26.03.2024
At the end of the Coroner’s Inquest on 26th March 2024, Ronaldo’s family says:
Ronaldo Johnson – known to many as Ron or Uncle Dodo – was a shy boy who was well loved by his peers. He was a boy of very few words but when he spoke he was honest, extremely wise or very funny. At 16 he became his nephew’s official carer, a role he took on with pride. Ron was patient, kind, caring, strong, loving, passionate and dedicated to caring for others. He lit up any room he entered.
Ron is bitterly missed by his heartbroken family, friends and wider community.
Ron was the back seat passenger in a car which collided with a taxi after being pursued by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) on 31st March 2021. He died from his injuries in hospital on Tuesday 6th April 2021.
Not only has his family endured a devastating loss, they have had to fight every step of the way to get the truth of what happened.
Ron’s family have been made to wait 3 years for an Inquest, for which they were only granted a half day. They have been met with restrictions, roadblocks and a lack of transparency and complete lack of empathy and care throughout this process. We feel it is unjust that the coroner refused to grant an Article 2 inquest – which takes place when the state and/or its agents have failed to protect someone’s right to life.
We believe that GMP failed in their ‘duty of care’. The APP guidelines dictate that they have a responsibility to prioritise the preservation of life, the prevention of injuries and public safety. The pursuing officer confirmed that his priority was apprehending and pursuing a suspect. His decision, by his own admission, was based on limited information, no knowledge of the car being linked with any criminal activity (besides allegedly running a red light) and a lack of certainty or awareness of occupants in the car and injuries. We believe the responsibility to prioritise the preservation of life was breached and totally disregarded.
Article 2 would also have enabled a ‘Prevention of Future Deaths’ report. Given the coroner’s refusal to do this, his refusal to grant a narrative conclusion and refusal to acknowledge that Ron’s death occurred in the context of a police pursuit lead us to be concerned by the thwarting of learnings out of this process and we’re deeply concerned about future lives being lost as a result.
Losing Ron has devastated his family, friends, loved ones and the community. We are fighting for justice for Ronaldo and will continue to fight for him. We ask you to support the Ronaldo Thierry Johnson Foundation. We are also working collectively with other families who have lost their loved ones in high-risk, unnecessary police pursuits. We do not want to see another life lost and invite you to support the #EndPolicePursuits campaign.
NPMP and Kids of Colour
04 March 2024
On the one year anniversary of the passing of Anu Abraham, we again extend our love and solidarity to his loved ones.
As his friends and loved ones have noted, Anu was a wonderful, caring, kind and compassionate young man.
Anu was let down so horrendously by institutions that failed to show him the care he deserved.
We are dismayed, if not surprised, that these failures have continued after his passing. Anu’s family are still having to search and fight for justice and accountability.
As long as Anu’s family remains committed to seeking justice, we will stand with them.
As Anu’s family have made clear, questions must be answered regarding institutional racism, inadequate mental health support and a lack of duty of care, in both West Yorkshire Police and Leeds Trinity University.
We invite others to learn about Anu, the terrible injustice which brought about his passing, and to raise the alarm for justice.
Please follow @justice4anugrah on Twitter.
We are raising money to cover the family’s legal fees for the Coroner’s Inquest into the death of their beloved Ronaldo Johnson. You can donate at this link.
Ronaldo was a kind, giving, intelligent, well-mannered teenager. He was a talented sportsman on the football pitch, in the kickboxing ring and in the gymnastics hall. He is bitterly missed by his heartbroken family, friends and wider community.
Ronaldo was involved in a road traffic collision on 31 March 2021. He was the back seat passenger in a car which collided with a taxi after being pursued by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) after they allege that the driver failed to stop at a red light. Ronaldo died from his injuries in hospital on Tuesday 6th April 2021.
In 2021/22 alone, a total of eight people lost their lives in road traffic fatalities involving police pursuit by GMP. The majority were young working-class men and boys disproportionately of Black, Asian and Gypsy, Roma, Traveller heritage. Eight deaths was the highest on record for GMP and the highest of any police force in England and Wales that year. To put it in wider context, an average of sixty people die on the roads in Greater Manchester annually. If eight people were to die in police pursuits every year that would mean that 1 in every 7 road traffic deaths involve the police.
