Death of Edson Da Costa

Edson Da Costa was a 25-year-old Black Portuguese man who died in police custody on 21 June 2017 after being arrested on 15 June on Tollgate Road in Beckton, London. The unclear circumstances of his death led to protests.[1]

Background

Edir Frederico Da Costa was born in Portugal and had lived in the United Kingdom since 1996. He had a one- year-old son and was expecting his second child, due in January 2018.

Arrest and death

At about 10 pm on 15 June, Da Costa and two friends were stopped in their car on Tollgate Road in the Beckton neighbourhood in London . According to Da Costa's father, police suspected that the car had been involved in a robbery. During the stop, Da Costa was detained and was subdued with CS spray, a kind of tear gas. Da Costa apparently had an adverse reaction to the spray, and was taken to a hospital and treated. He died on 21 June.[1]

According to a 2000 study completed for the US Office of Special Counsel, following the Waco Siege in the United States, there had been no human deaths to that time attributed to CS spray, but it was thought to have potentially lethal effects depending on circumstances.[2] A 1989 review published in JAMA found that CS can cause severe pulmonary damage and can also significantly damage the heart and liver.[3]

Investigation

According to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), police subdued Da Costa with CS gas, to which he had a severely adverse reaction. He died about one week later. A postmortem examination did not establish a cause of death, but said there was no evidence of excess force being used against Da Costa.

However, Da Costa's family and friends have alleged that he suffered several serious injuries, including a ruptured bladder, collapsed lungs, and fallen diaphragm and had lost his eyesight from the gas. They have also stated that a witness to the arrest told them that an officer had put his foot on Da Costa's throat after he had fallen to the ground. They believe Da Costa went into cardiac arrest at the scene of the arrest.[1]

Protests

On 25 June, friends and family of Da Costa organised a protest outside of the Forest Gate police station.[1] Later that day, protests turned violent, with protesters throwing bricks ripped from a wall at police and lighting fires near the Stratford bus station.[4] Fourteen police officers were injured and four people were arrested for charges including disorder, arson and criminal damage. Some of the protesters carried signs reading "Black Lives Matter", referring to a movement that had been started in the United States.[5][6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Dearden, Lizzie. "Edson Da Costa: Young black father dies after being detained by London police using force". independent.co.uk. The Independent. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  2. ↑ Dr. Uwe Heinrich, Possible lethal effects of CS tear gas on Branch Davidians during the FBI raid ... pp. 6-7; accessed 17 February 2018
  3. ↑ Hu, H.; Cook-Deegan, R.; Shukri, A. (1989). "The use of chemical weapons. Conducting an investigation using survey epidemiology". JAMA: the Journal of the American Medical Association. 262 (5): 640–3. doi:10.1001/jama.1989.03430050056026. PMID 2746816.
  4. ↑ "Protesters confront Met Police over man's death". bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "Forest Gate clashes: Six police officers injured in London amid protests in Stratford over black man's death". telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  6. ↑ Brown, Symeon. "Police injured in protests following Edson Da Costa death". channel4.com. Channel4. Retrieved 26 June 2017.

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