Liddle Towers

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Liddle Towers ( 1936 in Chester-le-Street , County Durham ; † February 9, 1976 in Dryburn Hospital, County Durham) was a 39-year-old electrician and amateur boxing coach from Chester-le-Street, County Durham, who followed in 1976 one police detention died. His death has been associated with police brutality in the UK and has received several songs from the British punk movement .

death

Liddle Towers was arrested outside the Key Club in Birtley, County Tyne and Wear on January 16, 1976. After resisting arrest, he was arrested by six police officers and taken away in a police dog cart. He was then taken to the Gateshead Police Department. He was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital at four in the morning after complaining of pain. No injuries were found there and he was taken back to his prison cell. He was released at 10 a.m. on the same day. On February 9, 1976, Towers died at Dryburn Hospital from his injuries sustained on the night of January 15-16.

Towers said after his arrest that he had been beaten by several police officers that night. Before he died, he told a friend that he had already been badly beaten when he was arrested, but that that was nothing compared to what had happened in the cell. A taxi driver who eyed the brawl later confirmed that police used excessive brutality in the arrest. A police officer stood on his head while other men stepped on him. His family doctor also confirmed in court that he had received serious injuries.

On October 8, 1976, the court described the death of Towers as "justified homicide", ie a "justified killing" based on the police officers' right of self-defense . The case was featured in national media and the verdict was heavily criticized. In particular, there were increasing doubts about the reliability and integrity of Northumbria police officers . On May 3, 1977, the Attorney General announced that the Director of Public Prosecutions had refused to pursue the case in correspondence with MP Giles Radice . On July 8, the Home Secretary also declined to reopen the case with reference to the S32 Police Act of 1964.

Finally, in June 1978, the Queen's Bench Divisional Court ordered a re-examination of the case. The verdict this time was "death by misadventure", ie "death from unfortunate circumstances". The police officers were acquitted again.

In popular culture

In 1978, the punk band Angelic Upstarts released a single called The Murder of Little Towers ( The Murder of Liddle Towers ). Sex Pistols producer Dave Goodman released a single with the cynical title Justifiable Homicide under the name "Dave Goodman and Friends" . In 1979 the Tom Robinson Band dedicated their album TRB Two to Mrs. Mary Towers, Liddle's mother. The song Blue Murder is also about the case.

The Jam accused police violence in 1977 in the song Time for the Truth and wrote the line “Bring forward the six pigs, We wanna see them swing so high” (something like: “Show us the six bull pigs, we want to see them hanging”) . The line of text “In the city there's a thousand men in uniforms And I've heard they now have the right to kill a man” (“In the city there are thousands and thousands of people in uniforms / and me) was already on her debut song In the City heard that they now also have the right to kill a man ”), which also referred to the incident. Also the Oi! -Band The Crux released a song on the subject.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Police kicked Liddle Towers, inquest is told , Glasgow Herald . October 10, 1978. Retrieved July 7, 2013. 
  2. ^ Inquest on Towers may be reopened , Glasgow Herald . May 27, 1978. Retrieved July 7, 2013. 
  3. ↑ a b Mr. LIDDLE TOWERS (Hansard) . HOUSE OF COMMONS (LIBRARY). December 12, 1977. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  4. ↑ They gave us a bloody good kicking outside the Key Club, but that was naught to what I got when I got inside. quoted from Mr. LIDDLE TOWERS (Hansard) . HOUSE OF COMMONS (LIBRARY). December 12, 1977. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  5. ^ Policeman 'stood on Towers' , Glasgow Herald . October 11, 1978. Retrieved July 7, 2013. 
  6. ^ The Times, June 29, 1978
  7. ^ Misadventure verdict on Towers , Glasgow Herald . October 18, 1978. Retrieved July 7, 2013. 
  8. ^ The Times, October 18, 1978
  9. ^ Paolo Hewitt: Paul Weller - The Changing Man . Random House, 2011, ISBN 1-4464-9775-5 , pp. 42 .
  10. ^ Crux . Sounds . May 21, 1983. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
personal data
SURNAME Towers, Liddle
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British man, victim of police violence
DATE OF BIRTH 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Chester-le-Street , County Durham
DATE OF DEATH February 9, 1976
Place of death Dryburn Hospital, County Durham