Ronaldo’s family have not only had to endure a devastating loss, but they’ve also had to fight to find out the truth about what happened. They are part of a group of families who have lost loved ones in unnecessary, high-risk police pursuits by Greater Manchester Police, and they are fighting for answers.
After a long wait, the Coroner’s Inquest into Ronaldo’s death has begun, and the family are confronted with legal fees which are not covered by legal aid.
Please spare whatever you can to help them continue their fight for justice.
A recent report published by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) confirms that a record high number of road traffic fatalities involving Greater Manchester Police (GMP) took place in 2021/22. In total, eight people lost their lives in six separate road traffic incidents, the majority of which involved pursuits by GMP officers. This is on top of the three deaths that took place in 2020/21 [1]. Understanding why some drivers fail to stop for the police necessitates a reckoning not only with the distinctive psychology of young drivers [2], who constitute the majority involved in such pursuits, but also an understanding of the wider context of the systematic, racist and classist over-policing of young people in our communities. In Greater Manchester, and reflecting wider patterns in policing, a disproportionate number of the drivers killed in police pursuits were either Black or Brown or from Gypsy, Roma, or Traveller communities. Accordingly, we call for an immediate end to the systematic over-policing of racially minoritised and working-class young people by police, and particularly road traffic officers, in Greater Manchester.
As the families of people that have lost their lives following police pursuits, we note that IOPC investigations and coroner’s inquests have found that our loved ones died following police pursuits in which the drivers of the pursued vehicles were suspected of minor traffic violations or other nonviolent offences. In each of our experiences, police officers testified that they had decided to initiate a risky, high speed pursuit after the pursued drivers failed to stop when signalled to do so for a relatively minor offence including, variously, overtaking a vehicle too closely, turning right on a red light, and being suspected of driving a stolen vehicle. The prevalence of this phenomenon is confirmed by studies which have found that ‘the most common reasons for police initiating pursuits are traffic violations or general concerns about the manner in which the pursued driver was driving, rather than suspicions of any other crimes.’ [3] In such circumstances, we believe that police pursuit tactics are unnecessary, disproportionate, and unjustified and will inevitably result in serious injuries, loss of life, and great trauma to affected families and communities.
We have significant concerns about the discretion afforded to police drivers in determining when to initiate a pursuit. The Authorised Professional Practice (APP) guidelines govern police conduct including in the area of police driving and pursuits. The APP acknowledges that police pursuits place members of the public ‘under a significant degree of risk’ and that, ‘wherever possible, trying to prevent a pursuit from taking place must be a primary consideration.’ Specifically, the APP instructs officers to consider whether the pursuit is ‘justified, proportionate and conforms to the principle of least intrusion.’ In addition, pursuing officers and incident managers are instructed to continually assess whether the pursuit is necessary when ‘balanced against [the] threat, risk and harm for which the subject driver is being pursued.’ [4] However, these are merely guidelines and, in reality, officers are afforded tremendous discretion in determining whether a pursuit should be initiated.
Accordingly, we are calling for an immediate revision to the APP guidelines prohibiting police from initiating pursuits in circumstances involving nonviolent offences or minor traffic violations. This call is supported by studies conducted in Britain and other national contexts – including Canada, Australia, and the United States – where the risks associated with high speed police pursuit have been deemed too great to justify the immediate physical apprehension of motorists who flee from the police for suspected theft or minor traffic offences. [5] On this basis, public officials in major cities such as Washington D.C. and Cincinnati have revised their pursuit policies to restrict the circumstances under which pursuits can be initiated resulting in significantly fewer pursuits, collisions, deaths and injuries. [6]
The growing number of deaths from police pursuit is directly related to the over-policing of racially minoritised and working-class young people by road traffic officers. In contrast to some street-level stop-and-search laws, road traffic officers have the power to stop drivers without reasonable suspicion that they have done something wrong under section 163 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. This affords officers tremendous discretion in who they choose to stop and why. Even more troubling, road traffic stops are not routinely recorded leaving the public with virtually no police data on how often the power is used, or why, and who it is being used against.
In 2021, concerns that police were disproportionately stopping Black people resulted in the initiation of a pilot in which the Metropolitan Police became the first force to record the ethnicity of drivers stopped by its officers. Findings indicated that Black people were 56% more likely to be stopped than their white counterparts. The pilot has since been scrapped. Accordingly, we call for the recording and transparent publication of all traffic stop data by Greater Manchester Police.
