Campaigners calling for inquiry into deaths in custody

A number of campaigners joined American civil rights icon Reverend Jesse Jackson at Operation Black Vote's headquarters last Thursday to call for an independent judicial review into the current handling of Black deaths in police custody.

Reverend Jackson spoke said he shared the pain of the families who have lost loved one in custody and said now was the time for a collective movement to call for change.

Joining Reverend Jackson were a number of agencies including Operation Hope and Recovery, The United Friends and Families Campaign, Inquest, Black Mental Health UK, Operation Black Vote and the Campaign 4 Justice.

Also speaking at the press conference in east London were the families of Kingsley Burrell Brown, Sean Rigg and Smiley Culture. They spoke about the pain of losing their family members and the lack of communication they had with the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Chairing the conference was Lee Jasper, Chair of London Race & Criminal Justice Consortium & executive member of OHR, who said that a robust response to police abuse might help avoid an angry response such as the likes seen in the aftermath of the death of Tottenham resident Mark Duggan, which triggered the riots in August.

Click here to view the press conference.