*Met counter-terrorism police accused of “a racist assault” as CPS drops
charge against black youth worker*
Serious concerns are emerging about the “botched and violent” police
counter-terrorist stop and subsequent arrest of a Black man in Greenwich,
just over a week after the death of Drummer Lee Rigby. After Counter
Terrorism police performed a ‘hard stop’ on the car Husani Williams’ was
driving, he was arrested for possession of a Class A drug. Williams
submitted a defence statement in which he denied the cocaine possession
charge and the CPS took the decision this week to drop that charge. The
London Campaign against Police and State Violence (LCAPSV) are now
demanding that SO15, the Metropolitan Police Service Counter-Terrorism
Command, and SO19, MPS’ Specialist Firearms Command should face an
independent inquiry into their “brutal and unnecessary” use of force.
On 1st June 2013, Williams was driving through Greenwich near the Woolwich
Flyover. In the car with him were his brother, Asanti, and two female
friends. At around 6pm, the car was brought to a ‘hard stop’ by armed
officers in unmarked cars. The officers shot out the tyres, smashed the car
side-windows, and proceeded to thrust their weapons into the faces of the
Williams brothers. They then dragged him and the three passengers out of
the car. Officers used Tasers and ‘pain compliance’ techniques on the men,
who did not resist at any point. During the arrest officers accused the
brothers of being terrorists, and are accused of having repeatedly racially
abused them. At the time the arrest was reported in local newspapers.
Due to the severity of the injuries to his head, Asanti was taken to
hospital on the insistence of Paramedics and no charges were made against
him. The police explained that the car was targeted because it was linked
with an address associated with the Lee Rigby murder. The address in
question was that of Mr Williams’ cousin, a Black Muslim, who has not been
approached by police to date.
Husani was charged with possession of a Class A drug, but crucially,
despite the nature of the stop, was not charged with any offence relating
to terrorism. A court hearing which took place in October put the trial
back on a “warned list” until April for unspecified reasons. In
November, Husani pleaded not guilty. At a hearing at Woolwich Crown Court
on 8th January, the Prosecution formally offered no evidence in respect of
this charge.
A complaint about the way the Williams’ brothers were treated is currently
being investigated and they are also currently preparing to pursue a civil
case against the Metropolitan Police.
Kojo Kyerewaa, a member of LCAPSV said: “This was an outrageous set of events. From the brutal and unnecessary aggression during the police operation and the dubious “intelligence” which led to it, to the shambolic handling of the court case. This raises serious questions about the professionalism and integrity of these institutions of law enforcement.
The Williams’ brothers ordeal happened one week after Lee Rigby’s murder,
and all evidence points to the fact that this botched and violent assault
was based on tenuous intelligence if not mere speculation with extreme
racist abuse. It looks very much like a racist assault by the Police, which
could have resulted in the death of an innocent man.”
Husani Williams said: “The decision to drop the charge against me was a great relief. This entire criminal process has been a time of incredible stress and trauma on me and my family. I’m grateful for the support I’ve received so far and
I’ll continue to demand answers and fight for justice.”
For more information:
Contact LCAPSV at [email protected]
http://londonagainstpoliceviolence.wordpress.com/
http://content.met.police.uk/Article/Counter-Terrorism-Command/1400006569170/1400006569170
http://content.met.police.uk/Site/sco19/
http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/10457877.Armed_police_use_Hatton_rounds_during_dramatic_arrest_in_Greenwich/
It is outrageous the way the Metropolitan Police is treating people. But this problem is not unique to London or police violence is not only used against the Black and Asian communities. Look at what the cops did and have done during and subsequent to the Miners’ Strike in 1984-85. I was arrested for affray in Hull in 2014. I got into a dispute on the street. It was the very first time I have been in a police station or a police cell. First contact with the police. I am a retired schoolteacher, white, blonde, well-educated, travelled, English, Yorkshireman. They treated me like dogshit. They pushed me around, threatened to force search me and forcibly take DNA. When I was put in the cell, they denied me immediate access to a solicitor. I suffer from migraines and I started to get one whilst locked in the police cell. I told them that I needed a particular type of medication. They denied me it. “Suffer it”, they said. They said that I would have to take one paracetamol. When the so-called Police Medic came into the cell, he told me to sit down. I refused and so he called a burly policeman to threaten me with a forced sit-down. This experience has embittered me against the police. Now when I see a policeman on the street, I feel a sense of injustice, even hatred. I can quite honestly say that if one knocked on the front door of my house asking for help because his/her colleague was having a seizure across the street, I would close the door in his/her face. I would never help the police now unless it was to help other people in trouble. I was relieved to get out of the Police Station in one piece. I kept thinking of a neighbour of mine (Chris Alder, he lived in the flat above me in Hull) who was left to die on the floor of a station in Hull whilst police officers stood around joking and laughing whilst he was dying on the floor.
Comment by David M on 17 February, 2016 at 3:20 pm