Police pursuits that enter the motorway system pose a significant threat to life. Currently motorway signage is only altered when the pursued driver enters the wrong side of the motorway to alert drivers to the risks. It is vital that other road users are aware of an active pursuit so that they are alert to the risks and have time to respond. Accordingly, we call for the mandatory changing of motorway signage as soon as a pursued driver enters the motorway in any direction.
Police pursuits pose a high risk that can result in death or serious injury to the drivers and passengers of pursued vehicles as well as members of the public in the immediate vicinity. To pursue without due regard for the driver, passengers, and the broader public, demonstrates GMP’s lack of care and consideration for public safety. Accordingly, we call for the reinforcement of APP guidelines to clearly establish that officers must prioritise this duty of care and commitment to public safety over the apprehension of suspects. We also call for all local police guidelines on police pursuit to be brought into conformity with national guidelines.
This duty of care should extend to the immediate aftermath of any road traffic incident resulting from a police pursuit. It is vital that officers prioritise the safety and well-being of those that may have been injured before seeking to apprehend any suspects. Despite APP guidelines to this effect, GMP officers have been involved in pursuits which led to collisions in which officers have opted to pursue drivers on foot as opposed to stopping to assess whether there were casualties that required medical attention. Such decisions can prevent critical information being conveyed to medical professionals with potential impacts for life and survivability. Accordingly, we want to see greater clarity in APP guidelines about the requirement to prioritise the preservation of life and treat injuries over the apprehension of suspects.
No one expects to lose their loved one to police pursuit whether they were a driver, passenger, or a passerby/pedestrian. However, the reality is that the death of our loved ones was only the beginning of our suffering. We are appalled by the conduct of the various state agencies and other supposedly ‘independent’ bodies tasked with providing support and investigating pursuits in order to hold police to account. The only formal support comes in the form of a police-provided family liaison officer though not all of us were even extended this service. The IOPC is responsible for the investigation which is often led by former police officers, unduly lengthy in duration, and rarely results in findings of misconduct. A coroner’s inquest cannot be held until the IOPC has concluded the investigation which means that some of us have waited two, even three, years for inquests to take place. All the while our lives and grieving processes are put on hold.
We believe these so-called ‘support systems’ and processes of investigation only serve to further perpetuate harms and should be replaced by truly independent bodies informed by the experience of those affected by police violence. Inquests should take place within stricter time frames and police should be required to attend in-person as opposed to online which was customary in many of our cases. We also believe that inquests should provide families with access to all information, the ability to draw upon the insight of independent experts, and publicly-funded legal aid. In light of the complexities of all cases where lives are lost following police pursuit and the right of families to have their cases fully and thoroughly investigated, inquests should always be allotted ample time to be completed. We also support the ‘Hillsborough Law’ which called for ‘a legal “duty of candour” on public authorities, officials, and public servants to tell the truth at official investigations and inquiries’. [7] Those called on to give expert testimony or deliver reports should also be vetted to establish their independence from the police and IOPC.
Signatories
Northern Police Monitoring Project
Liberty
NETPOL
StopWatch
Inquest
Copwatch Network UK
Bristol Copwatch
Imran Khan & Partners
Notes:
[1] Independent Office for Police Conduct, ‘Annual deaths during or follow police contact report – 2022/23,’ 28 July 2023. For force specific data see the time series tables (ODS format) accessible online: https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/publications/annual-deaths-during-or-following-police-contact-report-202223
[2] Bridie Scott-Parker, Barry Watson, and Mark King. ‘Understanding the Psychosocial Factors Influencing the Risky Behaviour of Young Drivers’. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour 12 (1 November 2009): 470–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2009.08.003.
