Family’s fury as fake claims over arrest death spark riot
‘How is that justice?’
THE family of a father who died after being stopped by police have condemned rioters who injured 14 officers following the spread of ‘false’ claims that he was murdered.
In a chilling echo of the 2011 summer riots, masked yobs hijacked a peaceful protest and took to the streets on Sunday night, hurling missiles and igniting blazes.
The shocking violence came after activists spread ‘dangerous false information’ about Edir ‘Edson’ Frederico Da Costa, 25, who died in hospital six days after he was stopped by police.
Anger over Mr Da Costa’s death grew after Larissa Dos Santos, who said she was his cousin, posted a message on Facebook on Thursday. She said: ‘He was brutally beaten to death and left in the hospital nameless and in a coma.
‘Little did we know the extent of the damage until we received the list of injures he sustained, which included a fractured skull, a fallen voice box and a ruptured bladder to name a few. Up till now we still don’t have the names of the arresting office (sic) that murdered my cousin.’
But police insist Mr Da Costa fell ill because he ‘swallowed a large quantity of drugs’ after being stopped in Newham, East London, on June 15. He died in hospital six days later.
In an unprecedented move, the police watchdog released a warning on Friday about sharing ‘false information [that] could have very dangerous consequences’.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission said a pathologist had found ‘no injuries to suggest severe force was used’ and denied that Mr Da Costa had suffered any spinal injuries or bleeding on the brain.
Other members of Mr Da Costa’s family boycotted the demonstration and urged others to stay away, but Left-wing activists from Black Lives Matter and the Socialist Workers Party still took to the streets.
Despite the police warning, a protest about alleged police involvement in his death was announced in Forest Gate, East London, on Sunday.
Mr Da Costa’s partner of six years, Jucelma Da Silva, warned supporters: ‘Do not attend! Family does not support and police have been informed this is a riot.’ Miss Da Silva was particularly angered when organisers of the demonstration used an image of Mr Da Costa and their twoyear-old son Romeo on T-shirts.
She said: ‘I just want to grieve in peace. I don’t think it’s fair for so many people to plaster my son’s face and start a movement which will then lead to a riot. Riots lead to a lot of casualties, people end up losing their lives, some end up in jail and so on, so how is that justice for someone that just lost their life?’
Mr Da Costa’s father Ginario said: ‘Last night’s protest was nothing to do with us. We do not condone this. I just want justice but I don’t know nothing about these protests.’
After the protest turned violent, a police sergeant was knocked unconscious after an object struck his helmet, while a female officer sustained head injuries as yobs hurled bottles, bricks, petrol bombs and fireworks.
Hooded thugs wearing balaclavas terrorised residents, threatening to blow up their homes as they torched 21 dustbins in one street.
The UK chapter of the Black Lives Matter movement whipped up tensions, telling followers online that the police were ‘guilty of murder’.
They used Twitter and Facebook to call on supporters to descend on
Stratford, East London. Using the hashtag #ftp, short for ‘f*** the police’, the group tweeted: ‘Riot police inflicting even more violence and brutality on the community. They pushed a pregnant woman on the ground and dragged her.
‘ForestGate trending coz the police beat up a black man so bad he lost his life.’
Other activists linked the man’s death to the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The Socialist Worker newspaper quoted a protester: ‘At Grenfell Tower we saw many, many people killed because the people at the top treat poor people and black people as unworthy. Here they treated Edson as unworthy. It is the same thing. You only get change when you fight.’
A rapper, using the name Yuri el-rey, called for activists to kill the child of a ‘fed’, slang for a police officer, in a song posted on Twitter. He sang: ‘If we don’t get no justice for Edson, f*** positivity, it is time to kill a fed’s son, so they can know what it is like.’
One resident said: ‘The rioters were drinking alcohol and spitting it on the flames to ignite them. The person who passed away had around 20 supporters and the rest of the people were rent-a-mob, just there to cause trouble.’
Sabir Patel, 52, owner of the McCreadie hotel, said: ‘They broke my wall at about 8pm, they just kicked and pulled it with their hands and it came apart, then they were throwing bricks at the police station and police.’
A crowd gathered at Forest Gate police station, where 14 officers received neck, leg and wrist injuries. A police vehicle was also damaged.
Five people aged between 16 and 26 were arrested as the violence continued until 3am. Met Police borough commander Ian Larnder said: ‘While we will always support the right for lawful protest, the (riot) cannot be justified. Not only were our officers confronted by violence, with several of them being injured, but local residents were severely disrupted.’