Death of Eric Michels

We have been assisting the police in their investigation of the death of Eric Michels in Chessington. One man has been charged with murder, supply of drugs and other offences involving multiple victims today.

One man, Eric Matuvo, has been charged with his death.He allegedly gave Mr Michels a lethal dose of GHB at his home.

Update on Stephen Port murders 

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has concluded its investigation into the MPS (Metropolitan Police) investigation of the murders of Stephen Port.  The MPS received a copy of the final report in August. The IOPC received the response from MPS in October. The IOPC is making their final decisions and will prepare a final report. Once considered, it will be published as soon as possible after all parties affected (MPS, the victims' families etc) have seen the report.

A new coroner inquest into the deaths will be opened. Due to the nature of these cases, a judge will be appointed to conduct the inquests.

Irrespective of the IOPC review and inquest, the LGBT Advisory Group has been working with the MPS on several projects to make sure that lessons are learnt.

1. The Homicide command has reviewed 58 deaths related to the use of the drug GHB, many of the deceased were gay men. This involved two years of work reviewing whether there are any possibility of foulplay in their deaths in the light of what we have learnt about the Port murders. The findings were shared with independent advisors for our input. No suspicious circumstances were found. The review team will produce a report in early 2019 with recommendations for future investigations.

2. More generally, the MPS has reviewed its policy for the investigation of sudden deaths. The learning from the Port case and the GHB deaths review has been incorporated in the evaluation of this new policy.

3. The MPS has produced guidance for reporting crimes in a chemsex scenario, either directly to the police or via third party reporting. This has been done with input from Antidote, Gay Men Health Collective, Galop and the LGBT Advisory Group. The guidance can be easily found by typing "chemsex" into the search engine on the MPS website (http://www.met.police.uk).

Another tragic death due to GHB was reported in the press last week. The LGBT Advisory Group has been assisting in this investigation. One man has been charged with murder.

It is clear that further community messaging is needed to promote reporting and safety messages.
The LGBT Advisory Group will be able to assist in this work.

Murder of Naomi Hersi

The LGBT Advisory Group has been assisting the MPS investigation of the murder of Naomi Hersi, a transgender woman from north London. This has been a case with multiple cultural sensitivities. We have worked with Galop and TellMaMa to provide advice to assist their investigation and to help formulate their community facing strategies.

The trial at the Old Bailey concluded this week. Jesse McDonald has been found guilty of murder and perverting the course of justice. He has been sentenced to life, with a minimum of 20 years. His girlfriend, Natalia Darkowska, was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice. 

More details can be found at the MPS website.

Community Engagement Conference

The Metropolitan Police restructure: how does that affect you?

6.30 - 8.30pm, Tuesday 9th October

New Scotland Yard, Victoria Embankment, London SW1A 2JL
(Nearest tube stations: Westminster or Embankment)

What is this about?

The Metropolitan Police Service has undergone an extensive re-organisation of local policing in the last year. Thirty-two local borough police into 12 Borough Command Units (BCU). The LGBT Advisory Group is organising an evening conference to address how this re-structuring impacts policing for the LGBT+ community in London. We have invited Superintendent Martin Rolston to explain the new BCU structure and then we will open up the session for discussions. The conference will also be attended by senior management from the central MPS Community Engagement team. This will be an opportunity for the MPS hear how the new structure is currently affecting their service delivery to the LGBT+ community.

Programme
1. Introductions (10 mins)
2. The new MPS structure for local policing (Superintendent Martin
Rolston, One Met Model 2020)(20 mins)
3. Roundtable session: community concerns and suggestions (30 mins)
4. Open discussion (30 mins)

Refreshments and sandwiches will be available.

Who is this for? LGBT+ community members and stakeholders, MPS LGBT liaison personnel and LGBT+ MPS staff involved in organisational development.

 

Please register online using our online form (preferred method). 
Alternatively, register by email to communitymeeting@lgbtag.org.uk with your name, contact email, dietary and access requirements. 
For further enquiries, please call 07947160111

Central London Protests on May 9

We are working with the MPS regarding the far-right protest by a former leader of the English Defence League taking place in Whitehall on Sunday 9th May. Public order specialists in the MPS are engaging with the protest and counter-protest groups. There will be a large number of officers deployed to keep the peace. Westminster police will be proactively to reassure local businesses.

Initial plans to end the protest in front of the Twitter offices in Soho have been scrapped.