March 15 has been a day of international action against police brutality around the globe since 1997. The specific date is significant because in Switzerland, on March 15, two children, ages 11 and 12, were beaten by police. M15 originated from the Black Flag group in Switzerland and from the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality in Montreal. People in countries across the world come out to the streets in March to express their rage against the police. In Montreal specifically, there has been fierce annual riots erupting from the depths of the dispossessed. This March 15, We encourage everyone to join the rest of the world in the streets the timing couldn't be more appropriate. On this date 2 years ago the Police killed a British Reggae Icon David Emanuel aka Smiley Culture proved in court to be an innocent man and weeks later Birmingham man Kingsley Burrell dialled 999 for help and ended up dead 30th March 2011. Not forgetting unarmed man 36, Anthony Grainger shot and killed in a pre planned operation in Manchester on 3rd March 2012.


THE WEST MIDLANDS POLICE ALSO PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN THE COVER UP ENQUIRY INTO THE HILLSBOROUGH 96
We demand justice for the Hillsbrough 96

They include that officers pressured other witnesses to withdraw criticisms of South Yorkshire police;

They concentrated on and sympathised with South Yorkshire police's discredited account that supporters were drunk and misbehaving;

They failed to conduct an investigation rigorous enough to result in criminal or disciplinary proceedings against anyone.

They played a central role in the failings of the Hillsborough inquests which have now been quashed.

Source:
 http://m.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jan/01/hillsborough-families-west-midlands-police

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We are looking for all trade unions, all campaigns 4 justice and all students across the uk to join us in this international day of action.

Speakers to be announced from across the UK including representatives for families in USA & EUROPE.
EMAIL MORE INFO:  birminghamstrong@yahoo.co.uk
 https://www.facebook.com/BirminghamStrong4Justice

Bring your voice! Whistles! Horns! and Drums!

We seek Justice for all the following
ANTHONY GRAINGER - DIED 3RD MARCH 2012
MARK DUGGAN - DIED 4TH AUG 2011
JACOB MICHAELS - DIED 22ND AUG 2011
SMILEY CULTURE - DIED 15TH MARCH 2011
KINGSLEY BURRELL - DIED 30TH MARCH 2011- BIRMINGHAM
DEMETRE FRASER - DIED 31ST MAY 2011- BIRMINGHAM
LIOYD BUTLER - DIED 4TH AUG 2010 - BIRMINGHAM
IAN TOMLINSON - DIED 1ST APRIL 2009
HABIB 'PAPS' ULLAH - DIED 3RD JULY 2008
SEAN RIGG - DIED 21ST AUG 2008
DORIAN ROBERT MACKIE -DIED 25 AUG 2008
MIKEY POWELL - DIED 7TH SEPTEMBER 2003 - BIRMINGHAM
AZELLE RODNEY - DIED 30TH APRIL 2005
RICKY BISHOP - DIED 22ND NOVEMBER 2001
plus many many more

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION:  http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/26276

The United Families & Friends Campaign (UFFC) calls for an independent judicial inquiry into all suspicious deaths in custody. UFFC is a coalition of families and friends of those that have died in the custody of police and prison officers as well as those who died in psychiatric and immigration detention. It also has members and supporters from campaign groups and advocacy organisations from across the uk including BirminghamStrong Justice 4 All. The Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody report published in 2011 states: in total, there were 5,998 deaths recorded for the 11 years from 2000 to 2010. This is an average of 545 deaths per year. Despite the fact there have been 11 unlawful killing verdicts since 1990 there has never been a successful prosecution

PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION:  http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/26276

DEATHS IN (or as a result of) CUSTODY IN THE MIDLANDS REGION

Clinton McCurbin - Wolverhampton died 20th February 1987
Alton Manning - 33yrs Birmingham died 8th December 1995
David Henderson - 18yrs Wolverhampton died 22nd March 2000
Martin Green - 25yrs Staffordshire died 15th July 2002
Mikey Powell - Birmingham died 7th September 2003
Michael Bailey - 23yrs Birmingham died 24th March 2005
Lee Sean McArdle - 19yrs Birmingham died 12th February 2005
Victor Massey - 54yrs Nottingham died 8th August 2006
Lloyd Butler - 39yrs Birmingham died 4th August 2010
Kingsley Burrell - 27yrs Birmingham died 31st March 2011
Demetre Fraser - 21yrs Birmingham died 31st May 2011
John Shorthouse - 5yrs old shot dead by police in Birmingham 24th August 1985. R.I.P

WHAT IS DEATHS IN CUSTODY?

Deaths in police custody include situations where the deceased was 'arrested or detained in charge of a constable or otherwise in the hands of the police' as defined by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.Aside from people actually arrested or detained, fatalities in the following situations are also classed as 'custody deaths':

:People actively seeking to evade arrest
:People involved in police 'stop and search' operations
:Sieges/ambushes
:People detained under the Mental Health Act


(IAP) Independent Advisory Panel publish statistical analysis of all recorded deaths: 2000-2010

The IAP has today published their statistical analysis of all recorded deaths in state custody between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2010. This represents an important piece of work for the Panel as this is the first time that all recorded deaths in state custody will be broken down by ethnicity, gender, age and cause of death, and presented together in a single format.

The statistical analysis covers deaths in:

Prisons
Young Offender Institutes (YOIs)
Police custody
Immigration Removal Centres
Approved Premises
Secure Children’s Homes
Secure Training Centres
Whilst not specifically a custodial sector, the report also contains data on the deaths of patients who died in hospital whilst detained under the Mental Health Act.

The report found that:

In total, there were 5,998 deaths recorded for the 11 years from 2000 to 2010. This is an average of 545 deaths per year. Of these deaths, 72% (N=4,291) were of males and 28% (N=1,676) were of females.

A total of 607 deaths were reported in 2000 compared to 512 in 2010 (this represents a 16% reduction between the beginning and the end of the reporting period).
Deaths of those detained under the Mental Health Act (MHA) and those in prison custody, account for 92% (N=5,511) of all deaths in state custody, at 61% (N=3,628) and 31% (N=1,883) respectively.
66% (N=3,974) of deaths were recorded as natural causes. Of these, 71% (N=2,814) of deaths were of patients detained under the MHA.

9% (N=553) of the 5,998 deaths were of individuals from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups, with 5% (N=305) classified as Black, 3% (N=184) as Asian, 1% (N=52) as Mixed Ethnicity and 0.2% (N=12) as Chinese. 87% (N=5,192) were classified as White. Ethnicity was either not known, or not stated in 3% (N=180) of cases, 1% (N=76) were classified as ‘Other’. These figures need further analysis to understand whether there is any disproportion between race and ethnic identity and types of death.
In 0.3% (N=19) of deaths, the application of restraint by custodial staff was attributed to the cause of death during the Coroner’s inquest.