Over 100 Families Unite for Class Action Against UK Police Over Fatal Encounters
Relatives seek justice and accountability for police-related deaths spanning over five decades.
More than 100 relatives of individuals who have died following contact with police in the United Kingdom since 1971 are joining together to pursue a class action lawsuit.
This legal initiative was announced during the People's Tribunal on Police Killings, a recent two-day event where bereaved families presented testimonies to a panel of international experts regarding their experiences and the lasting impacts of these deaths.
The proposed class action aims to hold police officers, police chiefs, and government departments accountable for their roles in these fatalities.
Activist and filmmaker Ken Fero, who is assisting in organizing the action, described it as 'revolutionary' and noted that such a class action has not previously occurred in the UK. He emphasized the need for a unified approach that encompasses all cases rather than selectively addressing certain incidents.
Data presented by event organizers indicate that around 3,000 deaths involving police in the UK have been documented over the past 50 years, with only four police officers having been convicted in connection with a killing during that period.
Families participating in the tribunal included Sieta Lambrias, whose brother Mikey Powell died of positional asphyxia due to police restraint in 2003, and Shirley Sylvester, who spoke about her cousin Roger Sylvester, who died after being restrained by eight police officers in 1999.
Samantha Patterson, whose brother Jason McPherson died in 2007 after an encounter with police, expressed the prolonged struggle for justice faced by her family.
Following an inquest, the police received criticism for failing to adhere to proper procedures during the incident.
Patterson noted the profound emotional toll that seeking justice for her brother’s death has taken on her family, citing her mother’s passing shortly after the inquest as a significant loss.
The number of participants in the proposed class action is reportedly increasing rapidly, with legal teams of barristers currently working to define its structure.
Fero articulated that the objectives include seeking prosecutions and compensation while highlighting the failure of the state to protect its citizens.
The tribunal was organized by a coalition of campaign groups, such as the United Families and Friends Campaign, Migrant Media, and 4WardEverUK, aimed at bringing international attention to the issue of police killings and exploring themes such as systemic injustice and the disproportionate impact on Black communities.
The organizers have criticized the term 'deaths in custody' as being misleading and insufficiently broad, arguing it obscures cases where individuals were not formally arrested or detained prior to their deaths.
This legal initiative was announced during the People's Tribunal on Police Killings, a recent two-day event where bereaved families presented testimonies to a panel of international experts regarding their experiences and the lasting impacts of these deaths.
The proposed class action aims to hold police officers, police chiefs, and government departments accountable for their roles in these fatalities.
Activist and filmmaker Ken Fero, who is assisting in organizing the action, described it as 'revolutionary' and noted that such a class action has not previously occurred in the UK. He emphasized the need for a unified approach that encompasses all cases rather than selectively addressing certain incidents.
Data presented by event organizers indicate that around 3,000 deaths involving police in the UK have been documented over the past 50 years, with only four police officers having been convicted in connection with a killing during that period.
Families participating in the tribunal included Sieta Lambrias, whose brother Mikey Powell died of positional asphyxia due to police restraint in 2003, and Shirley Sylvester, who spoke about her cousin Roger Sylvester, who died after being restrained by eight police officers in 1999.
Samantha Patterson, whose brother Jason McPherson died in 2007 after an encounter with police, expressed the prolonged struggle for justice faced by her family.
Following an inquest, the police received criticism for failing to adhere to proper procedures during the incident.
Patterson noted the profound emotional toll that seeking justice for her brother’s death has taken on her family, citing her mother’s passing shortly after the inquest as a significant loss.
The number of participants in the proposed class action is reportedly increasing rapidly, with legal teams of barristers currently working to define its structure.
Fero articulated that the objectives include seeking prosecutions and compensation while highlighting the failure of the state to protect its citizens.
The tribunal was organized by a coalition of campaign groups, such as the United Families and Friends Campaign, Migrant Media, and 4WardEverUK, aimed at bringing international attention to the issue of police killings and exploring themes such as systemic injustice and the disproportionate impact on Black communities.
The organizers have criticized the term 'deaths in custody' as being misleading and insufficiently broad, arguing it obscures cases where individuals were not formally arrested or detained prior to their deaths.
