№00234

Ben Omohuma

Ben Omohuma was injured by police officers in London, UK.

In August 2019 Omohuma went to police station to an interrogation. He refused to leave the station without his mobile phone. CCTV footage shows 8 police officers pinning him to the ground, handcuffing him and carrying him to the cell. Omohuma told the officers that he was “dying”, but they did not stop. They said that he was not dying, since he was still talking. Omohuma claims that officers kept pinning him to the floor in the cell until he lost consciousness. He woke up with blood on his clothes and could not move his arms for several minutes.

The medical certificate provided by the police states that he does not have any injuries. The officers accused Omohuma of violence at the police station, but the judges dropped all charges against him as soon as they saw the video from the cameras. Police did not provide a piece of footage of the moment Omohuma lost consciousness. He filed a complaint against the police.

In June 2021, Omohuma said that the court dismissed the complaint as it found no evidence that Omohuma lost consciousness at the station.

СМИ

MASS MEDIA ABOUT THE CASE:

“As a black man, they don’t appreciate you asking them questions. As a black man, you’re just supposed to agree to whatever they say and say: ‘Yes sir!’ But if you ask them questions they become defensive and aggressive,” Omohuma said.
BBC

“I can’t think of anything that would make them use excessive force on me. I didn’t have a weapon, I wasn’t showing any signs of violence towards the police. I just couldn’t imagine why I have to have eight police officers on just one man,” Omohuma said.
BBC

FILES

CASE STATUS:

The FBI initiative group requested clarifications on the current case from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Justice Minister and Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland, and British Home Secretary Priti Sushil Patel. The initiative group considers it necessary to combat police misconduct and, if necessary, can provide legal and informational assistance to the victim.