton hospital, Inquest verdict unknown
Beverley Fowler, 32, 2/10/02, Pr, Found hanged, two days before the end of her sentence, in Durham prison. She was a mother of three from Jamaica who was due to be deported back there after serving a sentence for drug smuggling. In September 2003, an inquest recorded an open verdict. The inquest was told she feared for her safety back in Kingston; the man who forced her into drug smuggling had murdered her partner.
Stuart Warwick, 29,16/1/03, Pr, Died from burns in HMP Winchester.
Mihail Bognarchuk, 42, 31/1/03, Pr, Ukrainian asylum seeker found hanged at Haslar removal centre.
Sponford Antonio Green, 43, 27/3/03, Po, Died after falling from the thirteenth floor balcony of the flat where he was staying. The inquest jury recorded a narrative verdict that ‘he accidentally fell from the 13th floor whilst trying to evade custody.’ Police were calling at his flat to arrest him for a breach of licence. According to his girlfriend, Antonio fled to the balcony (as he had on previous occasions when the police called) but was surprised to find police offices waiting on the neighbouring balcony. She also commented that ‘one of the officers grabbed hold of him on the shoulder. I didn’t know whether he was pulling Antonio back or pushing him over.’
Adel Muftah El-Hage, 29,16/3/03, Pr, Found electrocuted at Woodhill (category A) prison. Adel, a Libyan, was on remand after being arrested and charged in February 2003 with the murder of his wife, Salma Abusedra. At pre-trial hearings he had begged the judge to send him to Saudi Arabia so that he could face the death penalty, but had been refused.
Patrick Okello, 32, 21/5/03, Pr, found hanged at Wandsworth.
Rajwinder Singh Mutti, 29/3/03, Pr, Found hanged in Blakenhurst (private) prison where he was on remand for a charge of GBH. Rajwinder, an asylum seeker, had been in the UK for a few years and was granted indefinite leave to remain.
Ertal Hussein, 32, 21/6/03, Psy, Found collapsed at Bethlem Royal hospital, he was taken to Princes Royal University hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Since 1990, Ertal had been sectioned several times. A police investigation is ongoing and the hospital has launched an internal inquiry.
Tema Kombe (aka Emmanuel Silva/ Gladwell Moseki Keenao), 32, 4/9/03, Psy, A Ugandan asylum seeker was found hanged in the toilet of a psychiatric ward at Heatherwood hospital, Ascot. In January 2004, an inquest returned a verdict of misadventure after hearing that he had made three previous attempts on his life.
Iqbal Shamraz, 35, 5/9/03, Pr, Found hanged at Nottingham prison.
Michael Powell, 38, 7/9/03, Po, Died after being arrested by police in Lozell’s, Birmingham. The police were called by his family after he began behaving erratically. During the course of the struggle to restrain him, Michael was knocked over by a police car and then, according to witnesses, restrained by police using batons and CS spray. Six officers were suspended.
Mohammed bin Duhri, 20, 20/10/03, Pr, Palestinian asylum seeker found hanged at Belmarsh maximum security prison. He had been held at Dover Immigration Removal Centre but after he allegedly assaulted a guard he was moved to Belmarsh. Three prison officers were suspended after they allegedly filed reports saying he was alive and well when he was already dead.
Paul Yorke, 38, 2/11/03, Po, died after being arrested by police officers at Terminal Two of Heathrow airport. He was taken to Heathrow police station where he was charged with being a ‘prohibited person’ (it is alleged that he had been banned from airport property) and then detained in a cell. He was, according to police, seen by a Forensic Medical Examiner on at least three occasions and deemed fit for detention. However, the following day, officers called an ambulance at 7.00 am after he was found collapsed in his cell. He was taken to Hillingdon hospital where he was pronounced dead. The Police Complaints Authority and the Directorate of Professional Standards are investigating his death.
Liang He, 23, 10/11/03, Pr, Found hanged at Bedford prison.
Deaths in police custody cut deep in the psyche of Black Britons
For many in the black community, justice in Britain is colour coded. The inadequacy of the Independent Police Complaints Commission in relation to deaths in custody illustrates this stone cold reality.
Mark Duggan, David Emmanuel (aka Smiley Culture), Kingsley Burrell, Demetre Fraser and Jacob Michael, and the surreal and horrific desecration suffered by the Christopher Adler family, have left many of us reeling in shock and anger.
