Roger Sylvester died in January 1999 at the age of 30 while in custody. His was yet another case of a young, black man who lost his life following the use of restraint by the police. He was restrained by eight Metropolitan Police officers who went to his home when he was found naked in his front garden; he was taken into St Ann's hospital in Tottenham, where the restraint continued; his body went limp as he collapsed; and a week later his life-support machine was switched off at another north London hospital, the Whittington. An inquest jury brought in a verdict of unlawful killing and a prosecution of Met officers for manslaughter was likely to follow.
But the police appealed against the findings of the inquest before Mr Justice Collins at the high court. Then came the first of several extraordinary developments. The officers applied to Collins to submit their evidence anonymously, the implication being that the Sylvester family was nurturing terrorists within its campaign for justice. Their application was granted. The judge finally quashed the inquest verdict and delved into psychiatry to justify his decision. The jury was confused, he said.
Collins did not order a fresh inquest. He could see no reason why the family should want the matter considered again. And, he said, no jury would be likely to convict any officer of manslaughter. Indeed, the judge seemed to think the family was wrong to mount a campaign at all. "Of course," he said, "there must be justice for Roger but there must be justice for police officers." Perhaps he expected the campaigners to carry banners marked "Justice for the Met" and to voice appropriate chants.
I knew Roger as a toddler flitting around his auntie's sitting room in the 1970s. The Sylvester family had founded the Albertina Sylvester Saturday school to assist children who were handicapped by a faulty education system. Out of that came the Black Parents' Movement, which campaigned against police oppression. We raised our own funds and the annual Christmas party was legendary.
So history prepared the Sylvesters for their campaign. It will slide into the history of the black community, enriching future actions. Only weeks ago hundreds marched through London to commemorate young men who have died in police custody. The
pontification of Mr Justice Collins will not stop the campaigners.
