Colin Roach

Colin Roach, 21, was a happy and sociable young Black man from east London. A tailor’s cutter, Colin enjoyed spending his free time with friends, boxing and fixing up his car.

In January 1983, Colin died inside Stoke Newington Police station from a gunshot wound. Despite his friends and family stating that Colin was not suicidal, the police claimed that the wound was self-inflicted and an inquest later that year would return a verdict of suicide.

Colin’s death and the subsequent inquest verdict sparked widespread anger and protests throughout the 1980s and beyond.

The Black community in Hackney had regularly faced police brutality, wrongful detention and harassment.

Campaigners questioned the circumstances surrounding Colin's death, with little evidence that he had taken a gun into the station. There were also discrepancies in the police accounts of what happened, with barrister Lord Gifford saying at the time the police statements were "tainted by lies and conflicting evidence". (The Hackney Gazette)

Following Colin’s death, the Roach Family Support Committee set up an Independent Committee of Inquiry, which published the document Policing In Hackney: 1945-1984. The document contradicted police accounts of the way he died.

In 1988, the Hackney Community Defence Association (HCDA) was founded in response to the number of allegations made against Hackney and Stoke Newington police officers.