What we have seen in the IPCC investigation of Duggan's shooting is an enfeebled organisation with weak ineffective leadership. The overwhelming perception within black communities is that the current system of IPCC investigation and coroner inquests is so stacked against us that in effect, it protects the guilty and denies justice to the victims.
Within government, the London mayor's office and the senior ranks of the police, there is little appreciation of the depths of anger these tragic cases generate in our communities. That's because tackling racism and institutional racism are no longer considered policy priorities. The results are that the invaluable lessons learned from the inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence have now been discarded as "political correctness gone mad". That fundamental mistake has cost the country dear and I fear will do so again in the future.
What's not understood is that a black death in police custody exposes the perennial faultline in relations between the police and black communities. Duggan was the fourth black man to die in suspicious circumstances this year. Since then more have died. Had political sensitivity and genuine anger relating to these tragic events been better understood then maybe the riots that took place this summer could have been avoided.
Death in custody remains the one issue that can transform police and community relations in an instant, tapping deeply into the psyche of black Britons. Historically the tragic story of black men and women being detained then beaten, abused, treated like animals and dying in mysterious circumstances is an all-too-familiar experience.
It is ingrained in our collective memories. From Jim Crow and lynching in America's old deep south, the brutality of the South African apartheid regime, or the beating of Rodney King – or, in the UK, the cases of Colin Roach, Clinton McCurbin, Cynthia Jarrett and Cherry Groce. Brutaliity backed up by institutionally racist organs of state that conspire to deny black people their right to justice.
Very few police officers have ever been charged, and not a single one convicted of manslaughter or murder. What we experience are the impenetrable barriers of ancient laws, lengthy and complex procedures and enormous costs that make justice an unobtainable dream.
There are some ways to try to end this cycle. One is a full and independent public judicial inquiry into deaths in police custody and the inquest process. This could help draw a line under the past 50 years that have seen family after family broken in their desperate search for the truth.
If the government refuses, then alternatively, given the significance of London, the mayor, Boris Johnson, could announce his own independent judicial inquiry. This will bring the cleansing properties of transparency to an issue mired in controversy and acrimony. For this government, moral argument about access to justice many not be enough. However there is a strong economic argument. The cost of an inquiry is cheaper than the cost of a riot.
We also need urgent parliamentary and legislative reform of the now discredited IPCC. If confidence is to be restored then the IPCC will need more powers, authority and truly independent investigators forensically searching for the truth.
In my view, though, none of this is likely to happen soon, and it is therefore inevitable that we will see more suspicious deaths followed by enfeebled IPCC investigations.
If I am right then we have not seen the last riotous disturbance; for where there is no justice, there can be no peace.
Undercover NYPD Cops that murdered Kimani Gray had history of abuse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3sNGhlQ4lY
The 2 cops that shot 16 year old Kimani Gray to death had a history of abusing minorities. The city paid out almost a quarter of a million dollars to settle 3 law suits against the cops for civil rights violations and allowed them to go right back out on the streets and continue to do it.
These cops have every reason to lie about Kimani Gray pulling a gun on them as they have a history of violating people's rights and lying. Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Raymond Kelly have no problem giving away $215,000 in tax payer money to cover the asses of 2 abusive and racist cops that have now taken the life of a 16 year old boy and planted a gun on him to avoid going to prison.
The law department actually calls $215,000 a small sum of money ? ... and why would the city settle a law suit if there was no evidence against the cops. Mayor Bloomberg and Raymond Kelly are to blame for allowing these psychopath cops with criminals histories back out on the streets which has now cost a teenage boy his life.
When citizens break the law they are deemed criminals and sent to jail, but when cops break the law the city throws tax payer money at the victims and allows the corrupt cops to continue to abuse people ?! This ends now, we will not watch one more unarmed citizen be murdered and framed by the criminal organization known as the NYPD.
Detective Phil Atkins had a history of abusing citizens before shooting unarmed Shantel Davis dead in Brooklyn.
The NYPD detective who killed an alleged career criminal as she fled police in Brooklyn yesterday is the target of several lawsuits that claim he is a brutal, door-busting cop who attacks suspects before finding evidence of their guilt.
Detective Phil Atkins, 44, a 12-year NYPD vet, was the target of seven lawsuits fingering him as a violent enforcer who skirts the law.
The city settled five of the suits — to the tune of more than $224,000 — and the last two are still pending.
Atkins's alleged victims say he has a habit of drawing his gun and arresting would-be suspects violently only to find out later that he’s got no case against them.
