Ousman Sey was a 45-year-old man from Gambia living in the Nordstadt district of Dortmund in Germany.[1] On 7 July 2012, Ousman Sey began to feel pains in his chest at his house in Dortmund, Germany. He called the emergency services and they told him he did not need to go to hospital.[2] Becoming agitated, he broke a window in his apartment, causing a neighbour to call the police. When the police arrived, he complained about his chest pains; paramedics again said he did not need to go to hospital. He was then arrested and detained. He later died in police custody.[2][3]

Sey's death caused controversy since questions were immediately raised about why a man complaining of chest pain was not taken more seriously. A demonstration was organised in Dortmund and his family suggested there were racist motives for not helping Sey.[2][4] The police denied racism was part of their decision-making but links were drawn by protestors to other deaths in police custody suspected to be racially motivated such as those of Laya-Alama Condé, Oury Jalloh and Achidi John.[5] Nine months after the incident, the public prosecutor announced the files on the case were closed and no action would be taken against anyone involved.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Völkel, Alexander (3 June 2020). "Die Polizei Dortmund sieht die Nordstadt nicht als "gefährlich und verrufen" an - und feiert ihre jüngsten Erfolge". Nordstadtblogger (in German). Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Bruce-Jones, Eddie (2018). Race in the shadow of law: State violence in contemporary Europe. Abingdon, Oxon. p. 109. ISBN 9781138624276.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ↑ "Germany - another Black death in custody". Institute of Race Relations. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "Dortmund: Warum starb Ousman Sey? [Why did Ousman Sey die?]". Junge Welt (in German). 20 July 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  5. ↑ Eiseler, Valerie (12 June 2020). "Polizeigewalt und Rassismus in Deutschland: Oury Jalloh war kein Einzelfall [Police violence and racism in Germany: Oury Jalloh was not an isolated case]". Frankfurter Rundschau (in German). Retrieved 17 January 2022.
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