£1 million damages for ex-officer Sultan Alam

Many Black people will wonder whether or not racism is rife in our Northern police forces. It was just a few months ago that two officers were cleared of criminal wrong doing, which more than anything highlighted a level or racial discrimination and persecution, the likes of which we thought had disappeared in the 1980’s.

OBV readers may recall we covered the appalling case of Bradford police officer Kashif Ahmed, 33, and his co-accused, Shamim Khan, 47, who dramatically had all charges against them dismissed by a Judge at Bradford Crown Court after revelations about the way officers from West Yorkshire police force investigated the case.

But what happened to ex-Pc Sultan Alam trumps that. He has spent 17 years battling for justice. During that time he was spend nearly a year in prison having been wrongly convicted for handling stolen goods in 1996. In prison, he had to be moved no less than three times for his own safety because inmates knew he was an ex-officer. Cleveland Police eventually admitted liability after it was sued by ex-Pc Sultan Alam, who has battled to win justice after his life was destroyed.

In 2003 four fellow officers involved in Mr Alam’s original case were charged but aquitted with perverting the course of justice and other offences.

Now, due to the malicious and racist persecution brought by his police colleagues Alam is in line for a possible £1 million payout.

But what many Black people in the area will be asking is that, if they -the police force- can treat their own colleagues like they treated Alam and Ahmed, how are they going to treat those who don’t look like them and they don’t know?

The police forces in the Yorkshire area will need to redouble their efforts to rebuild the battered confidence between themselves and minority ethnic communities.

Simon Woolley

Picture: Former PC Sultan Alam