One, schoolteacher Gillian Brown, said Atkins and his team of cops from the 67th Precinct’s Brooklyn South Narcotics Division busted into her Brooklyn home in 2008 with their guns drawn at about 5:30 a.m., while she was showering. One of the cops — it's not clear who — called her a “bitch” and demanded she reveal where she kept her crack cocaine.
Brown was arrested violently, she claimed, “roughly marched down the stairs” and held with extra-tight handcuffs, according to court papers.
Her son was charged with fifth-degree possession of marijuana. The crack cocaine detectives sought was never found and a criminal case against Brown was never filed. The city settled with her for $140,000.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne brushed off the lawsuits on a call with reporters today.
“This is a litigious town and active officers have lawsuits and complaints,” Browne said.
Michael Palladino, president of the Detectives’ Endowment Association, also defended Atkins.
“It it is unfair to measure a narcotics detective’s performance by lawsuits that are filed,” Palladino told The Post.
He said some of the lawsuits are filed by thugs in Atkins’ precinct hoping to make a quick buck. “Drug dealers are interested in making money either by selling drugs or filing lawsuits,” Palladino added.
Of the seven lawsuits, stops and arrests Atkins conducted either led to no prosecution or charges were dismissed later on.
Nine state prison guards charged in inmate beating probe
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2013-02-27/news/bs-md-prison-guards-conspiracy-20130227_1_prison-officers-state-prison-inmate
Federal indictment alleges officers at Hagerstown prison planned assault, covered it up
February 27, 2013
By Carrie Wells, The Baltimore Sun
Nine current and former guards at a state prison in Hagerstown were charged Wednesday in a federal indictment that alleges they conspired to assault an inmate and covered up the incident.
The U.S. Department of Justice indictment refers to two separate beatings of an inmate, identified only as "K.D.," in the same weekend in March 2008. K.D. was beaten so badly that he had to be taken to a hospital, the indictment says. None of the current and former prison officers was actually charged with assault.
The charges included obstruction of justice for one lieutenant at the prison who the justice department says used a magnetic device to destroy surveillance tapes that captured the beating.
The beatings of the inmate at medium-security Roxbury Correctional Institution in 2008, coming at the same time as an alleged inmate beating at maximum-security North Branch Correctional Institute in Cumberland, led to a high-profile investigation and scrutiny of the state prison system that year. Two dozen officers at both prisons were fired or put on leave amid the investigation, though two guards were later reinstated.
The Department of Justice says K.D. was assaulted first during the 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. shift at Roxbury on March 8, 2008. In one indictment, Correctional Officer Walter Steele and Lieutenant Jason Weicht face conspiracy charges related to covering up the assault. Former Correctional Officers James Kalbflesh and Jeremy McCusker face civil rights and conspiracy charges.
Weicht was also charged with obstruction of justice. The justice department said his actions included "encouraging officers to get together to get their stories straight, providing home telephone numbers for the involved officers so that they could arrange for a cover-up meeting, and giving an officer books on interrogation techniques so that he would be prepared to mislead investigators."
Steele faces two more counts of providing false and misleading information to investigators.
A second federal indictment stems from a second assault on K.D. the following morning, during the 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift. It was after that beating, in which K.D. was kicked and punched in his cell "in order to punish K.D. for a prior incident involving another officer" that the inmate was sent to the hospital, according to the Department of Justice.
Lt. Edwin Stigile and former Correctional Officers Tyson Hinckle, Reginald Martin and Michael Morgan were charged with conspiring to have officers assault K.D. during the day shift. Sgt. Josh Hummer and Hinckle, Martin and Morgan also were each charged with a civil rights violation, and Stigile was charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly destroying surveillance tapes that recorded the beating.
The maximum sentences for the prison officers range from 25 years to 55 years.
Dustin Norris, a former correctional officer at Roxbury, pleaded guilty to conspiring to assault the inmate and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, the justice department also announced Wednesday.
Allegations of Abuse Predated Inmate's Death
Correctional officers at a Western Maryland prison kept medical personnel from attending to inmate Ifeanyi A. Iko as he lay motionless and apparently unconscious after a violent encounter with prison staff last year, according to legal papers filed in federal court by a lawyer for his family.
"Indeed, it was stated that as long as [Iko] was breathing, no one was going into the cell," attorney Gary C. Adler wrote in an amended complaint that was filed this week.
The complaint, filed as part of a civil suit seeking $28 million in damages, presents several new allegations regarding the events surrounding Iko's asphyxiation death at the Western Correctional Institution near Cumberland on April 30.
