Mark Dougan who they are all upset about? He died in 2011, a known thug and gangster he had been involved in kidnappings extortion and drug dealing. A public inquest on the Duggan killing began on 16 September 2013, and ended on 8 January 2014 with an 8–2 majority concluding that Duggan's death was a lawful killing.Black Lives Matter activists protesting against racism in the UK blocked roads in three major cities on Friday, including London, where traffic was brought to a standstill outside Heathrow airport.
As the movement carried out a coordinated day of action, it took police hours to end demonstrations at key routes in Birmingham and Nottingham, as well as the capital.
By midday, protesters who had chained themselves to one another remained in place in Nottingham city centre, bringing buses and trams to a halt, and on the approach to Heathrow, causing lengthy tailbacks.
Black Lives Matter UK (UKBLM), a loose network of anti-racism activists, called the “shutdown” to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the death of Mark Duggan, who was shot dead by police during a hard stop (a planned operation that involves armed officers deliberately intercepting a vehicle to confront suspects). Duggan’s shooting, and the police response afterwards, sparked the 2011 riots.
Natasha Nkonde, a UKBLM activist, said: “[Duggan] represents another death in police custody with no consequences. Black people are overrepresented in these cases. In the past year we’ve had Mzee Mohammed, Sarah Reed, Jermaine Baker – we are in a crisis about the brutality being inflicted on black people. Sarah Reed had mental health issues and was beaten up by the police and found dead.
“We’re upset about the 3,000 deaths in the Mediterranean this year and of course post-Brexit we know there’s been a 57% increase in hate crimes. We are seeing people talking about how they are being attacked, abused in the streets.
“Other forms of protests have been exhausted and so the disruption today is bringing back to the mainstream discussions around black lives and the racist structures and inequalities we know about.”
On Friday night protesters who had gathered in Ali Aftab park in east London blocked the nearby Whitechapel Road. Transport for London also reported disruption on Shoreditch High Street.
Mzee Mohammed, 18, died after being detained by Merseyside police at the Liverpool One shopping centre. Officers were called to the scene following unconfirmed reports that Mohammed had a knife and was behaving in an “aggressive and erratic manner”. Police said they called an ambulance once it became clear that Mohammed was suffering “a medical episode”, and he was pronounced dead about an hour and a half later at Royal Liverpool University hospital.
Sarah Reed was a 32-year-old black woman who died in Holloway Prison in January, where she was awaiting trial for assault after an altercation that took place in the secure mental health unit where she lived.
Jermaine Baker, 28, was shot once by an officer during a bid to spring two gangsters from custody at Wood Green Court on December 11.
