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UK: Police fail to overturn unlawful killing verdict

01 March 2001

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Hull police officers involved in the death of Christopher Alder have failed to have the unanimous unlawful killing verdict, reached by a jury at an inquest in August last year, overturned. Christopher died of positional asphyxia in April 1998 after being arrested and taken to Queen's Garden police station where he was left unconscious and lying face down in the custody suite for over 10 minutes. His trousers were down, he had been doubly incontinent and blood pooled around his mouth, but the officers took no action to assist him. Hull police had sought a judicial review of the coroner's summing up of the evidence to the jury in an attempt to have the verdict overturned. The Director of Public Prosecutions has announced that five police officers have been suspended from duty and are awaiting trial accused of misconduct in public office (see Statewatch vol 8 no 3 & 4, 6; vol 9 no 5). Family solicitor, Ruth Bundy, commenting on the High Court's rejection of the police case, said: “This has been a time-consuming diversion - we hope that the full investigation into how Christopher Alder was unlawfully killed can now resume.”

The Justice for Christopher Alder Campaign can be contacted c/o Red Triangle cafe, St James' Street, Burnley, Lancashire. Tel. 01282 832319. INQUEST press release 9.4.01.

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