A POLICE officer involved in the death of disabled black man has not been allowed to resign from the force after a court ordered yesterday that he should answer for misconduct.

PC Andrew Birks was the senior of four Metropolitan Police officers who arrested and restrained musician Sean Rigg on August 21 2008.

Mr Rigg — who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia — died of a cardiac arrest due to asphyxiation on the same day, the result of excessive use of force during the arrest.

According to the grieving family, PC Birks attempted to escape a disciplinary investigation when he tendered his resignation earlier this year.

PC Birks has apparently seen the light, recently completing a theology degree and intending to leave the force to become a Church of England minister.

But a High Court judgment yesterday upheld an earlier Metropolitan Police decision to block his departure.

In the judgement responding to last week’s hearings Ms Justice Lang wrote: “Given the gravity of the allegations against (PC Birks), namely that his actions caused or contributed to a death in custody, the public interest requires that he should remain in the force to answer any charges of misconduct which may be brought against him and the other officers involved.”

The result was welcomed by Mr Rigg’s family and human rights campaigners alike.

“For decades families have been frustrated that officers have been allowed to use this escape hatch and avoid disciplinary action for alleged wrongdoing,” said Sean’s sister Marcia Rigg-Samuel.

“I and my family hope that this will now set a precedent for other families who face the same dilemma as my family have following a death in custody, and avoid upset and anguish when an officer leaves the police service before an investigation into his or her conduct is complete.”

Legal charity Inquest co-director Deborah Coles echoed Ms Rigg-Samuel’s sentiment, saying: “It is unacceptable that police officers are able to evade accountability for wrongdoing and frustrate the justice process in this way.

“This is not an isolated case but part of a systemic problem that allows the police to remain above the law.”

Ms Coles argued that there was a “gaping flaw” in the complaints system that had to be urgently addressed.

“The practice of police officers resigning to avoid potential disciplinary proceedings causes additional upset for the families of those who have died in police custody and further erodes public confidence in the police service.”

joanaramiro@peoples-press.com