17 Sep Police admit human rights breach and agree to pay damages after failure to inform daughter of father’s death

The Metropolitan Police have agreed to pay our client, Chinaire Austin, damages after admitting breach of her human rights when they failed to notify her of her father’s tragic death in April 2024.

Chinaire’s father died at home and was discovered by officers who identified Chinaire as his next of kin but then failed to tell her of his passing. This failure resulted in Chinaire not learning of her father’s death for several months and to her being unable to bury him in accordance with his Rastafarian beliefs. It also denied her the chance to grieve properly.

Gold Jennings represented Chinaire in a claim brought under Article 8 ECHR. The force admitted that the circumstances of the claim engaged Article 8 and that their officers’ actions amounted to a violation of our client’s human rights.

Chinaire said: “nothing can undo the pain of losing my father or give me back the opportunity to say goodbye and lay him to rest in accordance with his Rastafarian beliefs. Knowing that the police failed to tell me about his death has been devastating. While no amount of money can make up for what happened, I welcome the Metropolitan Police’s admission that my human rights were breached. For me, the most important thing has always been having my father’s memory respected and ensuring that what happened to me does not happen to another family. I hope this case leads to changes in the way bereaved families are treated, so that no one else has to experience the pain and distress that I have. I am incredibly grateful to Robert Hamill, Nick Brown and everyone at Gold Jennings for believing in my case, supporting me throughout this journey and helping me achieve justice for my father and our family’.

Our client was represented by Robert Hamill of Gold Jennings and Nick Brown of Doughty Street Chambers.