Yesterday evening officers from the Met’s infamous Territorial Support Group shut down a protest called in memory of Mohamud Mohammed Hassan, a 24 year old black man who died following police contact in Cardiff last Saturday.

Using powers granted to them by the Health Protection regulations, officers moved quickly to disperse the assembly, issuing spot fines and making at least two arrests.

Mohamud Hassan was arrested at his home on the evening of Friday January 8th following an alleged breach of the peace. He was released without charge on Saturday morning but was later found dead at his home.

Hassan’s family say that he was severely assaulted while in custody at Cardiff Bay police station, and was released with “lots of wounds on his body and lots of bruises” that were not sustained during his arrest.

The death has led to a week of protest in the Welsh capital, with at least one woman facing a £500 fine for her alleged role in organising the demonstrations.

Hasan is one of over 1700 people who have died following contact with the police since 1990, around 14% of whom were people of colour. Data collected by the charity INQUEST shows that:

• The proportion of BAME deaths in custody where restraint is a feature is over two times greater than it is in other deaths in custody.
• The proportion of BAME deaths in custody where use of force is a feature is over two times greater than it is in other deaths in custody.
• The proportion of BAME deaths in custody where mental health-related issues are a feature is nearly two times greater than it is in other deaths in custody.

Since 1969, not a single serving police officers has been successfully prosecuted for manslaughter, homicide or assault, relating to the death of a person in their custody.

Carl Spender

Image Credit: Guy Smallman