The Iko family's lawyer obtained the new information through discovery. During discovery, each side of a legal dispute is entitled to see the other side's documents and to learn what all the witnesses have to say.
Among the new details in the filing is an account of Iko's treatment during the 90 minutes Iko spent in a cell in the isolated "special observation housing unit" at WCI.
Iko, 51, was taken to the unit for psychological evaluation after officers forcibly removed him from a cell in the prison's segregation section, where problem inmates are confined.
The Nigerian immigrant refused to leave the cell voluntarily, and officers used three cans of pepper spray in their attempts to subdue him and get him into restraints.
The lawsuit alleges that officers put a "hood-like mask" over Iko's head improperly after spraying him, "with the cloth part of the mask wrapped around [Iko's] mouth and nose, further restricting his ability to breathe."
According to the lawsuit, Iko was brought to the special housing unit in a wheelchair, restrained with handcuffs and leg irons, and with the mask over his face to prevent spitting.
Iko was placed on his stomach on the cell floor, and several officers kneeled on him to pin him down as an officer spent five minutes trying to find plastic "flex cuffs" to replace the metal handcuffs, the suit says.
"After the flex cuffs were put in place, [Iko] was left laying on the floor on his stomach, handcuffed behind the back and with the mask still around his face," the complaint states.
"He did not move from that position on the floor from the time he was placed in the special observation housing unit cell (approximately 3 p.m.) until his body was discovered cold and without a pulse by correctional officers at approximately 4:30 p.m."
The suit adds that officers "prevented medical personnel who wanted to check on [Iko] from attending to him" during this time.
Iko had a reputation at the prison as a strong and dangerous inmate, correctional sources have said.
The lawsuit also alleges that Iko was dead -- although handled as if he were alive -- when taken by ambulance from the prison. A few minutes after driving away from the prison, a paramedic reported that Iko showed signs of rigor mortis, and he received permission to cease lifesaving efforts.
If Iko had been declared dead inside the prison, WCI officials would have been required under correctional department rules to take special steps to secure the scene and preserve evidence.
The state medical examiner's office ruled Iko's death a homicide in May, but an internal investigation and later a two-day grand jury probe found no criminal conduct by prison staff.
The autopsy report said Iko's death was caused by "chemical irritation of the airways by pepper spray," the placement of a mesh mask over Iko's face and the way he was restrained.
After Iko's death last year, state prison administrators adopted more restrictive rules on the use of pepper spray on prisoners.
They also held training sessions for correctional officers at WCI on the risks of "positional asphyxia" -- which can occur if an inmate is left lying on his stomach and handcuffed behind his back, making it difficult to breathe.
The lawsuit filed by the Iko family names Warden Jon P. Galley, Lt. James Shreve and 10 officers as defendants. It alleges violations of U.S. civil rights law and accuses the warden and correctional officers of trying to cover up the circumstances of Iko's death.
_________________________________________________________________________________
An autopsy report on a prisoner who died at Western Correctional Institution appears to confirm accounts of inmate witnesses that he was sprayed with a heavy dose of pepper spray, had a "spit-protection mask" placed over his face and was carted away from his cell unconscious and in a wheelchair.
Ifeanyi A. Iko's relatives provided The Sun with a copy of the autopsy last week - the first official report by authorities to detail events surrounding the Nigerian immigrant's death April 30.
But at the same time the autopsy was released, Mark Vernarelli, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, said Friday that recent investigations of the death have found that correctional officers acted properly.
"No correctional staff members have been disciplined or transferred, because neither the [internal] investigation nor the grand jury investigation found any criminal wrongdoing or violation of policy," Vernarelli said.
The report by the state medical examiner's office said that a combination of factors resulted in Iko's death at the Western Maryland prison in Allegany County.
The autopsy report says that Iko, 51, died of asphyxia "caused by chemical irritation of the airways by pepper spray, facial mask placement" and the manner in which he was restrained.
Iko was forcibly removed from a cell in WCI's segregation unit, where problem inmates are confined, after he refused to leave voluntarily so that he could be taken to another part of the prison for psychological evaluation.
The state medical examiner's office ruled Iko's death a homicide in May but released no further details of its findings at that time.
No wrongdoing found
An internal investigation by the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services found no wrongdoing by prison staff.
An Allegany County grand jury spent two days last month examining the facts surrounding Iko's death. It concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing but recommended changing certain procedures.
