The Troublemaker - Inquest opens into the death of Rashan Charles after arrest
Rashan Charles
An inquest into the death of Rashan Charles opened in north London on Monday. Rashan died in July last year shortly after being stopped by the police in a shop in Hackney, east London.
He was just 20 years old and his death sparked angry protests.
One of Rashan’s relatives left the inquest on Monday after CCTV footage of his restraint by a police officer was shown.
The footage showed the officer grabbing Rashan from behind before wrestling him to the ground.
Another officer later arrives and is shown trying to give Rashan first aid.
The coroner, Mary Hassell, has granted both officers involved anonymity despite rejecting claims that there was a “direct threat to officers’ lives”.
She decided to place a large black curtain from wall to wall in the courtroom in order to uphold this.
The first officer will be known as BX47 and the second as BX48.
Two witnesses have also been granted anonymity and will be known as Witness 1 and Witness 2. The inquest is expected to last for 12 days.
CCTV footage of Rashan being restrained also showed paramedics removing a package from his mouth.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission, now the Independent Office for Police Conduct, conducted an initial investigation following Rashan’s death.
It found that a package removed from Rashan’s body was not a “controlled substance” and contained a mixture of caffeine and paracetamol.
The inquest continues.
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Cop steals £60,000 from his own mother
A FORMER police officer left his disabled mum unable to pay her care home fees after stealing £60,000.
Paul Gibbs was in charge of mum Lynn’s cash but took thousands after the sale of her house to spend on games and treats.
Gibbs, an ex-airman commended for bravery in the Gulf War, claimed he had “miscalculated” her finances, Stoke-on-Trent crown court heard.
Jailing him for three years, Judge David Fletcher said Gibbs “grossly abused” the trust put in him.
lA police officer has been dismissed for using “seemingly racist language” to threaten a Polish bouncer.
Drunken Mark Baird mimicked the doorman’s accent and said it was “because of people like you that I can’t get in”.
The off-duty PC told him, “I’m going to smash your head in,” a Humberside Police misconduct panel at Goole was told.
