At a speech delivered at Liberty Hall, New York on November 12th 1922, Marcus Mosiah Garvey said:
“The fellow who is strong can maintain his equilibrium and maintain his stand anywhere, but the fellow who is weak is at the mercy of anyone who passes by.” (1)

However, the Eminent Prophet was referring less to an individual ‘fellow’ than he was the race. He surmised that when a race/group is (or is perceived) strong they seem able to bypass the incessant impediments that the weaker, less influential groups appear to be. For example, as tragic as the brutal murder of 14 year-old Jayden Moodie in Leyton, east London a few days ago was, we rarely hear about such bloodthirsty fates befalling, say, the Jewish or Chinese communities. (2)

Thus Papa Garvey’s mission, particularly from 1914 onwards was to “establish a Universal Confraternity among the race; to promote the spirit of pride and love,” as a race able to manifest these traits would possess the capacity to strengthen itself. (3) The level of “overt discrimination,” in the words of David Lammy, that, Afrikans globally face in the criminal justice system and society at large can be taken as a measure of how far we’ve fallen short of this ideal. (4)

So we’re left with a seemingly perennial cycle of injustice, perhaps represented most starkly by deaths in custody. Starkly, because these deaths are at the hands of those who are supposed to be public servants. Afrika Speaks has over the years dealt extensively with the issue of deaths in custody in general as well as specifically covering some of the campaigns for justice including Joy Gardner, Azelle Rodney, Sean Rigg, Olaseni Lewis, Smiley Culture, Kingsley Burrell Brown, Mark Duggan, Edson Da Costa and Rashan Charles. One case we have never dealt with directly is that of Roger Sylvester that happened twenty years ago this month.

In 1999 Roger Sylvester was a fit and healthy 30 year-old who worked as an administration officer at a mental health drop-in near his Tottenham home. Although he had suffered mental health problems in the past, his family said for the last two years of his life he had not been unwell and was looking forward to the future: (5)
“While many things are still unclear as to what happened on the night Sylvester died, it has been established that a little after 9.30 p.m., on January 11, 1999, police arrived outside Sylvester’s house as a result of a 999 emergency call. Two officers came to the house initially and found him naked in his front garden. Within minutes another six officers had arrived. The eight officers put Sylvester to the ground where he was handcuffed. He was detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act. Police officers told his family that he was restrained “for his own safety.” But they admitted that he had not been violent or aggressive towards the police or anybody else. According to one witness, Sylvester’s body was already limp when it was placed in the police van. He was taken to St Ann’s hospital and carried from the van to a private room where, still restrained, he was put on the floor by upwards of six police officers for nearly 20 minutes before being seen by a doctor. While the doctor left the room to get some medication, Sylvester went limp and collapsed. The officers, with the assistance of medical staff, tried to resuscitate him but he had sustained numerous injuries and remained in a coma at the Whittington hospital until his life support machine was switched off seven days later.” (6)

The above account represents just what we can call phase one of the injustice – an Afrikan presenting no threat, ends up in a fatal encounter with the police. Phase two is invariably the justification of the fatally, in which the authorities usually have a willing ally:
“There is a wider social and political context in which such deaths have occurred, often involving misinformation in the media about the deceased and their family…” (7)

The well furrowed narrative blames the victim for their own deaths as the police were left with no alternative, being faced with someone of “exceptional strength.” (8) This is often followed up with the release of irrelevant but negative information about the victim to paint them in an unsympathetic and further magnify the heroism of the police:
“The pathologist for the St Pancras Coroner, Dr Freddie Patel, also made unprofessional and inaccurate statements regarding recent drug abuse in an “off the cuff” briefing to journalists outside the coroner’s court. This unsubstantiated statement was reproduced in many newspapers. The Sylvester family complained and Dr Patel was removed and another pathologist appointed. The family said they had received no evidence that Sylvester’s death was drug related.
The damage had already been done, however. On January 30, 1999, the Times newspaper devoted a whole page to an article reporting that police officers thought Sylvester’s death was the result of his heart being “swollen by crack cocaine.” The article also said that he was “flinging himself to the ground” when police called for reinforcements. None of this was found to be true.” (9)

Another notorious, more recent example of this was the then Independent Police Complaints Commission’s statement to the media that Mark Duggan had fired at police before he was shot dead by them back in 2011. (10) In fact not only was it that the officer that got hit was as a result of his colleagues ricocheted bullet, Mark Duggan was not even holding a gun, later confirmed by the inquest jury (in spite of their “baffling” lawful killing verdict. (11)

It’s worth noting that the aforementioned coroner Freddy Patel was struck off in 2012 for “dishonesty as well as incompetence” after decades of what appeared to be officially sanctioned misconduct. (12)

Phase three of the injustice is the refusal of the state to prosecute any of those responsible for the death. This predictably came in November 2000 when the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. (13) In May 2001, the High Court blocked the family’ s attempt to gain a judicial review of the CPS’s decision. (14)

Phase four is drawing out investigate processes. In the absence of a criminal investigation, the Sylvester family had to wait almost four years for a detailed account of how and why their loved one died. The inquest convened on September 8th 2003 and adjourned on October 3rd when the jury returned its verdict.