The grand jury suggested that the Division of Correction "develop methods of additional training of ... employees on the risk associated with various forms of restraint up to and including positional asphyxia," which can occur if a restrained inmate is left lying on his stomach and handcuffed behind his back, making it difficult to breathe.
It also called for adopting protocols to better determine the physical condition of inmates while and after they are forcibly removed from a cell.
Vernarelli said the agency is closely studying the grand jury's suggestions. He said that the division had already identified some problem areas before Iko's death and was working to correct them.
WCI staffers have recently been going through training to prevent positional asphyxia.
Parallel accounts
The account of Iko's death given in the autopsy report, which was drawn in part from documents provided by public safety officers, parallels reports The Sun received from WCI inmates.
The inmate witnesses had said that three cans of pepper spray were used to subdue Iko, far more than prison guidelines called for, and that there was a mask covering his head as he was moved by wheelchair from his cellblock.
The autopsy report does not specify a quantity of pepper spray used but cites the disabling chemical spray as a factor in his death and confirms the use of a mask and a wheelchair.
"A spit-protection mask was placed on his head," the report says. "He was then taken to another facility by a wheelchair while an officer held his legs up by holding to the ankle cuffs."
The report also discusses the way Iko was wrestled into restraints, causing what it referred to as "chest compression" - a factor that contributed to his death.
In an interview, state Chief Medical Examiner David R. Fowler said that happens when "a body has been compressed by a weight, which prevents a person from being able to breathe." One way that can happen is when someone presses his weight down on an individual who is lying on his stomach, Fowler said.
'Blunt force injuries'
The written report says further that there were "blunt force injuries to [Iko's] face, back of the neck, left anterior shoulder and upper and lower extremities" and that he was left in the mask - lying face-down and handcuffed behind his back - once he was put in a cell in the special observation housing unit.
"When he was left in the cell, the officers considered he was alive by observing his chest movements," the autopsy report says. "He was found unresponsive at 4:30 p.m."
The autopsy report gives no indication whether Iko received medical treatment from the time he was forcibly removed from his cell in the segregation unit around 2:30 p.m. until he was discovered unresponsive two hours later.
Vernarelli, the corrections department spokesman, said prison staff followed required procedures.
"Mr. Iko was taken immediately after the cell extraction to the medical area, where he was offered care by contract medical staff," he said. "Our policy calls for inmates to be taken for evaluation by medical personnel following such incidents, and the correctional staff followed this policy."
However, Vernarelli said he did not know what medical treatment, if any, Iko was given after he was brought to the medical area.
"The care he was given, as with every other element of his final day, is part of the investigation," Vernarelli said.
Hearings planned
A legislative panel that oversees the corrections department is planning hearings to look further into lingering questions surrounding Iko's death.
Douglas L. Colbert, a University of Maryland Law School professor, questioned the thoroughness of the two-day grand jury investigation in Allegany County.
The grand jurors reviewed videotapes and written reports and heard testimony from prison staff. But they did not hear directly from inmate witnesses. Instead, jurors heard tape-recorded interviews of inmates that were done by internal investigators.
Colbert said that wasn't sufficient.
"It's hard to believe an inmate witness would have felt free to say everything he heard or observed because there was no guarantee of protection," Colbert said.
He called for a more open and independent investigation of Iko's death.
"There's no way of knowing if the officers' actions were justified or not because the public is being kept in the dark," Colbert said. "It's all being done in secret, and secrecy does not inspire public confidence."
Iko had been in state prison since 1991, when he began serving a three-year sentence for a drug-distribution charge. The next year, he received an additional 20-year sentence for stabbing and biting a correctional officer in an Eastern Shore prison.
Vernarelli said that Iko had a violent history in the prison system and that correctional officers acted with restraint.
"The institution is run with integrity and professionalism, and it is totally inappropriate to suggest that the staff is operating with anything less than total integrity," he said.
Allegations of Prisoner Abuse Predated Inmate's Murder
Federal authorities, who launched an investigation last month into the death of an inmate at Western Correctional Institution, were already looking into broader allegations of prisoner abuse at the rural Maryland prison, according to records relating to alleged incidents.
The broader inquiry by the U.S. Justice Department focuses on charges that a small group of correctional officers arranged inmate-on-inmate assaults and other types of retaliation against prisoners who wrote complaints or filed lawsuits about their treatment.
Records show that the officers involved were assigned to the Cresaptown prison's segregation unit, the same section of the facility that had housed Ifeanyi A. Iko, whose death April 30 was ruled a homicide by the state medical examiner's office and is being investigated by the FBI.
