By Cat Alison
‘My son was stereotyped by the police: he was black, then he must be a criminalÉ[his] crime was that he was walking down the road looking for a bus to take him home. Our crime is living in a country where the justice system supports racist murders against innocent people.’ (Doreen Lawrence)
In March, at the start of the public inquiry into the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, Mike Mansfield QC described the original investigation as so flawed that one had to conclude ‘deeper causes and forces had been at work’. What has emerged so far is a picture of police incompetence so gross that it can only have been the result of racism.
The inquiry heard how, as Stephen lay dead or dying in a pool of blood, the first officers on the scene made no attempt at resuscitation, not even bothering to get first aid kits out of the car. In three hours at the scene, a senior officer, Inspector Steven Groves, did not bother to find out Stephen’s injuries or his condition. His only interest in Duwayne Brooks, who had been with Stephen when he was stabbed and was in a state of great distress, was as a possible suspect. Ian McDonald, Duwayne’s QC, inquired: ‘So you arrive at the scene of a crime. There is one black man lying on the floor and one other black man standing close by. Everyone else is white. Of all the people there, he is the one person who you think might be a suspect?’ Groves agreed. GrovesGroves also failed to order an immediate house-to-house search or follow up a lead about a carload of jeering white youths who had twice driven past the scene (and included two men connected with the racist murder of another young black man, Rolan Adams, in 1991). also ‘failed to discover’ that Duwayne had already given police officers a description of one attacker, and the direction they ran off in.
Over the next two days, nine different sources, including two police informants, named five white suspects. Neil and Jamie Acourt, Gary Dobson, Luke Knight and David Norris were a local gang of well-known racists, with a record of violence. Four had been seen that night washing blood off themselves. A house search turned up the diary of a friend of theirs, who had written: ‘Acourts stabbed a black boy up Well Hall Road. Jamie and Neil, Gary, David, Lukie.’ Detective Inspector Philip Jeynes has admitted that enough evidence existed to arrest the men within 48 hours. Yet no arrests were made for two weeks. Former Detective Superintendent Brian Weeden, who led the investigation, claims that ‘ignorance of the law’ prevented him from making arrests on what he considered insufficient evidence. Another senior officer, Detective Superintendent Ian Crampton, claims that information about potential witnesses never reached him. In reality, all evidence was deliberately ignored or suppressed. Eyewitness Roy Westbrook attended a identity parade but left after being kept waiting for nine hours; another witness refused to attend further parades after an inspector called out his name in front of suspects.
Police mounted a ‘surveillance operation’ to gather their own evidence. And what a farce that turned out to be. There was no mobile phone and the surveillance team failed to record the removal of bags potentially containing evidence (such as bloodstained clothes) from the suspects’ homes.
At the same time, police consistently treated Stephen’s family and friends with contempt. At the hospital, Inspector Ian Little told Stephen’s parents: ‘We’ve got a young lad in there, he’s dead. We don’t who he is and we’d like you to clarify that point.’ He offered no sympathy or support. Police ‘liaison’ officers kept the family in the dark about the investigation and repeatedly interrogated them, implying that Stephen had been involved in a gang and in criminal activity. When no arrests were made, the family presented a list of suspects to Detective Chief Superintendent William Isley. He screwed the piece of paper into a ball before their eyes. Duwayne Brooks was asked what he and Stephen had done to provoke the attack and if they’d been harassing white girls in the local McDonald’s. He told the inquiry, ‘I’m sad, confused and pissed about this system where racists attack and go free but innocent victims like Steve and I are treated like criminals.’
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Paul Condon has criticised the inquiry as ‘unfair’ to his officers and as ‘putting relations between police and the black community at risk’! The police are bending over backwards to appear simply incompetent idiots – far better that than for the truth to emerge that they are lying, corrupt racists.
Five years on, Stephen’s murderers still walk the streets. They have now been subpoenaed to appear before the public inquiry. But even if they finally answer questions, the inquiry cannot bring justice. Neil Acourt, Dobson and Knight, having been acquitted in 1996, cannot be tried again. All the senior officers are now retired or about to be. All that the inquiry can do is ensure that police racism is exposed.
The campaign is asking people to attend the public inquiry on the 4th floor of Hamilton House, Shopping Centre, Elephant and Castle, London SE1 every day. Briefings are held at 1pm daily. The murder suspects are expected to attend the inquiry on 15 June and a demonstration is planned. In case of possible adjournments, please phone the campaign on 0181 690 8830.
FRFI 143 June / July 1998
