http://www.voice-online.co.uk/content.php?show=19588KINGSLEY BURRELL'S DAUGHTER 'ANGRY AND SAD'
by Merissa Richards
THE NINE-year-old daughter of Kingsley Burrell, who died following contact with police on March 27, says she's now afraid of the police.
Burrell's daughter Travita Burrell said: "I feel very sad and I cry. The police beat up my daddy."
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating claims by Burrell's family that he was in good health before coming into contact with West Midlands police on March 27.
They said he had called police as he and his five-year-old son were in a gangland area and he feared for their safety, but was detained under the Mental Health Act by police. He later arrived at hospital with what family claim were severe physical injuries, and later died.
The IPCC has asked the public not to make conclusions until their investigation ends, but Travita told The Voice: "I’m angry and sad. I want justice and I want the police to be arrested for the bad thing they’ve done. I don’t like when I see police now – they’re all bad.”
Last month, Travita joined thousands on a ‘March for Justice, for her dad and late reggae singer Smiley Culture, who also died after police contact.
Travita said: “My dad was a very nice man and was good to me… I miss my dad.”
Her mother, Genal Stewart, 28, said her daughter was a daddy’s girl. Stewart and Burrell got engaged a month before his tragic death.
“Kingsley proposed to me four weeks before it happened. I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news.”
She added: “He was quiet and humble; definitely not a trouble maker, but a peace maker… I miss him (and) it’s hard. My daughter has been talking in her sleep since this whole tragedy, and I’m watching it. I’m a bit worried. She used to see her dad nearly everyday. I comfort her by telling her that he’s watching over her.”
Author
