RASHAN CHARLES died during or shortly after he was restrained by police officers in a corner shop in Hackney in the early hours of Saturday morning. Police had stopped a car and it is alleged that Charles ran out of the car and that police pursued him.
On Monday, the campaign group Stand Up To Racism held a vigil outside Stoke Newington police station – by no means the first vigil outside that police station following the death of a black person who was in contact with the police.
The vigil itself was mainly peaceful as members of the community and campaigners addressed the crowd outside Stoke Newington police station while officers stood nearby. All were silent as Rashan Charles’s father spoke: the man who had given life to Rashan stood outside the place where those connected with his death were based. Patrick Charles thanked everyone who had sent messages of support, which the family had found very comforting. He called for justice and for peaceful protest until this was obtained.
After the vigil, protestors staged a short demonstration to the place where Charles died. It was an angry demonstration, some 150 or so strong, with protestors chanting “no justice, no peace” and carrying placards saying “Black lives matter”. They disrupted the traffic and set fire to refuse bins along the way or strewed their contents across the road.
On behalf of local police, Hackney Borough Commander Chief Superintendent Simon Laurence said that he had met community representatives earlier in the day and he would continue to keep in touch with them and listen to their concerns. The death of Mr Charles, and the conduct of police officers during the incident, is now being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).
•Read more about it: Hackney man dies in police chase #JusticeForRash – the CCTV