[3] Quote taken from Independent Police Complaints Commission, Police Road Traffic Incidents: A Study Involving Serious and Fatal Injuries (London: IPCC, July 2007), p. 24-25. Also see, D. Best, Fatal Pursuit: Investigation of Road Traffic Incident (RTIs) Involving Police Vehicles, 1998-2001: Identifying Common Factors and the Lessons to be Learned (London: Police Complaints Authority, 2002); D. Best and K. Eves, Following Fatal Pursuit: A Follow-up Assessment of Road Traffic Incidents, 2001-2002. Second Report into Fatal Road Traffic Incidents Involving Police Vehicles (London: Police Complaints Authority, 2004); D. Best and K. Eves, Police Pursuits in Wales: The Results of a One-year Monitoring Exercise in the four Welsh Police Forces, 2002-2003 (London: Police Complaints Authority, 2004).
[4] College of Policing, APP (authorised professional practice) (2022). Accessed online: https://www.college.police.uk/app/roads-policing/police-pursuits
[5] See Best, 2002; Best and Eves, 2004; Best, 2002; Best and Eves, 2004; Gabi Hoffman and Paul Mazerolle, ‘Police pursuits in Queensland: research, review and reform,’ Policing: An International Journal, vol. 28, no.3 (2005): 530-545; Nicola Christie, ‘Managing the safety of police pursuits: A mixed method case study of the Metropolitan Police Service, London, Safety Science 129 (Sept 2020).
[6] G. P. Alpert, Police Pursuit: Policies and Training (National Institute of Justice, US Dept of Justice, USA, 1997)
[7] Lynn Sudbury-Riley, ‘’Hillsborough Law’: bereaved families let down again,’ University of Liverpool Management School, 8 December 2023. Accessed online: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/management/blog/research/hillsborough-law-bereaved-families-let-down-again/
On January 4, 2024, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) opened its annual public consultation on whether to (yet again) increase Council Tax to fund more police.
GM Mayor Andy Burnham and Deputy Mayor Kate Green have requested an increase in the Police Precept that will cost taxpayers an additional £10.5 million in 2024/25, including a £13 increase to B and D properties.
Recent public consultations show widespread opposition to increases in the Police Precept with clear majorities expressing a preference for a freeze or reduction in 2022 (74%) and 2023 (61.8%).
However, the GM Police, Crime and Fire Panel, the committee empowered to approve any increase in the Precept, have repeatedly disregarded public opposition and pressed forward with the hikes proposed by the Mayor. In January 2022, members of the public were even removed from a supposedly-public meeting of the Panel for challenging Mayor Burnham on this undemocratic process.
Despite these barriers, it is critical that we continue to express our opposition to hikes in the Precept that serve to exacerbate the cost-of-living crisis at the same time as giving greater power to an institution that continues to cause great harm in our communities.
For this reason, the Northern Police Monitoring Project (NPMP) are calling on all concerned community members to vote ‘NO’ to any increase in the Police Precept before the consultation closes on January 24, 2024.
NPMP is an anti-racist, abolitionist organisation. We organise to build community resistance against police violence, harassment and racism and recognise our work in connection to wider, global struggles for liberation from systemic racism and state violence in all its forms. We mourn the lives of Palestinians and Israelis who have been killed and we condemn the cycle of violence that colonial occupation has produced. We stand against the escalating Islamophobia and Antisemitism that we are seeing in the UK and elsewhere. We stand in solidarity with Palestinians who have endured occupation, imprisonment, displacement and violence for 75 years and support those across the world resisting for a Free Palestine.
At this time many people in the UK, like many across the world, will be involved in protest and face increased risk of police violence, harassment and/or arrest as a result. We know that the police, enabled by the state and Home Secretary Suella Braverman, are increasing their racist targetting of protestors and we want to remind you of your protest rights and the support we can offer.
If you are protesting, go prepared. Wear a mask and nondescript clothing. Consider knocking off your phones. The police may use it for surveillance & to extract data. Be aware that the police will use facial recognition tech. Avoid filming and taking photos. Blur faces if you do. The police can use the footage against you and other activists. Those in Greater Manchester, write these numbers on your arm in case you are arrested, and your phone is off or lost. Manchester Green & Black Cross 07761911121, Robert Lizar Solicitors 07900998999.
REMEMBER:
If the police stop you and ask questions, ask “Am I free to leave?” If you are, you do not need to give them any information about yourself.
NO COMMENT. If you are arrested, say “No Comment” to all questions, including ‘chats’, until you have free legal advice.
NO PERSONAL DETAILS. You do not have to give personal details under stop and search powers, so don’t
UNDER WHAT POWER? Ask “under what power?” to challenge the police to act lawfully.
