MPS officer faces no charges over death of Rashan Charles

A police officer who was being investigated after the death of Rashan Charles will not be prosecuted. The 20-year-old died on July 22 last year after he was pursued by an officer into a shop in Dalston, east London, and detained with the assistance of a member of the public. CCTV footage showed the officer forcing him to the ground and trying to remove a small package from his throat. The officer called for medical assistance after Mr Charles fell ill. He later died in hospital. It was later revealed that a package extracted from his body contained a mixture of caffeine and paracetamol. Despite the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) formally recommending that the officer should be suspended, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) placed him on restricted duties following “very careful consideration of the matter”. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had been considering a common assault charge against the officer after a referral from the IOPC. A CPS spokesperson said: “Following the death of Rashan Charles in July 2017, the Independent Office for Police Conduct referred a file of evidence in relation to one Metropolitan Police? officer for a possible charge of common assault. “The CPS has considered the matter and decided the evidential test for a prosecution for common assault is not met. We will therefore not be taking any further action regarding this offence.” Mr Charles’s death sparked violent street protests in east London, with threats made against police officers. MPS Deputy Assistant Commissioner Richard Martin said last year: “I fully understand the strength of public feeling about the tragic death of Rashan Charles in Hackney. “Throughout this investigation both the officer concerned and the MPS have fully co-operated.” A full inquest into Mr Charles’s death is expected to be held in front of a jury on June 4. At a pre-inquest review in November, all officers involved in the death were granted anonymity, despite the coroner, Mary Hassell, rejecting claims there was a “direct threat to officers’ lives”.