LONDON (AP) 鈥� Hundreds of people in Ireland are calling for justice for a Congolese man who died after he was restrained by security guards outside a Dublin department store.
Activists said disturbing video of Yves Sakila in distress as he was pinned to the sidewalk was reminiscent of the killing of by police officers in Minneapolis in 2020.
Sakila, 35, had been chased and detained May 15 by several security guards who suspected him of shoplifting at Arnotts, Ireland’s oldest and largest department store, in the heart of Dublin. He was unresponsive when police arrived and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
鈥淵ves Sakila was a man who did not deserve to die,” Suzie Tansia, of the Congolese Community Ireland, said at a demonstration Thursday. “He was a human being, like you and I. He was somebody鈥檚 son, and that could have been any one of us.鈥�
Here are some things to know about the incident.
Video shows man pinned to the ground until he becomes motionless
Attorney John Gerard Cullen, who represents the man’s family, said Sakila allegedly stole a bottle of perfume from the store.
Sakila was pursued by security officers as he fled, knocking over a man in his 80s who was hospitalized with injuries, police said.
Video of the incident, described by the Irish Network Against Racism as 鈥渧ery disturbing,” shows a man said to be Sakila struggling and crying out in distress as he was held down by several men for nearly five minutes.
As he was subdued, another man, wearing a gray suit, appears to kneel on Sakila’s neck, the group said. By the end of the video, he is motionless.
鈥淲e are very concerned that this case appears to have the hallmarks of a case of excessive use of force,鈥� said Shane O鈥機urry, director of the network. “The death of a Black man in such circumstances is extremely worrying, and we urge the authorities to thoroughly investigate all of the circumstances leading to this man鈥檚 death, in order to ensure minority ethnic community confidence in the criminal justice system.鈥�
The department store said it was 鈥渄eeply saddened鈥� by Sakila’s death and was conducting a review of its privately contracted security services. It said it was cooperating with police.
Dual investigations launched
Prime Minister Miche谩l Martin called for a thorough investigation.
鈥淢y deepest sympathies go out to his family, and to the wider Congolese community,鈥� Martin said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to prejudice the outcome of that investigation but I think a lot of people are clearly very concerned about what has transpired here.鈥�
Police are investigating the death but are also the subject of an internal probe by the ombudsman into their response.
小萝莉影视 reports said the first officers on the scene handcuffed Sakila before realizing he was unresponsive and performing CPR.
An autopsy has been completed, but police have not released the cause of death, citing operational reasons.
Cullen said Sakila’s family is frustrated at the little information they have been provided.
Police have asked for witnesses to come forward.
A vigil and protests held in Dublin
Sakila had moved from Congo to Galway as a teen and lived in Ireland more than 20 years. He had worked in the technology industry but was homeless in recent years. Cullen said Sakila struggled with drug abuse.
Walter Kabangu, the director of the Congolese Chamber of Commerce in Ireland who went to school with Sakila, described him as a 鈥渧ery down-to-earth young man.”
A vigil was held Tuesday outside Arnotts and hundreds of protesters peacefully gathered Thursday outside Parliament.
They held signs that said 鈥淏lack lives matter here too,” and shouted, 鈥淛ustice for Yves, dignity for all,鈥� and 鈥淣o justice, no peace.鈥�
Before the protest, the Black Coalition Ireland held a news conference and announced five demands: a transparent investigation of the death; racial training for police; laws against excessive force in civilian detention; an end to 鈥渄emonizing rhetoric鈥� against ethnic communities; and equal treatment for all in practice 鈥� not just on paper.
鈥淲e are demanding this because our lives matter,” said Yemi Adenuga, a Meath County councilor who is a spokeswoman for the coalition. “It would be sad to see this happen again on the streets of Dublin.鈥�
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