NO DUTY SOLICITOR. Avoid the duty solicitor. See numbers above instead.
NO CAUTION. Do not accept a caution – it’s an admission of guilt & will appear on a DBS check.
If you witness any incidents of police brutality, take down the collar numbers of the officers. Check on the welfare of the victim. You can use our Incident Reporting Form to ask for support and/or to report an incident.IMPORTANT: If you’re a migrant, please remember that police & Home Office databases are linked – and that rights are far less protected. Take extra care.
A central aspect of Northern Police Monitoring Project’s (NPMP) day-to-day work is the monitoring of the police and other agencies of the State that have responsibility for governing police conduct.
In 2023/24, we are seeking to recruit a small team of 3-5 volunteers who have interest in conducting this type of monitoring work through attendance at various State proceedings, hearings and meetings. Should you decide to join us, you will receive an orientation to these areas of NPMP’s work involving a commitment of approximately 4 hours per month for three months from September 25 to December 15, 2023.
Upon successful completion of the training programme, participants will be invited to serve as general police monitors or identify a specific area of monitoring work that they would like to focus on. If you would be interested in joining us this autumn, please email npolicemonitor@gmail.com to sign-up and for more information.
Northern Police Monitoring Project
27/07/2023
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have been accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman in their custody.
NPMP stands in solidarity with Zayna Iman. Having viewed the disturbing custody footage provided by GMP some time ago now, we are appalled and deeply concerned that these allegations still haven’t been taken seriously.
Too often women are disbelieved and disregarded, whilst police officers are believed and afforded a level of trust and respect that is not deserved. Indeed, it is only through the persistence of Zayna that this story has garnered attention.
We note the police force’s failure to produce the crucial 3 hours of missing footage to Zayna, which the mayor’s office has confirmed is held by GMP. If the force has nothing to hide, and as Zayna has argued, they should have long since provided this footage. The force must be made accountable.
Gendered and sexual violence are key elements of the history and present of police violence in Britain, and specifically within Greater Manchester Police. Zayna’s important story is therefore part of a much bigger picture of ongoing gendered State and police violence. It should remind us that the police cannot be part of the solution to gendered and sexual violence. Nor should they be responding to welfare calls. Rather, the police are part of the problem.
15th June 2023
We are distressed to learn of the death of another young person in our community following yet another pursuit by Greater Manchester Police (GMP). On June 8th, 15-year-old Saul Cookson was killed when the e-bike he was riding collided with an ambulance on Langworthy Road in Salford. We extend our condolences to Saul’s family and an offer of solidarity and support in this terrible time of grief.
According to reports, Saul was being pursued by Greater Manchester Police shortly before the collision. This tragedy draws striking parallels with recent events in Cardiff in which two young boys, Harvey Evans (15) and Kyrees Sullivan (16), were killed when their e-bike crashed following a police pursuit.
Since the height of the pandemic, we have worked closely with a growing number of families who have lost loved ones following unnecessary, high risk pursuits by GMP. Last year, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) confirmed that a record high number of road traffic fatalities involving GMP took place in 2021/22. In total, seven people lost their lives in five separate road traffic incidents, the majority of which involved pursuits by the force’s officers. The IOPC’s findings showed that, across all police forces, GMP were the worst offenders in a year when the number of road traffic fatalities involving police in England and Wales reached a four-year high. Our own work has shown that working-class men and boys, particularly from Black, Brown and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, have been disproportionately impacted.
In April 2022, we worked with affected families to publish an open letter to Greater Manchester authorities including Mayor Andy Burnham expressing concern about the escalating rates of deaths. We continue to work in solidarity with these families, who have had loved ones taken from them through the repetitive dangerous actions of the GMP.
Worryingly, in the recent Cardiff and Salford cases, police drivers have engaged in pursuits with e-bikes. While the Authorised Professional Practice (APP) guidelines do not address pursuits involving e-bikes, we would argue that like pursuits involving motorcycles they come with even ‘higher risks’ due to ‘the vulnerability of the rider’ (APP, 2013).
We reassert our call for an immediate prohibition of police initiating pursuits in circumstances involving non-violent offences or minor traffic violations. No more lives should be lost this summer to unnecessary, high risk police pursuits.