19th Annual UFFC March: Report

The 16th Annual United Families and Friends Campaign memorial march saw a noticeably larger crowd than last year attend the commemorative procession down from Trafalgar Square to outside 10 Downing Street. Families and friends of some of the thousands of people killed in police custody, prison, psychiatric units and asylum and immigration centres gathered alongside supporters, students, activists, trade union representatives and concerned members of the public to voice their anger, sadness and frustration with the lack of justice received by the families of those murdered by the state.

Many wearing black, marchers carried banners bearing the names of individuals killed by the state, alongside those of various supportive campaigns. Slowly walking the short route to arrive outside the Prime Minister’s residence, the march, led by family members, gathered in the sun to listen to the stories of those whose relatives and friends have been brutally taken away from them by the state. Marcia Rigg, who spoke about the murder of her brother Sean in Brixton police station in 2008, described the  the 2012 inquest into Sean’s death which culminated in a ‘critical narrative verdict’ in in which the jury stated that the police had ‘more than minimally contributed’ to Sean’s death. Marcia talked about the officers involved in the case and how one of them had tried to resign to escape accountability for Sean’s death. Due to pressure from the family and their lawyers, the officer has not been allowed to resign and will hopefully have to be made accountable for his (and the other officers’) role in Sean’s death.

Marcia Rigg spoke too of her family’s frustration with the IPCC, describing how they could ‘not depend on’ the commission to adequately investigate the circumstances surrounding Sean’s death nor assist them in pushing the CPS to prosecute the officers for perjury, despite CCTV evidence that demonstrated that they  had lied in court. Mistrust, anger and disappointment with the IPCC and the CPS was a common theme among the speakers, with many confronted with silence, multiple-year delays and lack of willingness to investigate or prosecute corrupt and murderous officers.

Myrna Simpson, Joy Gardner’s mother, spoke of the long struggle she had endured since her daughter was killed after being bound and gagged by the police and immigration officers in her home in 1993. Murdered in front of her 5-year-old son, there has never been an investigation into Joy’s death. Describing her daughter as ‘just an ordinary mother of two children,’ Simpson said ‘I’ll do everything I can to get justice for Joy and for everyone who’s been killed unlawfully.’ Myrna Simpson was one of the first people to help set up UFFC twenty years ago, and her courage in the face of incredible institutional neglect was cited as an inspiration by many of the other speakers.

Carole Duggan, Mark Duggan’s aunt, talked about the persecution, harassment and murder of those from Tottenham, including Mark, who was unarmed when he was shot dead in a taxi in 2012. Describing the desire of police to punish the entire community for the death of PC Blakelock in 1985, Duggan spoke of the racism that has left Mark Duggan’s children ‘on the scrapheap’. Describing the ‘perverse’ verdict that saw Mark Duggan’s death described as ‘lawful’ even though the inquest had also determined that he had been unarmed at the time of his death, Carole pointed out that this meant that the police had permission to shoot dead unarmed civilians with impunity. Describing the police collusion over statements regarding Mark’s death, she mentioned one officer involved who had been secretly sacked for sexually harassing two of his female colleagues who was allowed to leave the force and set up his own business - providing DIY for ‘vulnerable’ customers.

Mark’s family had been blamed by the police and the media for the uprisings of 2012, Duggan said: ‘Mark’s death was political, the inquest was political, and the result will be political.’ ‘Everything the working class has fought for - human rights, legal aid, is being taken away’ she concluded, ‘if there is another uprising I’ll be on the front line.’

Oleseni Lewis’s mother Ajibola described how her son, who had voluntarily checked himself into a mental health unit, had died as a result of being restrained by eleven officers. It was only when a whistleblower called the Evening Standard that the circumstances of his death were revealed. Even though Oleseni Lewis was killed four years go, there has still been no inquest: the IPCC are on their second investigation into the killing, as the first was so flawed. Ajibola said she was ‘praying for justice and answers’ and called for more people to attend the next UFFC march and to help the campaign in whatever way they could.

Other speakers included the mother of Ricky Bishop, Doreen, whose 25-year-old son was killed in Brixton

police station in 2001, who said ‘I’m not a victim, I’m a fighter’ to loud applause. The death of her son more than a decade ago has left her ‘waiting for answers’. Describing the government’s foreign policy in Syria and Iraq, she compared the killing of young men abroad to the killing of young men on the streets of Britain: the police and the state are the real terrorists, she said.

Other speakers included relatives and friends of Mikey Powell, Leon Briggs, Thomas Orchard, Lloyd Butler, Christopher Alder and Rubel Ahmed, the latter dying in an immigration centre just six weeks ago. It was noted that there had been some small victories in the past year - the G4S guards who killed Jimmy Mubenga are to be tried, among other things - but many families are left desperate for answers and justice. UFFC makes it clear that the state - whether in police stations, prisons, on the street, in mental health units, asylum and immigration centres - will act with impunity and racist intent. There must be justice for all those killed by the state: please contact UFFC if you can offer support. No justice, no peace.

*Carole Duggan Mark Duggan’s aunt, Susan Alexander mother of Azelle Rodney, Marcia Rigg Sean Rigg’s sister, Janet Alder Christopher Alder’s sister, Sheila Coleman of the Hillsborough Justice Campaign and Deborah Coles of INQUEST will be speaking on “deaths in custody - is justice possible?” at our National Conference, Sunday 16th November - more info here.