Officers will not face action over Smiley Culture death

The Independent Police Complaints Commission have decided that no officers will face action over the death of reggae star Smiley Culture.

The family of the singer have reacted angrily to the decision and over claims by officers that he had stabbed himself in the heart during a police drugs raid at his home in March.

The decision by the IPCC to not hold the police accountable for his death have deepened the mistrust the Black community have of the police, especially when it comes to the issue of deaths in custody.

Despite saying aspects of the police operation were unsatisfactory and have been criticised, the IPCC felt that it "did not meet the threshold for misconduct under the police misconduct system".

And the ludicrous decision to treat the officers present as witnesses rather than suspects meant they were not forced to answer questions in a formal interview. Merlin Emmanuel, Smiley Culture's nephew has been leading a campaign for justice for his uncle, and was not surprised by the IPCC's decision.

"If we look historically speaking about the other families [who have lost relatives in police custody] we didn't hold out much hope. We did think that in the particular unique circumstances in which Smiley died at least some officers would be found to have questions to answer."

He added,

"At the end of the day, we would have expected some kind of justice because if they didn't go to his home that morning Smiley would still be here. In cases like ours it seems that we just feel like we are up against a great Goliath and we are not equipped to handle them."

Picture: Smiley Culture