Immigration officers’ actions ‘contributed to man’s death’
IMMIGRATION officers who raided a car wash and chased an asylum seeker before he fell through a roof contributed to his death, an inquest jury has found.
Mustafa Dawood suffered fatal head injuries after falling through the plastic roofing of Shaftesbury hand car wash in Newport.
The 23-year-old had fled persecution in his home country of Sudan but had his asylum claim refused by the Home Office, the inquest heard.
When officers carried out an enforcement visit on the morning of June 30 2018, Mr Dawood mistakenly thought he would be arrested and fled, climbing on to pallets and through a metal door before accessing the roof.
It took the jury under three hours to decide the actions of officers during and after the pursuit was called off contributed to Mr Dawood’s death.
Addressing Newport Coroner’s Court, the jury foreperson said: “During the pursuit, Mustafa started to climb and it was determined the pursuit should be abandoned.
“Nonetheless officers remained relatively close and did not withdraw to a distance away from him. We consider that maintaining the proximity could have contributed to Mustafa’s death.
“We consider the decision to abandon the pursuit was not effectively communicated to all officers and that this could have been a contributory factor to Mustafa’s death.
“The decision for an officer to keep his baton in a racked position could have possibly contributed to Mustafa’s death.”
They added: “The officers were not appropriately trained in pursuit procedures and this could have contributed to Mustafa’s death.”
Coroner Caroline Saunders said that while the Home Office had made changes in the wake of Mr Dawood’s death, she would be writing a recommendation for improvements to be made in the training of officers in pursuit procedures.
Turning to Mr Dawood’s mother, Hameda Hamed Shogar Ahmed, who has been present in court throughout the inquest, Ms Saunders said: “No one in court this week can have been unmoved by the problems Mustafa faced in Sudan and the events of the 30 June 2018.
“You’ve shown such courage in coming to the UK and attending a foreign court where you’ve had to relive these events.
“If I may say, on a personal note,
I’ve been humbled by the patient, gracious way you’ve sat through this inquest.
“Please accept my sincere condolences,” she added.
During the five-day inquest Ms Ahmed described how her son had found himself in increasing danger and decided to leave, fleeing to the UK in 2015.
She said: “My son was not a thief or a murderer, he was just a young person asking for safety.”