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I can't breathe, tourist screamed at police... Seconds later he died
Jack Lefley6 May 2008
This is the moment a tourist died in the street after being restrained by police.
Frank Ogboru, 43, was sprayed with CS gas and pinned down after a minor row. CCTV footage captured him losing consciousness after screaming: "I can't breathe. I can't breathe."
The Nigerian businessman, who was in London on holiday, stopped breathing and was declared dead in hospital.
Witnesses said officers had their "knees and feet" on him as he "wailed like a dog". But the CPS decided there was " insufficient evidence" for any of the officers to be charged in connection with Mr Ogboru's death in Woolwich in September 2006.
Speaking from her home in Lagos, Mr Ogboru's widow, Christy, said: "I am crushed. I put my faith in the British system to give me justice but it has failed me. Frank was not a criminal. He did not deserve to die in the street like an animal."
Officers were called to Calderwood Street where Mr Ogboru had rowed with the girlfriend of the man he was staying with. CCTV footage shows him calmly talking to two officers but when they order him not to return to the flat a struggle ensues.
Two more officers arrive to help restrain him. Footage appears to show one officer's knee over his neck as his head dangles over the kerb. When the police saw Mr Ogboru had stopped breathing they tried to revive him but it was too late.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission investigated and the four officers were questioned under caution. A pathologist gave "asphyxia during restraint" as the cause of death but the CPS decided "a jury would find that the restraint was not unlawful" as there was not sufficient evidence that the officers had breached their duty of care.
Mrs Ogboru, 40, has been left penniless. She travelled to London but was forced to return home when the Met and the commission ended her financial support.
She is being represented by solicitor Imran Khan, who acted for the family of Zahid Mubarek, murdered in a young offender institution. She said: "I want someone to take responsibility for my husband's death. I am determined to find a way to return to the UK as I must have justice."
The four officers remain on restricted duties. The IPCC will send a file to the Met for its recommendation on whether disciplinary action should be taken. The IPCC will then take the final decision.
Reader views (3)
If the CPS can decide not to proceed because they already know what conclusion a jury 'would' reach, perhaps we don't need trials at all, because the CPS already know which cases a jury 'would' convict. Here a man is dead, his wife destitute, and she has no redress, not even a hearing; without this chain of events her husband would still be alive, and there's no mention even of an inquest. The disrespect of law enforcers generally for juries is outrageous - it's a form of contempt of court - and is a threat to the safety of us all.
Jury duty can be amazingly dull, but it is really vital to have 12 detached minds at work on cases that jaded professionals would see as tiresomely routine. Watching 12 very different people get their heads around a case, for the sake of the liberty or punishment of a complete stranger, and asking questions that had not occurred to the overpaid lawyers is a really inspiring experience. If jury service comes your way, don't think it's smart to dodge it. An alert juror is one of the building blocks of civilisation.
- Mdj, Leyton, e10 london, 06/05/2008 23:10
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This sort of death will continue until an officer is convicted of unlawful killing.
"Asphyxia during restraint" is what happens to a handcuffed man while a huge policeman sits on their back, crushing the chest.
It`s very very wrong.
- Simon Adamski, London, UK, 06/05/2008 22:06
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Call that reasonable force?!
Not me.
Shame it resulted in some poor soul's untimely murder.
The CPS should be ashamed of themselves.
Having witnessed the Met plod get stuck in with their knees to people's backs at the earliest opportunity during the recent Anti Chinese Free Tibet protests at the Olympic Torch Relay in London, it appeared to me that most of them were just itching to try out what they had been taught at riot school.
No, this is the use of UNreasonable force, the officers involved should be prosecuted.
All officers need to be reminded that they get to police only with the consent of the public, consent that can be removed at any time.
- Giles Pepperell, Streatham Vale, London, 06/05/2008 20:43
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