Hundreds of people protested in Burnley on 7 July after the death of Nadeem Khan in police custody. On 30 June the 28-year-old, known as Dean, was arrested following what officers described as a ‘violent struggle’. His family, including his mother Brenda, currently suffering from cancer and who signed herself out of hospital, led the protest.
Mr Khan, a father of two, was arrested at around 8.50am Saturday. Police were called to the area after residents said they had seen a man in the street vandalising cars and homes whilst leaving a trail of his own blood. It is then reported that Mr Khan walked into a hairdressers shop on Burnley Road asking staff and customers for help but was followed by officers and sprayed with gas.
Mr Khan was taken to Burnley Police Station and from there to Burnley General Hospital, where he died. His cousin, Jason Hogg, told the local press ‘We have questions about the timeline we want answering. We have been told he was arrested at 8.50am it took them 15 minutes to arrest him and he died at 10.33am. The investigation only covers what happened when the police arrived. At the first shop Nadeem went into the shopkeeper said his arms were bleeding. He had obviously been attacked as he was asking people for help and was fearing for his life. It was not like he was walking through the street smashing things up. We want to know what happened before the police arrived and will not rest until we have answers.’
Evan Cunnick
FRFI 198 August /September 2007
