He was fit but had suffered several short episodes of mental illness from which he had recovered. One of these episodes occurred on 7th September 2003. Police had previously dealt appropriately with one and were called again this time.

This is what happened. Officers drove a police car at

Mikey, hitting him, beat him with a baton, CS gassed him,

restrained him and, knowing he was injured, and

drove him to a police station not a hospital.

The community was outraged and angry that this could

happen so suddenly to a law abiding citizen.

This was reflected in a packed public meeting held in

September 2003, and a march to Thornhill Road police

station in November 2003. Over 500 people attended the

protest and hundreds more lined the route.

Mikey's family and friends established a campaign in his name to express concern with the high rate of custody deaths in the United Kingdom. The Powell family demands that openness; transparency and police cooperation should be at the very heart of investigations into deaths in custody, and the Government must act on its own principles of ‘equality for all’ in ensuring that this is the case. The family of Mikey Powell, like families before us, never dreamt such tragedy could come so suddenly.

Following a 3-month Crown trial against 10 West Midlands police officers, all were subsequently acquitted on any involvement in his cause of death. The verdict was met with dismay by the family and their supporters.

Tippa Naphtali

Mikey's Cousin