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Thousands march to Downing Street to protest over deaths in police custody

FAMILIES of loved ones killed in custody spoke out against “police inaccuracies” in the wake of their relatives’ deaths during a march to Downing Street on Saturday. 

The annual march, organised by the United Friends and Families Campaign, is held every October to demand justice and accountability for state-related deaths. 

Among those attending the event was the family of Chris Kaba, the 24-year-old who was shot and killed by police in Streatham Hill on September 5.

Speaking outside Downing Street, Kaba’s mother Helen Nkama told crowds that her son’s death must be the last. “I wish this painful death must be the last — it must be the last,” she said. 

His cousin and family spokesperson, Jefferson Bosela, said that new information about the circumstances around Kaba’s death appeared to contradict the Metropolitan Police’s earlier reports that he was killed following a police pursuit. 

“They said there was a chase, they said there was a pursuit — there was no pursuit, there was no chase, there were no lights, there were no sirens,” he told the PA news agency. 

The Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC), which is investigating Kaba’s death, told the inquest earlier this month that Kaba was followed by an unmarked police car with no lights or sirens used, and made no mention of a chase. 

Aisha Omishore, the younger sister of 41-year-old Omishore, who died after jumping off a bridge having been tasered by officers, said that her brother’s memory had been “tarnished” by inaccurate reports of the incident.

Omishore was initially reported to have been in possession of a screwdriver when police officers were called to Chelsea Bridge in west London on June 4.

The IOPC later said he had been holding a plastic and metal firelighter.

Ms Omishore said: “As a family, we find it unacceptable that the police were allowed to release a press statement containing facts they would have known to be incorrect at the time of release, and when they’d already referred themselves to the IOPC.

“It tarnished my brother’s memory, it caused us unimaginable distress and pain, and just weeks of us having to try and defend our brother.”

The march from Trafalgar Square ended at Downing Street, where the families delivered a letter for PM Rishi Sunak, demanding a meeting with him and changes to the way such deaths are handled. 

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