"The Justice Department does have an investigation under way concerning the Western Correctional Institution," said Eric Holland, a spokesman for the federal agency's civil rights division. "Because it's an ongoing investigation, I cannot comment further."
The department's inquiry into complaints lodged by WCI inmates casts yet another spotlight on conditions at the modern, medium-security facility near Cumberland in Allegany County.
In dozens of letters to The Sun since May, inmates there described rising tensions between them and officers in the segregation unit in the weeks and months before Iko's death. Two days before he died after a violent clash with officers, more than two dozen inmates embarked on a daylong protest in the unit over complaints of lousy food and unfair or abusive treatment from officers.
While federal authorities wouldn't discuss the inmates' complaints, civil lawsuits filed in federal court by three inmates before Iko's death allege a pattern of abuse dating back to 2001 - allegations that the officers and state prison administrators strongly deny.
Among claims spelled out in hundreds of pages of court documents:
An officer allegedly encouraged an inmate to beat up another inmate and stood by for several minutes during the assault in which the handcuffed inmate's head was slammed against the wall of his cell.
A black inmate who was put in a cell with a white supremacist claimed the other inmate beat him over a period of several days, and prison officials ignored his complaints.
The black inmate, 53, complained in a letter to WCI Warden Jon P. Galley: "I am no longer 25 years old and my fighting ability is non-existing. My left leg does not work and my back is hurting from being attack" by younger inmates.
Officers allegedly ganged up on inmates to assault or threaten them for making complaints against officers or for signing statements backing the accounts of other inmates involved in disputes with officers.
To entice inmates to assault certain prisoners whom they disliked, officers allegedly promised them more favorable treatment - such as protection from prison gangs or restoring access to telephones and other privileges. They threatened others, who refused to cooperate, with being exposed as "snitches" or being sent back to prisons where they had enemies they feared would harm them.
Maryland Assistant Attorney General David Kennedy, who represents officers named in the suits, said the claims are untrue. He said that inmates are notorious for concocting stories to cause trouble for prison staff. He noted that the inmates who are alleging wrongdoing by officers were serving time for serious crimes, such as armed robbery, drug dealing and similar felonies.
The fact that three lawsuits by different inmates make similar allegations does not make it more likely that their claims are true, he said. "It could mean a group of inmates doesn't like some particular group of officers, and the only way they see to get back is to make these complaints against these officers," he said.
The three inmates who filed the suits were held in the protective custody wing of WCI's segregation housing unit, which is the part of the prison where inmates are kept separate from the general population in an environment tightly controlled by officers.
Most inmates held in protective custody are usually either "snitches" - inmates who made enemies by informing prison authorities of the activities of other inmates - or former law enforcement officers who needed to be kept apart from the general population for their own protection.
Correctional experts say that inmates who need to be segregated are usually among the most troublesome or dangerous inmates in an institution.
In the case of Iko, the 51-year-old Nigerian immigrant who went to prison on a drug distribution charge and got an increased sentence after attacking a correctional officer at an Eastern Shore prison in 1992.
An internal investigation into his death by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services found no wrongdoing by WCI officers, and a two-day inquiry by an Allegany County grand jury reached the same conclusion.
Department Secretary Mary Ann Saar told the state Judicial Proceedings committee last month that the FBI notified her office Sept. 3 that the agency was conducting a preliminary investigation of his death. At the hearing, Saar refused to release videotapes or other records related to Iko's death pending the completion of the FBI inquiry.
It was unclear whether that inquiry is separate from the investigation the Justice Department's civil rights division has initiated into the allegations of inmate abuse.
Racial tensions
At last month's legislative hearing in Annapolis , several legislators voiced concerns about practices at the prison. They also raised questions about reports of racial tensions there. Prison officials say about three-quarters of WCI inmates are African-American and more than 90 percent of prison staff is white.
The inmates' claims of assault or abuse at WCI that allegedly took place between 2001 and 2003 appear to have piqued the interest of the courts, as well as the Justice Department.
Attorneys for the state, for example, have tried but failed to persuade a federal judge to dismiss a suit that was filed in 2001 by Melvin Caldwell, the WCI inmate who was attacked in a cell while handcuffed. The attorneys argued Caldwell's legal claims had no merit. The state does not dispute that the inmate's assault on Caldwell took place in the presence of a correctional officer and after the assailant's handcuff's were removed, while Caldwell remained cuffed.
Instead, the state argued that the two officers involved didn't know that the inmate posed a danger to Caldwell because his name wasn't on Caldwell's "enemy list," according to court filings.
