Eugene Ejike Obiora (25 February 1958 – 7 September 2006) was a
naturalized
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
Norwegian citizen, originally from Nigeria. The first-born of 10 siblings, he had lived in Norway for more than 20 years. On 7 September 2006 he was choked to death by Trondheim police officer Trond Volden.
Obiora's name entered the public limelight in Norway after he died during a
police arrest at a
social services
Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...
office, Østbyen Servicekontor, in
Trondheim
Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
. He was there to complain against his being denied
welfare (financial aid)
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
. According to early news reports Obiora threatened and photographed the staff, and police were subsequently called in. When Obiora refused to leave the premises and
resisted arrest
Resisting arrest, or simply resisting, is an illegal act of a suspected criminal either fleeing, threatening, assaulting, or providing a fake ID to a police officer during arrest. In most cases, the person responsible for resisting arrest is crimi ...
, a
scuffle ensued where a
strangle hold was employed by one of the arresting officers. Shortly thereafter Obiora lost
consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
and was subsequently transported to the local hospital by the police. He was pronounced
dead
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
despite
resuscitation
Resuscitation is the process of correcting physiological disorders (such as lack of breathing or heartbeat) in an acutely ill patient. It is an important part of intensive care medicine, anesthesiology, trauma surgery and emergency medicine. W ...
attempts.
[
] The
nurses
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health ca ...
who received the police patrol car have stated in police interviews that he was positioned "completely
limp
A limp is a type of asymmetric abnormality of the gait. Limping may be caused by pain, weakness, neuromuscular imbalance, or a skeletal deformity. The most common underlying cause of a painful limp is physical trauma; however, in the absen ...
on his stomach face down on the floor of the supervisor vehicle."
[
]
The case made headlines locally and nationally, with accusations of
unnecessary use of force and
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
leveled at the local police, as well as uproar in African societies in Norway.
Cause of death
According to an article in the Norwegian newspaper ''
Aftenposten
( in the masthead; ; Norwegian for "The Evening Post") is Norway's largest printed newspaper by circulation. It is based in Oslo. It sold 211,769 copies in 2015 (172,029 printed copies according to University of Bergen) and estimated 1.2 million ...
'' in June 2007, the
autopsy
An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
report (Nordrum and Haugen) gives the following commentary on the
cause of death
In law, medicine, and statistics, cause of death is an official determination of conditions resulting in a human's death, which may be recorded on a death certificate. A cause of death is determined by a medical examiner. The cause of death is ...
: "The chain of events indicate that the deceased, who was most likely in a state of strong emotional upheaval, has found himself in a situation that was highly detrimental to his respiration by first having been subjected to a '
strangle hold' and then to have been placed on his stomach having first been
handcuffed
''Handcuffed'' is a 1929 American silent mystery film directed by Duke Worne and starring Virginia Brown Faire, Wheeler Oakman and Dean Jagger.Munden p.322
Synopsis
Gerald Morely's father is ruined in a stock fraud and commits suicide. When sho ...
." The article went on citing additional statements from the
forensic examiners which said that tests performed with healthy individuals show that a person's
lung capacity
Lung volumes and lung capacities refer to the volume of air in the lungs at different phases of the respiratory cycle.
The average total lung capacity of an adult human male is about 6 litres of air.
Tidal breathing is normal, resting breathin ...
is reduced by 40% when strapped down on the stomach for three minutes. The autopsy report also mentions English expert literature in which
positioning-related suffocation is described in connection with
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
work, in psychiatric settings and during ambulance transport. In the report from the
Norwegian Bureau for the Investigation of Police Affairs the cause of death is established to be
strangulation
Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and is one of two main ways that hanging ...
. The report notes that
point bleeding,
internal bleeding
Internal bleeding (also called internal hemorrhage) is a loss of blood from a blood vessel that collects inside the body. Internal bleeding is usually not visible from the outside. It is a serious medical emergency but the extent of severity depen ...
of the
neck muscles, as well as fracture of the
thyroid cartilage
The thyroid cartilage is the largest of the nine cartilages that make up the ''laryngeal skeleton'', the cartilage structure in and around the trachea that contains the larynx. It does not completely encircle the larynx (only the cricoid cartilage ...
all occurred as results of the chokehold, and then goes on to conclude that the injuries caused
shortness of breath
Shortness of breath (SOB), also medically known as dyspnea (in AmE) or dyspnoea (in BrE), is an uncomfortable feeling of not being able to breathe well enough. The American Thoracic Society defines it as "a subjective experience of breathing disc ...