“During the month-long inquest, the jury heard evidence from doctors, nurses, heart specialists, brain specialists, toxicologist, psychologists, psychiatrists, pathologists, positional restraint professionals, witnesses who Roger saw and spoke to on the day and evening of 11th and witnesses to the incident both outside his home and in the hospital.” (15)

On 3 October 2003, the Coroner gave the jury 4 possible verdicts to choose from, all of which were described in detail. The possible verdicts were: –
1. Accident (on the balance of probability)
2. Open verdict (on the balance of probability)
3. Non-dependent abuse of drugs (on the balance of probability)
4. Unlawful killing (beyond reasonable doubt)

The jury found that Roger died from brain damage and cardiac arrest and that he had been ‘lawfully detained’ under the Mental Health Act. (16) However, they also found that:
1. Held in restraint position too long
2. Lack of medical attention
3. No attempt was made to alter his position of restraint.

They therefore concluded that Roger Sylvester was killed unlawfully. It took the eleven jurors just two hours to return the unanimous verdict. (17) The conclusion was seen as a damning indictment of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which refused to prosecute the officers. (18)

Phase five – the roll back. Even with little chance of justice for the Sylvester family the unlawful killing verdict clearly rankled the state. The officers responsible for the death appealed to the High Court, where in November 2004 Mr ‘Justice’ Collins overturned the unlawful killing verdict stating that said the way the coroner had summed up the case “confused” the jury. He added that he would not order another inquest, and concluded that no jury in any criminal case would be likely to convict any officer of manslaughter. As a result the Sylvester family declared they would “opt out” of the legal process. Conversely, Glen Smyth of the Metropolitan Police Federation welcomed ‘Justice’ Collins’ decision stating that:
“As the judge observed as to the campaign in this case, ‘justice is impartial. Of course there must be justice for Roger, but there must also be justice for police officers’.” (19)

Smyth went to call for “improvements were needed to the provision of emergency mental health care”, which along with guidance on restraining techniques are a familiar refrain after such cases. However, in spite of the ubiquitous use of platitudes like “lessons learned,” as of 2017 the police were still at the remedial stage – evidenced by the deaths of Sean Rigg, Olaseni Lewis, Kevin Clarke, Nuno Cardoso and countless others. (20)

As a result of verdicts like the Roger Sylvester case and that of Harry Stanley at around the same time, that made moves to apply something called the ‘Galbraith Plus’ test that caused Coroners to effectively rule out the option of unlawful killing for inquest juries (the notable exception being Hillsborough). (21)

The magnitude of the task in taking on the justice system, as the Sylvester and scores of other families have, cannot be underestimated. The Case of Andrew Mitchell is instructive.

In September 2012 Andrew Mitchell was the Chief Whip of the coalition government led by Prime Minister David Cameron when he got involved in a argument with a police officer at the gates of Downing Street. The incident became known as ‘Plebgate’ after the epithet the officer in question Toby Rowland accused Mitchell of using. Whereas Mitchell admitted swearing at Rowland, he denied using the world “pleb” in reference to the police officers. What ensued was nothing less than a “conspiracy” to destroy Andrew Mitchell and even “topple the government”: (22)
“The serving police officer who lied about witnessing the altercation, and was subsequently jailed. The Police Federation representatives who misrepresented their meeting with Andrew Mitchell in an effort to get him sacked. The other serving police officers who colluded with the Federation in a bid to use Plebgate to undermine the government of the day, and who were subsequently dismissed from the force.” (23)

Although the “industrial scale” lying caught up with some of the officers who subsequently punished, there was still evidence of the judiciary marching lock step with the police, as witnessed in the Roger Sylvester case appeal. (24)At the subsequent libel case the judge overlooked the tissue of lies propagated by the police and found in their favour, asserting that “Embellishment of a true account by a police officer on the defensive is, of course, not acceptable, but it is understandable if done for that purpose.” The “true account” referred to, however, is that proffered by a police officer that has been notoriously inconsistent (to be super euphemistic). This is tantamount to an ‘as you were’ pass to the police. Or as one reporter put it:
“If that could happen to the Government chief whip whilst he was walking up Downing Street, what chance does a kid from Brixton have?” (25)

