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The Independent
3 minutes ago
- The Independent
Footage shows prison officers laughing moments before restrained inmate's death
Bodyworn footage shows prison officers laughing and singing as an 'inappropriate and disproportionate' restraint was carried out on an inmate moments before his death. Azroy Dawes-Clarke, 28, from Romford, east London, was an inmate at HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, when he died after suffering multiple cardiac arrests on November 10 2021. He had tied a ligature around his neck before officers intervened and began a restraint which 'escalated unnecessarily', jurors concluded by majority at Kent and Medway Coroners Court in Maidstone. In the record of inquest, jurors also found that officers showed a 'deeply concerning lack of care and compassion' during the incident. The bodyworn footage, released to the PA news agency, shows officers joking about the size of the handcuffs they needed for Mr Dawes-Clarke while he groaned on the floor. The inquest revealed the handcuffs were wrongly applied to Mr Dawes-Clarke during the restraint, and may have also played a part in his death. In the footage the officer wearing the camera is heard singing as he fetches the cuffs before choosing a different set and saying 'no not that one, that might give him a little too much freedom'. Jurors found: 'It was inappropriate for the paramedics to approve the handcuffing of Mr Dawes-Clarke having had no training in mechanical restraint to give such advice. 'Following on from this, it was inappropriate for Mr Dawes-Clarke to be handcuffed at all, especially with regard to his positioning and positional asphyxia.' They added that there were 'significant shortcomings from both the paramedics and prison officers' in response to Mr Dawes-Clarke going limp and that 'leadership was lacking' throughout the restraint. The medical cause of death was given as hypoxic ischaemic brain injury but jurors had to determine when and by whom that injury was caused. 'Throughout the restraint, the proximity of a prison officer's knee to Mr Dawes-Clarke's chest was bad practice. On top of this, leadership throughout the restraint was lacking and control of Mr Dawes-Clarke's head was not prioritised,' The inquest found. In their record of inquest, jurors noted the initial self-ligature, the subsequent restraint, the 'poor practice' handcuffing, failing to consider Mr Dawes-Clarke's head position and 'insufficient' action taken upon realising the cardiac arrest as part of a combination of factors which led to his death. At one point, the bodycam wearer asks 'who's actually doing the head position on this restrain here then' to a non-plussed response from the restraining officers. When the footage cuts off, medical staff began CPR on Mr Dawes-Clarke before he was taken to hospital, he suffered two more cardiac arrests in the ambulance and a fourth on his arrival at hospital, where he died soon after. The officer who initiated that restraint, Alexander Shaxted, denied using 'animalistic' language to describe Mr Dawes-Clarke in order to justify his choices while giving evidence. Jurors heard that Mr Shaxted had said in his police statement that Mr Dawes-Clarke was making 'loud animal noises' and again referenced it during the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) investigation. 'Four times you described him like an animal, animalistic, like a bucking bronco,' said Allison Munroe KC, on behalf of the family. The officer said that he did not know why he had used those words at the time. Jurors found: 'There is a lack of justification to suggest de-escalation of the restraint of Mr Dawes-Clarke was attempted. 'Alongside this, the inappropriate comments made by prison staff about Mr Dawes-Clarke portray a deeply concerning lack of care and compassion towards Mr Dawes-Clarke. Father-of-four Mr Dawes-Clarke liked fantasy films and played semi-professional football. He was in the Arsenal FC academy while he was growing up. He was recalled to HMP Elmley on April 23 2020 after breaching his licence. After the inquest concluded, his sister, Shay Inico, said: 'My brother, Azroy Dawes-Clarke, died in the most shocking circumstances, restrained, neglected, and dehumanised while prison staff and paramedics who were trained to save lives stood by and did nothing. 'Female staff felt too intimidated to challenge male officers. Paramedics themselves were afraid to act because of the power dynamics with prison officers. She added that this case was not just about her brother, but 'a system that allows people to die avoidably behind closed doors' and accused the prison of covering up its failures. Assistant coroner for Kent Ian Brownhill has commissioned three separate prevention of future deaths reports as a result of this case. After the inquest, a Prison Service spokesperson said: 'Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Azroy Dawes-Clarke. 'Since this incident, we have taken action to improve staff training around use of force, and we will now carefully consider the inquest's findings in full.'