, but that they alone did not cause suffocation. The Special Unit in summary finds that there has not been consciously performed "any one act which stopped/hindered" Obiora from
breath
Breathing (or ventilation) is the process of moving air into and from the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxygen.
All aerobic creatures need oxygen for cellular ...
ing. The report goes on stating that it cannot be ruled out that Obiora's death "could have been avoided if the officers had had knowledge about possible dangers of using the stomach position".
[
]
Renewed interest
The media scrutiny intensified when information was uncovered that the officer who held Obiora in a strangle hold had also been involved in an incident in 1999 with a Ghanaian woman, Sophia Baidoo that some felt were similar. The incident was filmed by a bank security camera, and the officer was later cleared of all charges.[
]
The case took a new turn after the band Samvirkelaget produced a CD which included the song "Stopp Volden" (Stop the Violence/Stop Volden) in which one of the officers who took part in the incident was named. The Norwegian Police Federation sued the band to have the release stopped. The court did not find grounds for issuing an injunction. Nevertheless, it stated that the publicizing of the name of the policeman was libelous
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defin ...
. The Norwegian Police Federation was considering suing Samvirkelaget for slander. The case was heard and settled in favour of Samvirkelaget.
Sør-Trøndelag
Sør-Trøndelag () was a county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. To the west is the No ...
police district filed a libel complaint on 2 May 2007 against a blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
for having identified the previously mentioned officer by giving his name as well as picture in connection with the case.
Police investigation
The case was investigated by the Bureau for the Investigation of Police Affairs but was abandoned on 4 May 2007, concluding that in the case of three officers there was insufficient evidence to pursue an indictment, a fourth officer, identified as the chauffeur of the patrol car was cleared of any involvement. The Middle Norway Special Unit recommended however that the National Police Directorate
National Police Directorate ( no, Politidirektoratet) a government agency subordinate to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security which heads the Norwegian Police Service
The Norwegian Police Service ( no, Politi- og lensmannsetaten) is t ...
be cited with corporate punishment
Corporate Punishment Records (abbreviated CPR) is a Los Angeles-based independent record label. The company was formed in 2004 by Thom Hazaert and Eric Nielsen, also co-founders of Loudside.com and Total Assault Street Teams. The label's most pr ...
for insufficient police education and training concerning the dangers of stomach positioning and leglock
A leglock is a joint lock that is directed at joints of the leg such as the ankle, knee or hip joint. A leglock which is directed at joints in the foot, is sometimes referred to as a foot lock and a lock at the hip as a hip lock. Leglocks are featu ...
. However, the national chief of the Special Unit for Police Affairs did not follow up on this recommendation.[ All this caused 1100 people to protest in a rally in Trondheim on 8 May 2007,][ and in simultaneous protests in Trondheim and ]Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
on May 19. An eyewitness, Ghulam Ali, spoke at the rally giving his version of what took place on the day of Obiora's death, when he saw the incident from a distance and heard the screams from Obiora who had been placed on the ground by the police.
Demand for prosecution of police officers
In May 2007 the next of kin of Eugene Obiora appealed the dismissal of the investigation against the arresting officers to the Norwegian Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
, and on June 28 the Attorney General ordered the Special Unit for Police Affairs to instigate a new and more thorough investigation of the case.
Lawyer Abid Q. Raja
Abid Qayyum Raja (born 5 November 1975) is a Norwegian lawyer and Liberal Party (Norway), Liberal Party politician who served as Minister of Culture from 2020 to 2021.; He was elected to the Storting as representative for Akershus (Storting consti ...
, representing Eugene Obiora's surviving family, has demanded that the three arresting officers be charged with willful homicide in the case. Raja has also asserted that one of the officers involved in the arrest teaches arrest techniques at the Norwegian Police University College
The Norwegian Police University College ( no, Politihøgskolen; PHS) is a public university college located in Oslo, Kongsvinger, Stavern and Bodø, Norway. It offers education for the police force of Norway, including a three-year basic educati ...