But U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams Jr. noted in a memorandum dated Feb. 11, 2002, that Caldwell had repeatedly warned WCI officials in writing in the weeks before the assault that the officers "were planning to 'set him up' in the very manner that occurred on Sept. 2, 2001."
Kennedy, the assistant attorney general, said that the two officers denied claims of conspiring to have the inmate assault Caldwell.
State lawyers were no more successful with a second attempt later in 2002 to persuade the federal judge to dismiss Caldwell's case.
"There has been an unusual amount of evidence produced by [Caldwell] in this case supporting his allegation that the [officers] actively set up an assault against him and watched passively while the assault took place," Williams wrote in a memorandum dated June 18, 2002.
Caldwell's suit is still in the discovery stage, but another suit, by Norman R. Willis, is scheduled for trial in U.S. District Court in Baltimore later this month.
His complaints of abuse are among those the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is reviewing.
In a letter dated Aug. 10, officials with the division notified Willis that the FBI had been asked to "conduct a preliminary investigation" of his complaints.
Willis claims he was targeted for repeated abuse for writing complaints against officers and rejecting their attempts to get him to assault other prisoners at WCI.
"You can be assured that if the evidence shows that there is a prosecutable violation of federal criminal civil rights statutes, appropriate action will be taken, " wrote Karla Dobinski, deputy chief of the criminal section of the agency's civil rights division.
In his suit, Willis alleges that WCI officers promised to protect him from a prison gang known as the Black Guerilla Family if he would assault another inmate. Willis claims that he later became the target of a similar inmate assault after filing a written complaint against an officer.
Willis described one incident early last year when he said he was taken out of his cell for complaining to an officer that inmates on his tier were denied their showers that day. As two officers escorted him off the tier, Willis claims, they punched and kicked him while he was handcuffed from behind.
In sworn statements, the officers denied assaulting Willis. They also disputed claims that they prevented Willis from filing complaints and had refused to allow a prison psychology department staffer to visit Willis in the housing unit.
But in his deposition, Clarence E. Hawkins Jr., a psychology associate at the prison, offered a different version of events.
He said that when he tried to visit Willis in the housing unit cell shortly after the alleged assault, an officer told him the inmate didn't want to see him.
"I thought that was rather odd, because I just felt like Mr. Willis did want to see me. So I told the officer that I wanted to see him," Hawkins said.
When Willis was brought in, Hawkins said, he noticed that one side of his face was bruised and the other side was swollen. In his sworn statement, Hawkins, who did not witness the alleged attack, said Willis told him he had been jumped by officers.
Hawkins said that he didn't write a report about what Willis told him, because the inmate feared further retaliation.
Hawkins, one of the few African-American staffers at WCI, said he had been rebuffed on a different occasion when he tried to intervene on Willis' behalf.
Hawkins said he spoke to an officer about Willis' treatment. That officer then went to Hawkins' boss and told her he was "interfering" in matters that were not his responsibility, he said.
"I don't even get respect, so I can understand a lot of the things Mr. Willis is saying," Hawkins said.
Umoja's lawsuit
A third lawsuit, filed by Faouly A. Umoja, was settled out of court earlier this year with a $1,000 payment to the inmate. Umoja, a onetime correctional officer and convicted drug dealer, was released from prison in January and lives in East Baltimore.
In an interview, Umoja said he agreed to settle for the small payment because his court-appointed lawyers believed it would be almost impossible to persuade a jury to accept the word of inmate witnesses over correctional officers if the case went to trial.
In his suit, Umoja claims that officers intentionally put him in a cell with an inmate who had a history of attacking others.
The inmate he identified as assaulting him on Sept. 1, 2001, Anthony Midgette, is the same one who is alleged to have assaulted Caldwell the next day at the direction of officers.
Umoja, who is black, claims officers then put him into a cell with another inmate who "is a known white supremacist."
He said that inmate physically assaulted him on a daily basis during the time they shared a cell, from Sept. 3 to Sept. 10, wrapping a shirt around his fist and punching him repeatedly in the back - a form of punishment that left no telltale marks.
Kennedy, the assistant state attorney general, declined to say why the state decided to settle Umoja's case.
However, he noted that only a small sum was paid and the state admitted no liability.
"I don't think that anything Umoja said was true," Kennedy said. "I absolutely don't think the case had any merit."
Legal scholars say it is unusual for inmate lawsuits to be settled out of court with payments to the inmate, or for such suits to proceed far past the early stages of legal proceedings.
