I'll find out truth about Smiley Culture's death: IPCC chief to scrutinise accounts of police officers

The singer, real name David Emmanuel, apparently stabbed himself to death after Met officers arrived at his £600,000 home in Warlingham, Surrey. The Independent Police Complaints Commission has been called in to investigate. Commissioner Mike Franklin said there was "more to this than meets the eye".

He added that he would be using the most sophisticated forensic science technology to scrutinise the accounts of the four police officers who were the only people present when the singer died this month.

At the time Emmanuel, 48, was on bail for conspiracy to supply cocaine and under investigation for a separate plot allegedly involving drug mules bringing cocaine to Britain. The death of the singer, who had a hit single called Police Officer in the Eighties, has prompted calls for a public inquiry from his family. Last night about 700 people attended the meeting at Lambeth Town Hall to discuss the case.

Mr Franklin, a former chairman of the Community-Police Consultative Group for Lambeth, told the audience that "the family demands the truth, the community demands the truth and I am seeking the truth". He said: "The idea that a man under arrest at his home during a police search dying in these circumstances would not attract suspicion is unbelievable.

"The only accounts of what happened are those of the four Metropolitan police officers. So there we have the challenge facing the investigation. No eye-witnesses, no CCTV, no independent witness evidence and the evidence of four police officers. This is not a case that can simply be determined by the word of four police officers, nobody will believe that. It has to be examined, scrutinised and tested by forensic experts." The meeting, which was streamed live on the internet, saw some members of the crowd shout out "murderers" and called for the police officers to face a lie detector test.

Police sources said Mr Franklin's comments were "exactly what you would expect" during an IPCC investigation and in no way suggested any wrongdoing by police.

A source said: "Of course he is seeking the truth - what else would you expect - but it does not mean we have done anything wrong. You could probably apply his words to any and every IPPC investigation.

"Any death in custody must be referred to them, but there is nothing he has said that makes us worried."

A spokesman for the Met said they were not able to comment and that all inquiries should be directed to the IPCC.