Rashan Charles: Officer cleared of misconduct despite ‘basic failings’

Rashan Charles

The officer who restrained Rashan Charles hours before his death has been cleared of misconduct despite “falling short of expected standards”, the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) has announced.

Twenty-year-old Charles died in hospital on 22 July last year following a police chase.

CCTV footage of his arrest in Dalston was widely circulated on social media, and shows a police officer throwing him to the ground.

A post-mortem revealed that Charles suffered a cardiac arrest, “most likely” caused by him swallowing a mix of caffeine and paracetamol wrapped in plastic, which was later removed from his throat.

The IOPC today published the findings of its investigation into his death.

It found that while the officer’s conduct “fell short of expected standards”, the evidence showed these failings “were not deliberate and did not amount to misconduct”.

The report says there were “reasonable grounds to stop and search Mr Charles due to his behaviour in running from a car that had made off from an attempted police stop and a suspicion he may have been in possession of a prohibited article”.

It adds that, “for these reasons, the officer known as BX47 who restrained Mr Charles used reasonable, necessary and proportionate force during restraint”, and that while his technique was “unorthodox”, it “did not cause any injury to Mr Charles’ throat nor contribute to his death”.

The IOPC’s London chief, Jonathan Green, said: “This was a tragic incident and I cannot begin to imagine the loss that Rashan’s family have suffered. My sympathies remain with them and everyone affected by Rashan’s death.

“We found that Officer BX47 was responsible for some basic failings and although they may not have been the cause of Rashan’s death, I think they do represent a failure to perform his role satisfactorily – either through a lack of competence or capability.

“The evidence suggests that the situation which developed in the shop, did so rapidly, taking the officer by surprise to the extent that he ‘froze’ in circumstances which were difficult, stressful and exhausting.

“These failures, however, were not deliberate and it is acknowledged by witnesses present at the scene, supported by expert evidence gathered in this investigation, that BX47 did his best in difficult circumstances. BX47 also accepted many of these failings at the recent inquest into Rashan’s death.”

The Charles family’s lawyer, Imran Khan, said the decision has not delivered “accountability and justice”, and that the family is considering a legal challenge.

Speaking on the family’s behalf, Khan said: “We are discussing with Rashan’s family the content of the IOPC’s findings and actively considering challenges to the decision because they are extremely disappointed by the findings of the IOPC and are particularly concerned by the manner in which they have been treated throughout the investigation process.

“Regrettably, the IOPC, not unlike its predecessor the IPCC, has not delivered the accountability and justice that this family deserve and the public require in order to have any confidence in the way in which it deals with and investigates complaints against the police.”

Responding to the conclusion of the year-long IOPC probe, Hackney Mayor Philip Glanville and community safety chief Cllr Caroline Selman released a joint statement, saying: “Rashan’s death was devastating for his friends and family, and it has had a wider impact across the community.

“It has been extremely powerful to listen to the concerns, questions and fears of members of the community including young people over the course of the last year.

“It is crucial that those concerns are heard and that we work together to ensure that all Hackney residents have confidence in the organisations that are there to keep them safe.”

In June, an inquest jury ruled that Charles’ death was accidental – a decision condemned by his family, who believe the investigation was “flawed”.

For a summary of the IOPC’s findings, and a link to the full report, please visit policeconduct.gov.uk

Update: this article was amended at 10:15 on Thursday 16 August 2018 to include a statement from lawyer Imran Khan on behalf of Rashan Charles’ family.