'Justice for Faruk Ali' protest in Bedfordshire

Categories: Latest News
Monday January 12 2015
BBC News reports on a public protest to be held in Bedfordshire in support of an autistic victim of an alleged racist hate crime after two police officers were cleared of misconduct.
Faruk Ali, who was helping binmen with garbage bins outside his home last August was allegedly assaulted by police officers, Christopher Pitts and Christopher Thomas, who claim they mistook him for a burglar.
Pitts and Thomas were cleared of misconduct by Aylesbury Crown Court last month after being suspended pending an investigation and criminal inquiry.
BBC News reported that “PCs Thomas, 33, and Pitts, 39, from Bedford, were cleared of misconduct in a public office and perverting the course of justice at Aylesbury Crown Court last month.
“PC Thomas was also cleared of racially aggravated assault.”
But Ali’s family are now calling for a police camera video which allegedly captured footage relating to the incident to be publicly released and have organised a protest in support of their campaign for accountability.
The news report states that “During the [court] case a video from an in-car camera was played showing the officers laughing as they pursued Mr Ali, who has the mental age of a five-year-old child.”
Solicitor Attiq Mailk, representing Ali’s family, told BBC News the video “ha[d] been played in the public domain.”
“It should now be released to the media.”
He said the Justice for Faruk Ali march was about “transparency”.
A separate investigation into the incident by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) still ongoing.