Referring back to Marcus Garvey, the possibility of a chance, however remote, can only come about through the fulfilment of his mission. Moreover, we can look at some of legal landmarks in the Sean Rigg case, for example, to show that with guile and persistence, there is scope to push back against the legal system. Think how much more powerful, this would be if it had (independent Afrikan) institutional weight behind it, not just the tenacity of individual families. (26)
(1) Robert A Hill (Ed) (11/12/18) The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers, Vol. IX: Africa for the Africans June 1921-December 1922. p. 681. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Ka3gefc7Ec8C&pg=PA681&lpg=PA681&dq=garvey+strong+man+strong+anywhere&source=bl&ots=sdzJ8kKPTd&sig=kkeKARVSKTUB_wM1DbeVu6nyHvM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi4kvXr-ebfAhXnShUIHYbmDDAQ6AEwCnoECAMQAQ#v=onepage&q=garvey%20strong%20man%20strong%20anywhere&f=false
(2) Natalie Evans (11/01/19) Leyton murder: Boy, 14, had ‘absolutely no gang links’ say heartbroken family. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/leyton-murder-boy-14-absolutely-13840758
(3) Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities’ League (1918) Constitution of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. https://blackpast.org/primary/constitution-universal-negro-improvement-association-1918
(4) David Lammy (2017) The Lammy Review: An independent review into the treatment of, and outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals in the Criminal Justice System. Ministry of Justice. p. 69. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/643001/lammy-review-final-report.pdf
(5) Keith Lee (15/10/03) Roger Sylvester: Jury rules London police unlawfully killed black man. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2003/10/roge-o15.html
(6) Ibid.
(7) Rt. Hon. Dame Elish Angiolini DBE QC (2017) Report of the Independent Review of Deaths and Serious Incidents in Police Custody. The Home Office. p. 85. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/655401/Report_of_Angiolini_Review_ISBN_Accessible.pdf
(8) Ibid.
(9) Lee. Op. cit.
(10) Paul Lewis and Sandra Laville (12/08/11) Mark Duggan death: IPCC says it inadvertently misled media. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/aug/12/mark-duggan-ipcc-misled-media
(11) Matthew Holehouse, (08/01/14) Mark Duggan inquest: Diane Abbott ‘baffled’ at jury. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10559672/Mark-Duggan-verdict-Diane-Abbott-baffled-at-jury.html
(12) Sarah Boseley (23/08/12) Ian Tomlinson pathologist Freddy Patel struck off. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/aug/23/tomlinson-pathologist-freddy-patel-struck-off
(13) George Wright (03/10/03) Detained man unlawfully killed by police. https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/oct/03/ukcrime.prisonsandprobation
(14) Lee. Op. cit.
(15) Roger Sylvester Justice Campaign (2004)Roger Sylvester was Killed Unlawfully’. https://4wardeveruk.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/RSJC-Booklet.pdf
(16) Harmit Athwal (09/10/03) Roger Sylvester – Police Condemned For Black Death. http://www.irr.org.uk/news/roger-sylvester-police-condemned-for-black-death/ https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/racism-english-football-raheem-sterling-colin-kaepernick/ more at: https://inews.co.uk/author/sam-cunningham/
(17) Roger Sylvester Justice Campaign. Op. cit,
(18) Lee. Op. cit.
(19) BBC News (26/11/04) Unlawful killing verdict quashed. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4044677.stm
(20) INQUEST (13/13/18) INQUEST responds to police use of force statistics. https://www.inquest.org.uk/police-use-of-force-stats
(21) Daniel Machover (24/08/18) Response to question at the event, Never Forgotten: 10 Years on, Sean Rigg’s memory lives on. https://www.ovalhouse.com/whatson/detail/never-forgotten
(22) Stephen Wright and James Slack (01/09/14) Plebgate police ‘told lies on an industrial scale’: Fury of Mitchell allies as report says WPC boasted ‘I’ll topple Tory government’. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2739790/Scotland-Yard-releases-new-Plebgate-CCTV-footage-details-conspiracy-officers-topple-Tory-government.html
(23) Dan Hodges (01/12/14) Andrew Mitchell had no chance in his Plebgate libel case. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/11265602/Andrew-Mitchell-had-no-chance-in-his-Plebgate-libel-case.html
(24) Stephen Wright and James Slack. Op. Cit.
(25) Hodges. Oip cit.
(26) INQUEST (08/11/16) Police sergeant found ‘not guilty’ of perjury following the death of Sean Rigg in 2008. https://www.inquest.org.uk/sean-rigg-police-sergeant-verdict.

We ask the question:

Roger Sylvester 20 years on: Do we have any more chance for justice in the legal system?
1) Are you familiar with the Roger Sylvester case?
2) Has much changed in the media reporting of such cases?
3 Is justice really “impartial ”?
4) What are the chances of us establishing a “ universal confraternity” today?

Our Special Guest:

Bro. Victor Sylvester: is the cousin of Roger Sylvester and part of the Roger Sylvester Justice Campaign.