UK: O'Brien family - £250,000 damages, but still no apology
01 May 2002
The family of Irishman Richard O'Brien, who an inquest found was unlawfully killed by Metropolitan police officers in south London in 1994, was awarded £250,000 in damages at the High Court in May. Richard died of positional asphyxia after he was held down by policemen following a disturbance at a christening in which he suffered 30 separate injuries, including 12 cuts to his head. Eye-witnesses described how the father of seven repeated to the police officers several times "I can't breathe. You win, you win". A policeman kneeling on his back replied, "We always win."
An investigation by the Inquest Lawyers Group described his death as being brought about as a result of three "interlinking" factors: "the position in which he was placed by the five officers (face down on the ground with his arms handcuffed behind his back and his legs folded against the small of his back); the application of physical force and restraint to his body (two officers placed their knees on his back and behind [and] also applied pressure elsewhere on Mr O'Brien’s body); and the physical exertion on Mr O'Brien's part as he struggled for his life..."
In 1995 an inquest into the death ruled that O'Brien was unlawfully killed, but subsequent manslaughter trials resulted in the acquittals of three police officers. In July 2000 judgement was entered against the Metropolitan police under the Fatal Accident Act. Scotland Yard fought against the case. The Irish in Britain Representation Group welcomed the settlement and urged local authorities to "learn the lessons of this and other cases involving Irish people and treat members of out community with respect and dignity." Their hopes would appear to be unlikely to materialise as the O'Brien family are still awaiting an apology from the police.
For background see Inquest Lawyers Group "The right to life. The police and the criminal justice system: the case of Lapite, O'Brien and Treadway" (Inquest) 1998 (ISBN 09468 5806 3); Crown Prosecution Service "Inquiry into Crown Prosecution Service decision-making in relation to deaths in custody and related matters" (Stationery Office) 1999 (ISBN 0-11-341236-3)