Why Britain suffered a long hot summer has resulted in acres of print and endless meetings why there was a contagious unrest. One common view held was that it was sparked by the death of a black man at the hands of the police. This was one attack on a black person too many. The effect was quite incredible. The incompetent police handling of the aftermath when the family responded asking questions was damped down by assertions that Mark Duggan was armed. The Guardian now reports otherwise.
In Birmingham it has taken years to find out how Mikey Powell met his death while being taken into custody. He was rammed by a police car, hit by police batons, sprayed with gas and sat on. This was after his mother had requested help because of Mikey’s mental illness. Justification was given for violence on this vulnerable person because it was “believed he was armed”.
In Wolverhampton Jenny Cooper was badly beaten by police in the course of being arrested for a trumped up charge for which she has been cleared by a jury. It was so arranged that she was convicted of resisting arrest in the magistrate’s court before standing trial for the substantive charge. So she still has a record because the police are keen to protect themselves from any charges against themselves for thuggery.
Will the “landmark report” report in the Guardian shed light, heat or both on the matter?