Investigation of the death of Jay Abatan: Tribunal of DI Andy Young and Martin Sapwell 7th - 9th June and then proposed to 20th -21st June 2005

Detective Inspector Andy Young and Detective Sergeant Martin Sapwell (now Detective Inspector) are contesting their charges and the tribunal is ongoing. Michael Abatan, Tanya Haynes and Kathryn Abatan have given evidence. Martin Sapwell has called retired DI Maye, DC Geoff Knights and DI Claire Shiels to give evidence on his behalf as well as giving evidence himself. DI Young is currently in the middle of giving evidence and will resume on the 20th June 2005.

DI Young faces the following charges:

1. That he was not conscientious and diligent in his duties in the course of the investigation in that he failed to notify Tanya Haynes of the decision not to

continue with the joint enterprise basis of the case, leading her to believe the decision was made on the 24th June 1999 and not at previous meetings with the CPS.

2. That he was not conscientious and diligent in his duties in the course of the investigation in that he failed to inform Michael Abatan that ID parades were going to be held thus failing to enable him to attend said parade.

3. That he was not conscientious and diligent in his duties in the course of the investigation in that he failed to ensure that injuries to a witness namely Lloyd Jeffers were photographed.

4. That he was not conscientious and diligent in his duties in the course of the investigation through the inappropriate use of message forms to record actions and failed to endorse some with the results of enquiries.

5. That he was not conscientious and diligent in his duties in the course of the investigation in that he failed to manage effectively the allocation and receipt of said actions.

6. That he was not conscientious and diligent in his duties in the course of the investigation in that he failed to effectively secure evidence by ensuring that suspects addresses were effectively searched and that potential evidence was not secured in respect of CCTV recordings from the Market Diner Café

7. That he was not conscientious and diligent in his duties in the course of the investigation in that he failed to properly and effectively supervise Detective Sergeant Sapwell.

8. That he was not conscientious and diligent in his duties in the course of the investigation in that he failed to be objective during the investigation on a number of occasions stating that the suspects were decent people and that they would not have meant to kill J Abatan, making comment that the whole incident was an unfortunate accident.

DI Sapwell faces the following charges:

1. That on a number of occasions during the investigation you stated that the suspects were decent people and they would not have meant to kill the victim and in doing so your behaviour was inappropriate and unprofessional.

2. That on a number of occasions during that investigation you displayed a lack of professionalism and empathy towards the Abatan family in that you at times raised your voice and were unprofessional towards them and that during a conversation with Michael Abatan regarding your previous relationship with the suspect Bell you replied forcefully with words to the effect that it was not his business to know, this behaviour being inappropriate and unprofessional.

3. That you were not conscientious and diligent in your duties in the course of the said investigation in that you failed to investigate the evidence available in relation to the witness Darren Horscroft and additionally prevented the girlfriend of one of the suspects from being interviewed by writing “not being a line of enquiry” on an action form.

4. That you were not conscientious and diligent in your duties in the course of the said investigation in the course of the said investigation in that you stated the decision to change prosecution direction from joint enterprise to sole prosecution was based on your gut instinct may have been difficulty in progressing the joint charge

Comment from Michael Abatan:

My brother Jay Abatan was murdered in a racist attack over six years ago and his murderers are still at large. The police have still not learnt from the shortcomings of the investigation into the death of Stephen Lawrence. I want to see 2005 as being the year when the police deliver justice for Jay and his family. Part of this must be a full addressing of the institutional racism that is still manifest in the police force and the adoption of all the Lawrence Inquiry recommendations.

The investigation into the murder of my brother was doomed from the start. Sussex police were friendly to the suspects and even prior to the attack the suspects were drinking with Sussex Police officers. Jay’s family believe that this had an adverse effect on the initial investigation.

A Sussex police officer said that Jay’s attack was not a racist incident. The attack was described as a ‘tragic accident’. An internal police memo said that the suspects were professional and respectable. After Jay’s death the number of police officers investigating his attack was reduced from 8 to 6 – less than similar cases.

The head of CID met with the officer responsible for setting up major incident rooms. This officer fully expected a major incident room to be set up for Jay and the use of the Holmes computer system. He was told that due to budget restrictions this would not happen in Jay’s case. At that time all other homicides had major incident rooms and were on the Holmes computer system. Why did Jay not get these vital resources?

After the case failed we were told by Nigel Yeo (Assistant Chief Constable) that money was not an issue and more resources were available if the investigation needed them. We now know all those involved in the investigation were told to save money on Jay’s case. The investigation team was told to be economic. No overtime was allowed and they should carry out enquiries in their ‘downtime’. A number of senior Sussex Police officers have left Sussex Police in order to escape disciplinary tribunals.

What happened to my brother could happen to any one of you out there today. It is clear to me that black families will continue to struggle to get justice. The authorities have not learnt the lessons of the Stephen Lawrence enquiry.

Please support Jay’s family in trying to bring Sussex Police to account for their failings. Write to your MP to ask for pressure be put on Sussex Police to release the Avon and Somerset report. Sign the petition at The National Assembly Against Racism website. Visit Jay’s website at www.justiceforjay.co.uk to find out more information. Contact The National Assembly Against Racism to help raise money to bring legal action against the men who killed Jay. The police should be held accountable for their failings. I need your support to bring them accountable for their failings in Jay’s case. Jay deserves justice.

Don’t be complacent. Racism is alive and well.