"Courts tend to look with great suspicion on any lawsuits filed by prisoners because of the general litigious nature of that population," said Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor who specializes in inmate issues.
"The problem is, some of these cases raise very significant [issues] that are often summarily dismissed," Turley said.
Referring to the Willis case, Turley said: "It is notable that this judge is giving these allegations serious consideration" by setting trial for this month.
Kennedy acknowledged that only a small fraction of inmate lawsuits that get filed ever reach the point of going to trial.
He said one or two a year might get that far in the legal process, and some years there are none that go to jury trial.
All three inmates who filed suits are no longer at WCI. Umoja finished his sentence and was released in January; Caldwell was relocated to a state prison in Utah; and Willis was transferred to Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown.
Inmate testifies in prison abuse suit
He says staff assaulted him at facility where Iko died; U.S. was probing other allegations
A state prison inmate testified in federal court in Baltimore yesterday that correctional officers at a Western Maryland prison abused him and arranged for other inmates to assault him over a two-year period because he frequently filed complaints about his treatment.
The inmate, Norman R. Willis, said he complained about the alleged abuse at the Western Correctional Institution to the U.S. Department of Justice, which recently confirmed it had been investigating similar allegations at the prison before another inmate died after a violent confrontation with officers April 30.
In describing one alleged assault, Willis said officers leaned him over a railing while he was handcuffed and later squeezed him between a door and the wall. He said he pleaded for a supervisor to intervene.
"I said, 'Lieutenant Riggleman, they're assaulting me," Willis told jurors. "Help me, man. ...You gonna help me?"
Willis said the lieutenant, Tommy Riggleman, responded with an obscenity and told him to be quiet.
The testimony came on the first day of trial in a federal civil lawsuit that casts additional scrutiny on the conduct of correctional officers at Western Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison near
Cumberland in Allegany County.
In addition to the Justice Department inquiry, the FBI is investigating the death of Ifeanyi A. Iko, whom correctional officers subdued with pepper spray and then fitted with a mesh spit mask. They found him motionless in a cell hours later, according to the autopsy report, inmates' accounts and other sources. A grand jury and an internal investigation did not result in charges against prison staff.
Willis, who is serving a sentence for robbery, is now confined at Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown. He is seeking $9.9 million in punitive and compensatory damages. The officers have denied that they mistreated Willis.
The trial offers a rare opportunity for an inmate's allegations of abuse from officers to be presented to a jury and the public. Such cases hardly ever go to trial, either because inmates' allegations are dismissed by courts or, in rarer cases, a settlement is reached.
Yesterday morning, 10 correctional officers and prison staffers -- nine men and one woman -- filed into the courtroom to begin their defense in front of U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett. Those staffers, some of whom no longer work at Western Correctional Institution, are: Leah Youngblood, Robert Huff, Floyd Farris, James Shreve, Steven Roach, Brian Clise, David Swanger, Gary Knight, Tommy Riggleman and Steven Shaffer. Because it is a civil trial, they will not face criminal penalties.
Tamal Banton, one of Willis' attorneys, said in his opening statement to jurors that Willis lived in an atmosphere of abuse at the hands of officers -- a violation of the Constitution's prohibition of "cruel and
unusual punishment." The alleged incidents took place between 2001 and last year, court records show.
"When he complained, that led to more abuses," Banton said. Banton said Willis was once an ally of the officers, who had directed him to assault other inmates in the past.
David Kennedy, an assistant attorney general defending the prison staffers, countered by telling jurors in his opening statement that Willis "concocted an elaborate story to pass his time in prison ... [and] he is the hero of his own story."
Kennedy called Willis' allegations "groundless" and part of a scheme to get the officers disciplined and moved from their jobs in the segregation housing unit where Willis was held in protective custody. Willis was assaulted by other inmates, but not "at the direction of officers," Kennedy said.
Clarence Hawkins, a psychology associate at the prison who counsels inmates and used to visit Willis once a week, testified that he was told on one occasion that Willis didn't want to see him.
Hawkins said Youngblood told him that Willis "didn't want to see me. She didn't refuse [to allow Hawkins to visit with him]. She just told me he didn't want to see me."
Hawkins testified that he insisted that he see Willis. When Willis was brought to the interview room, Hawkins noticed that he had bruises and swelling on his face, he said. Willis also told him his back was
injured, and that he had been "jumped" by several officers. Hawkins was uncertain about the date of the encounter.
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