Black Lives Matter activists to gather outside Cardiff Bay police station
A PROTEST will take place on Saturday, February 20 after a police officer was served with a misconduct notice for his alleged role in the arrest of Mohamud Mohammed Hassan.
The protest, organised by Black Lives Matter, has been sparked by the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s decision not to suspend the officer.
Mr Hassan died aged 24, on the same day that he was released from police custody.
The officer was served with a misconduct notice after the IOPC reviewed body camera footage and found that Mr Hassan had been displaying signs of experiencing pain and complaining of having a fit while he was being taken in a van to Cardiff Bay police station.
The officer potentially failed to pass this information on to staff in charge of Mr Hassan’s welfare while he was in custody.
The misconduct notice does not necessarily mean the officer has done anything wrong, and the worst punishment that could be given is a written warning.
Bianca Ali, 29, will be taking part in the protest on Saturday in spite of lockdown restrictions.
“A black man has died, so do we just say to the family that we’re just going to wait until the pandemic’s over and things calm down and then we’ll protest over your son’s life?
“His life is important, and even though Covid is important too, his life was more important. Every single black person’s life is more important,” said Ms Ali.
The protest will take place outside Cardiff Bay police station at 1pm, and is one of many that have taken place following the death of Mohamud Hassan on January 9.
Mr Hassan was arrested on January 8 at his property in Roath on suspicion of breach of the peace.
He was released without charge the following morning, and died at about 10.30pm.
In a statement on January 12, Catrin Evans, IOPC Director for Wales, said: “An interim report from a post mortem examination is awaited.
“Preliminary indications are that there is no physical trauma injury to explain a cause of death, and toxicology tests are required.”
Lee Jasper, 62, is vice-chair of the activist group Black and Asian Lawyers For Justice, and has been involved in the justice campaign led by Mr Hassan’s family.
“Why is the IOPC releasing information in an incoherent and ad hoc fashion?
“What the family want to know is, why the police were called, how many attended the property, and what happened at the property in terms of his arrest?
“Instead we get told that he reported being sick and feeling unwell in the back of the police van, to which the police officer took no action.
“Of course, the obvious question is what happened to him at the point of his arrest that could have led to him feeling unwell,” said Mr Jasper.
According to Mr Jasper, the post mortem shows that Mohamud Hassan had a split lip that could have been caused by a punch or a slap.
He also says the report showed there were bruises on Mr Hassan’s arms, elbows, wrists and left hand that could have been caused by an impact against a hard surface.
South Wales Police have been approached for comment.
Mr Jasper said: “I think we’ve got to be hopeful. The whole BLM movement across the country is demanding a paradigm shift in police accountability and transparency.
“And if we can’t get it any time soon then the catastrophic decline in the black community’s confidence in policing and criminal justice, and in the IOPC, will reach subterranean levels, and they’re already precipitously low to non-existent.
“We’ve really got a crisis of confidence in the criminal justice system. This represents a fundamental breach in the state’s duty to provide equality before the law.
“We’re determined to set new precedents with this case for transparency and accountability.”
