A month after the tragic passing of Mohamud Mohammed Hassan, it has now been revealed over 50 police officers had contact with the 24-year-old during the final hours of his life in custody.
On Friday 8th January, Mohamud was arrested at his Cardiff home on suspicion of breach of the peace but was released on Saturday night without charge.
Just hours after his release, Mohamud had died, with his family claiming he was assaulted in custody prior to his death.
Since his passing, more than 30,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to release documents and CCTV footage of the officers’ contact with Mohamud.
During a meeting with Mohamud’s family last week, Senior Independent Investigator Ian Andrews revealed 52 police officers came into contact with the 24-year-old during his short time in police custody.
Virgo Consultancy lawyer Hilary Brown, who is representing the family, said Mohamud’s parents and his family were “disturbed” by the update on their son’s time in custody.
Brown said: “There are allegations of excessive force and to hear that Hassan was subject to this level of police contact has been really upsetting and then not to be given any further information about this, the contact, was really difficult and completely unfair.”
The IOPC are currently interviewing a “large number” of police officers who may have come into contact with Mohamud in custody.
“We need to ensure we have spoken to anyone who may possibly have useful information to help us build a picture of what happened, as part of our thorough and independent investigation,” an IOPC spokesperson added.
Last month, more than 300 people took part in a march from the city centre to Cardiff Bay police station chanting “no justice, no peace”, and holding signs which read “Black Lives Matter”.
The results of a private postmortem exam paid for by Mohamud’s family are expected to be released in the next few days.