Family seeks the truth

Final hearing of inquest into River Lea death to take place
By Luchia Robinson

River Lea from Ferry Lane.<br />Credit: Creative Commons” /><figcaption style=

The final hearing into the death of a man who died in Tottenham during a pursuit with the police, will take place this month.

Lamont Roper, a 23-year-old Black man, died in the River Lea following contact with the Metropolitan Police, last October.

The inquest into Lamont’s death was opened by HM Senior Coroner for North London last year, and the final hearing is scheduled for 22nd November.

On 7th October 2020, at approximately 9.00pm, Lamont and a group of male friends were approached by three plain clothed officers on bikes patrolling the River Lea towpath, near Markfield Park.

The officers approached the group − who were all on bikes and electric scooters − to carry out a stop and search.

The group of men were then pursued up the towpath by a PC Collins; Lamont came off his bike by Lock 17, at Ferry Lane, following use of force by the officer.

The case was referred to the IOPC, and an investigation established that one of the males was detained by police, and two others (Lamont and one other) came to be in the water at different points along the towpath after they were pursued.

One of them was pulled from the water and detained but the other, Lamont, could not be found.

The MPS Marine Unit and London Fire Brigade were involved with searching the lock and surrounding areas soon after Lamont entered the water, but the search was called off at about midnight.

An MPS diver recovered Lamont’s body from the water the next morning when the search resumed. He was declared dead at the scene.

Lamont’s family is seeking answers to how he was found in the river when he was “terrified of water”, and did not know how to swim.

Speaking, last month, on what was the first anniversary of Lamont’s death, the family said: “We still have so many unanswered questions about how Lamont lost his life. We do not believe that he would have entered the water voluntarily as he could not swim and was terrified of water.

“We hope that the inquest into his death will robustly explore the circumstances of his death and in particular how he came to be in the water. We miss him every day and will not give up the fight for the truth.”

The family’s representatives at INQUEST say that some of the officers involved in the pursuit had activated their body worn video cameras but PC Collins did not. “This is of particular concern to the family, who, one year later, have still not been provided with access to the footage by the police.”

A statement from the IOPC said: “During our inquiries, one officer was served with a misconduct notice advising them that they were under investigation for potential breaches of professional standards for duties and responsibilities over their use of body worn video, and whether that was activated in accordance with policy.”

The IOPC concluded its investigation into Lamont’s death in April.

The investigation focused on the police contact with Lamont before his death, including the pursuit, “a struggle that took place between him and an officer”, how he came to be in the water, and the following efforts to find him. It also looked at the decision by the police to approach the group on the towpath.

The IOPC will publish the investigation findings once the inquest proceedings have concluded.

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