Reuters
4 minutes ago
- Reuters
Brazil's top court threatens Bolsonaro with arrest, demands explanation for order breach
SAO PAULO, July 21 (Reuters) - Brazil's Supreme Court threatened to order former President Jair Bolsonaro's arrest unless his lawyers explain within 24 hours why he breached restrictions on his use of social media, a decision showed on Monday evening. The order summoning Bolsonaro's lawyers was issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees the case in which Bolsonaro is accused of plotting a coup. Bolsonaro's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours. Moraes had on Friday ordered Bolsonaro to wear an ankle bracelet and banned him from using social media, among other measures - which were later upheld by a court panel - over allegations he courted the interference of U.S. President Donald Trump, who tied steep new tariffs on Brazilian goods to what he called a "witch hunt" against Bolsonaro. In an interview with Reuters on Friday, Bolsonaro described Moraes' decision to prohibit his social media use as "cowardice," and said he intended to continue engaging with the press to ensure his voice was heard. On Monday, Moraes said Bolsonaro breached the Supreme Court order when speaking with journalists earlier in the day, following a meeting with allies in the Brazilian Congress. The moment, which marked the first time Bolsonaro publicly showed his ankle bracelet, came hours after Moraes issued a clarification of Friday's ruling, which stated that Bolsonaro's use of social media included use through third parties. Moraes in his decision attached screenshots of several posts on social media, including on news outlets, that showed Bolsonaro "displaying the electronic monitoring device, delivering a speech to be displayed on digital platforms." U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week called Moraes' court orders a "political witch hunt", responding on Friday with immediate visa revocations for "Moraes and his allies on the court, as well as their immediate family members." The court's crackdown on Bolsonaro adds to evidence that Trump's tactics are backfiring in Brazil, compounding trouble for his ideological ally and rallying public support behind a defiant leftist government. Hours before summoning Bolsonaro's lawyers, Moraes had issued a ruling that raised questions about whether the right-wing leader was allowed to talk to journalists. "Obviously, the broadcasting, re-broadcasting, or dissemination of audio, video, or transcripts of interviews on any third-party social media platform is prohibited," the judge said, in a clarification of Friday's ruling. The measure sparked debate in Brazil regarding the ruling's range. Bolsonaro on Monday canceled an interview with a news outlet that would have been broadcast live on social media. "The prohibition is that he communicates on social media; it is not a prohibition against third parties speaking about him, whether to praise or criticize," said Ivar Hartmann, a law professor at Sao Paulo business school Insper. He added that, in his view, interviews are permissible, provided they are not intended to circumvent the legal limitations, such as giving an interview to a supporter. But Vera Chemim, a São Paulo-based constitutional lawyer, said she believed the former leader is on shaky ground, noting that interviews, while not explicitly mentioned in the court order, could still be used to justify Bolsonaro's arrest. "Bolsonaro is now completely silenced," she said. "Any misstep could lead to a preventive arrest." The Supreme Court declined to comment or elaborate on the specifics of that decision. A spokesperson for Bolsonaro also declined to comment, but the former president has always denied any wrongdoing.
The Guardian
5 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Woman, 74, tells of pain and fear after arrest at Liverpool pro-Palestine rally
A 74-year-old woman has said she was left 'shaken and frightened' after being arrested at a pro-Palestine rally under terrorism laws, in what she called an attempt to restrict freedom of speech. Audrey White, from Liverpool, was among more than 100 people detained across the UK at the weekend on suspicion of supporting the recently proscribed group Palestine Action. White had been holding up a sign before she was surrounded by officers in Liverpool city centre on Sunday. Video shows four police officers detaining the veteran campaigner on the ground to chants of 'shame on you' and 'let her go'. One protester shouts: 'Britain is a fascist state.' The officers then drag White across the pavement before handcuffing her as she lies prone on the ground. Footage then shows her being carried to a police van where she was taken to a police station for nearly eight hours. 'I'm very sore, very shaken, very emotional and I'm frightened to be honest,' White told the Guardian on Monday. Demonstrations were held in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Bristol and Truro over the weekend as part of a campaign coordinated by Defend Our Juries. The Liverpool rally was held by Liverpool Friends of Palestine. It has been a criminal offence to be a member of, or show support for Palestine Action since 5 July after the protest group was proscribed under the Terrorism Act despite opposition from UN experts and civil liberties groups. White, who has a heart condition and low bone density, which means she is at risk of fractures, said it was the first time she had been arrested in more than half a century of campaigning against conflicts. 'It's designed to stop human rights and to stop protest and to stop free speech,' she said. 'There's two things to be afraid of in this country and one is that we lose everything we are proud of – the ability to speak out – and the other is that we would ever be involved in a genocide. 'We look at these visions of children losing their limbs and being blown to bits. We've got to say: how can we stop our country's involvement in this genocide? Everyone has a responsibility to stop horrors like this all throughout history.' The Trades Union Congress has previously described White as one of the pioneering activists of the last 150 years after her decades-long campaign to change sexual harassment laws in Britain. Glenda Jackson played White in a film about her crusade in 1988. Merseyside police released White and three other protesters on bail shortly before midnight on Sunday. She said one of her bail conditions effectively leaves her 'trapped in the house' because it restricts her from entering Liverpool city centre, where she lives. White, who is the secretary of the Merseyside Pensioners Association and cares for her husband who has cancer, said a police officer had told her she was allowed to attend medical appointments but that she could be arrested if she visited a shop afterwards. 'I'm just an ordinary woman with a family and problems and health issues and love a holiday. I just feel very strongly that these laws are being used against organisations and individuals now,' she said. 'They're against civil liberties, they're restricting the freedom of speech we were all proud of.' White said she was 'in pain and feel terrible' after being dragged into a police van. 'I'm just sore all over. I'm swollen in some places. One of the worst things is my head, it feels like it's blowing off me,' she said. The former shop worker is banned as part of her bail conditions from attending another pro-Palestine march but encouraged others to 'stand in solidarity with people who oppose genocide'. 'I only want peaceful demonstration,' she said. 'There was no need to do that to me. There was no need to arrest any of us. I don't believe they are entitled to arrest people for holding a piece of paper. 'I hope a lot of people saw what happened to me and realise they've got to draw the line somewhere … People who are peaceful should not be labelled as terrorists, me included.'
