Sgt Paul White is on restricted duties having been charged with perjury, after Rigg’s family put pressure on prosecutors following his death in custody

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Scotland Yard has been criticised for failing to suspend a police officer after he was charged with perjury over evidence he gave at the inquest into the death of a man in custody.

Sean Rigg, 40, a musician who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, died of a heart attack at Brixton police station in 2008 after being arrested on suspicion of attacking passersby and officers.

Sgt Paul White faces the charge over evidence he gave at the inquest into Rigg’s death in July 2012, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Wednesday. White, who will appear at Westminster magistrates court on 8 September, has been placed on restricted duties but not suspended.

The inquest jury found police used “unsuitable” force when they arrested Rigg, who was held in a police van for 11 minutes before being taken to the station.



The CPS had said last year it would take no further action after considering allegations against White and PC Mark Harratt concerning statements made about Rigg. It has now decided to charge White, but maintained that there is not enough evidence to charge Harratt.

The decision comes after Rigg’s family applied for a review of the case under a recently introduced scheme that gives victims the right to request that the CPS reconsiders decisions not to prosecute.



Rigg’s family, led by his oldest sister Marcia Rigg-Samuel, have long fought for answers over his death.

Rigg was living in a south London hostel in August 2008 when his mental health deteriorated. One afternoon, he smashed up a gazebo and made karate moves that staff viewed as threatening, so they called police.

The inquest jury in 2012 found officers failed to uphold Rigg’s basic rights as he collapsed after being pinned down, and concluded that the Metropolitan police made a series of errors which “more than minimally” contributed to his death.

Rigg-Samuel initially welcomed the decision to charge White but later called on Scotland Yard to “urgently” reconsider keeping the officer on restricted duties.



Daniel Machover, a solicitor representing Rigg-Samuel, said his client had called on the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, to “urgently change his mind”.

Inquest, a charity that advises people bereaved by a death in custody and detention, also criticised the decision to keep White on restricted duties. Deborah Coles, the charity’s co-director, said: “It is outrageous that a police sergeant accused of lying on oath has not been suspended.”

Sue Hemming, the head of the CPS’s special crime and counter-terrorism division, said: “The CPS victims’ right-to-review scheme allows victims to seek a review of a CPS decision not to prosecute in certain circumstances.

“In this case, the complainant’s bereaved family were eligible to apply and the case was referred to me to decide if the original decision not to prosecute was correct.

“After careful consideration of the evidence, I have decided that there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction and that it is in the public interest to charge Paul White with one count of perjury, which relates to the evidence he gave at Mr Rigg’s inquest and therefore the original decision should be overturned.

“I also considered evidence against another police officer but agreed with the original decision not to prosecute due to insufficient evidence.”