Terry Cassidy, 45, who worked on TV adverts and music videos before suffering life-changing injuries, died at Queen’s Hospital, Romford, on April 9.
He had suffered brain damage during an interaction with the Metropolitan Police Service.
How?
The force has suggested he died after swallowing drugs when confronted by officers in a car park off Ivyhouse Lane, Dagenham.
Ah. Yes, that'll do it. And in a glaring example of how local newspapers often aren't these days, there is no 'Ivyhouse Lane'. There's an Ivyhouse Road. A genuinely local journalist would have known this.
But two witnesses told Newsquest he had injuries to his head and neck when they saw him moments after the confrontation.
“His neck was red raw with scratches on it,” said one friend, who arrived on the scene as they were due to meet for coffee.
Mr Cassidy’s death was referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), but it declined to investigate and suggested the Met investigate itself instead.
Well, when you swallow drugs in the presence of the police, for some reason they have to try to stop you, so yes, you will have bruises.
“No one is going to get charged for this. No one ever does,” said Mr Cassidy’s partner of six years, who asked not to be named.
“This is why they keep doing it. Because they keep getting away with it.”
She described Mr Cassidy as “a kind man” and “a joker” who had never been in trouble, besides a single court appearance for an alleged driving offence.
“He was always late,” she chuckled. “But apart from that, he was an angel. He would do anything for anyone. He was always thinking of other people.
“He treated me like a queen. He taught me how to be loved. I’ve never been loved like this before. And now he’s gone… He didn’t deserve to die in vain like this.”
So, he wasn't the sort to have, or to swallow, drugs?
On the day of his death, she said, he had agreed to hold a small quantity of drugs for a friend “like an idiot”.
She last spoke to him roughly five minutes before the fatal incident, when he telephoned her and said he was being followed by four unmarked police cars.
“They’ve been following me since Becontree,” she remembered him telling her.
And pulling over, stopping and saying 'OK, it's a fair cop!' wasn't an option?
The Metropolitan Police said: “Officers on patrol in Dagenham stopped a car close to Ivyhouse Lane at around 4.50pm on Sunday, March 30, following concerns around drug use.
“When approached by officers, it’s believed that the man inside the car ingested something and then became unwell.
“Officers gave immediate first aid and called the London Ambulance Service. The man, in his 40s, was taken to hospital.
“Sadly, he died on Wednesday, April 9. His family are aware and being supported by specialist officers.”
A job I couldn't do, because I'm sure part of it isn't educating the newly bereaved on what a fucking moron their loved one was...