, a position which should have made the officer especially aware of the consequences of abuse of force. Meanwhile, a lawyer representing the three police officers has stated that Raja is misrepresenting the facts of the case when he repeatedly asserts that Obiora was killed as a direct result of the police using a controversial grip around his throat. "Opinion has been comprehensively misinformed through sensational media coverage. Raja has from the very first said that a policeman has used a stranglehold and that this is the sole cause of death. This is fundamentally incorrect and has led to a public persecution of this officer," the lawyer says.
Consequences of the Obiora case
As a direct consequence of the case, training at the Norwegian Police Academy has undergone changes and national police director Ingelin Killengreen
Ingelin Christine Killengreen (born 12 November 1947) is a Norwegian jurist and former Police Commissioner in the National Police Directorate.
Killengreen was born in Bergen. In her youth she attended Bergen Cathedral School. She graduated at t ...
has instigated a thorough review of police methods generally. The policemen who are involved in the case told the Trondheim daily ''Adresseavisen
''Adresseavisen'' (; commonly known as ''Adressa'') is a regional newspaper published daily, except Sundays, in Trondheim, Norway. The paper has been in circulation since 1767 and is one of the oldest newspapers after Norske Intelligenz-Seddeler ...
'' in mid-September 2007 that they would urge the central police leadership to implement routines for temporary reassigning officers involved in cases such as the Obiora case, where three of the officers have remained in their positions during the investigations and the fourth was reassigned based on his own initiative. The officers state that they understand how the public would be upset when such reassignments are not implemented. They emphasize however that there would have to be a change of the rules for this to become routine as otherwise a reassignment would be perceived, both by the officers and by the public at large, as a censure
A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spir ...
. Sør-Trøndelag
Sør-Trøndelag () was a county comprising the southern portion of the present-day Trøndelag county in Norway. It bordered the old Nord-Trøndelag county as well as the counties of Møre og Romsdal, Oppland, and Hedmark. To the west is the No ...
police chief Per Marum has on several occasions responded to claims that the officers be suspended that according to the Norwegian civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
act this can only be effected when existing information exists that could lead to dismissal.
Also in mid-September 2007, the leader of the Special Unit for Police Affairs, Jan Egil Presthus, stated to the Oslo daily ''Dagsavisen
''Dagsavisen'' is a daily newspaper published in Oslo, Norway. The former party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party, the ties loosened over time from 1975 to 1999. It has borne several names, and was called ''Arbeiderbladet'' from 1923 to 1997. ...
'' that all investigations into police conduct of cases that have ended in deaths are going to be posted on the Internet. He states that a total openness in this way will strengthen the public confidence in the unit's integrity and ability to conduct its investigations impartially. This comes following ''Dagsavisen's'' listing in June of police cases with a deadly result. Since the Special Unit's establishment on 1 January 2005 the investigation into ten of the most serious cases were concluded, in all 10 cases leading to all charges against the police being dropped. A buzzing media discourse focusing on deaths incurred during police arrests and transports has been going on in Norway throughout 2007, and Presthus counts this as one factor triggering the initiative to publish ongoing investigations on the Internet. The cases will be presented on the web pages of the Special Unit for Police Affairs, and they will be presented in a way that preserves the anonymity of officers that are involved, and also other parties in cases where that is considered necessary with respects to protection of privacy.
See also
*Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...
* Police misconduct in Norway
References
External links
Respekt!
An ad hoc organization dedicated to the Obiora case and counteracting police violence and racism
Petition campaign
Internet petition
An online petition (or Internet petition, or e-petition) is a form of petition which is signed online, usually through a form on a website. Visitors to the online petition sign the petition by adding their details such as name and email address. T ...
for an independent investigation into the Obiora case
*
* http://leftpunch.blogspot.com, a blog which started the campaign over Obiora
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obiora, Eugene Ejike
Anti-black racism in Europe
Deaths by person in Norway
Police misconduct in Norway
Political scandals in Norway
2006 in Norway
21st century in Trondheim
Nigerian people murdered abroad
Racism in Norway