Colin Roach

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (November 2006)

Colin Roach was a black man who died after receiving a fatal gunshot wound in 1983 while in the custody of British police. Authorities alleged that Roach committed suicide after entering the Stoke Newington Police Station. Many believed that there was reason to doubt this story and instead argued that Roach was murdered by police.

The police surgeon who was called to Roach's corpse in the foyer of the police station said that the body position was inconsistent with suicide. The shotgun with which he was killed could not be fitted into the sports bag Roach had with him, not even when broken down. No fibers from the bag were found on the gun & no oil from the gun was found in the bag. When a shotgun is used for suicide the recoil damages and sometimes breaks the trigger thumb. No injury was found to Roach's hand at all. The recoiling gun will normally hit a wall or floor very hard but no marks from this were found in the police station foyer or on the gun butt.

On the other side of the argument there were no marks on Roach's mouth consistent with a gun being forced into it.

The man who drove Roach to the police station saw no gun or bulge. He said that Roach was very frightened and saw him walk into the police station.

Two police officers who were believed to be present at the police station claimed not to have been there, there were irregularities in the records for who was present.

Roach's death spurred protests and demands for an independent public inquiry. Such an inquiry did not take place, although police did conduct an inquest into the incident.

In Sinéad O'Connor's I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got album sleeve, there is a picture of what appears to be Colin Roach's parents holding vigil by his picture, suggestion O'Connor's song "Black Boys on Mopeds" was inspired by Roach's murder.