The funeral of Edson Da Costa, who died after being stopped by officers believed to have used force and CS spray, has been held, with his family saying the day’s focus should be on his life, not the circumstances of his death.

Relatives of the 25-year-old father of one gathered in east London on Friday to pay tribute, with some laying flowers as a hearse bearing his coffin, as well as his name and the word “son” spelled out in flowers, led a procession.

“Today, our family said goodbye to a son, a father, a partner, a brother, a cousin and a friend,” they said.

“Edson’s death came as a huge shock and has had a great impact on our family. None more so than on his mother, who sadly passed away weeks after Edson and will now meet her son on the other side. Today is about celebrating Edson’s life and not focusing on the events of 15 June [the date of his detention].”



Da Costa was born in Portugal and came to the UK with his father when he was five years old. Growing up in east London and going to school in Hackney, he had a passion for cars – so much so that his dream was to set up a car refurbishing business, a representative of his family told the Guardian.

Edson Da Costa as a child (centre) flanked by his father Ginario Da Costa and mother Manuela Araujo. Photograph: Courtesy of the Da Costa family

The death of Da Costa’s mother, Manuela Araujo, was the second tragedy to hit the family in quick succession. “She could no longer cope with the death of her son,” Edson’s father, Ginario Da Costa, has previously said.

Edson Da Costa died in a high-dependency unit six days after he was stopped by Metropolitan police – along with two other men – in a car in east London. The Independent Police Complaints Commission is investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.

The watchdog has previously said a pathologist “removed a number of packages from Mr Da Costa’s throat”, which were being analysed. His death was closely followed by that of another young black man, Rashan Charles, in similar circumstances and each family is demanding to know why their relatives died.

Beyond the focus on Da Costa’s life on the day of his funeral, his family’s statement said they hoped the IPCC investigation and an inquest would “answer the questions we have about the circumstances of Edson’s death”. It added: “It’s very important to us that lessons are learned so that other families do not have to experience the dreadful loss we have suffered.”

They offered their “sincere thanks” to the people who have contributed to the Justice4Edson crowdfunding page, which helped to pay for Friday’s funeral.

“We have set up the Justice4Edson campaign which aims to shed light on black and minority ethnic deaths in custody. We hope we will be able to bring about change to reduce their occurrence, ensure accountability and improve the way such deaths are reported by the media.”