were found in the records with regards to the officers present. Two police officers initially believed to have been present for Roach's arrest later claimed they had not been there. Roach's death spurred protests and demands for an independent public inquiry. Such an inquiry did not take place, although police did conduct an inquest into the incident. The verdict of the inquest was that he had committed suicide. The Roach Family Support Committee commissioned its own Independent Committee of Inquiry, which published the book Policing In Hackney: 1945-1984 in 1989. In popular culture In August 1983 The Special AKA reached number 60 in the charts with "Racist Friend" / "Bright Lights". The latter song features lyrics that mention Roach: "I got down to London and what did I see? One thousand policemen all over the street, The people were shouting and looking at me, They say 'the Colin Roach family demand an enquiry'". The 1990 album by Sinéad O'Connor, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, featured a track called "Black Boys on Mopeds". Although the lyrics do not mention Colin Roach directly, the entire album is essentially dedicated to his family, and contains a photograph on the inner sleeve of his sad-faced parents standing in the rain in front of a poster of their son. Below the image is the inscription: "God's place is the world; but the world is not God's place." Benjamin Zephaniah composed a poem entitled "Who Killed Colin Roach?" Roach's death is also mentioned in a track by the Ragga Twins entitled "The Iron Lady". The lyrics to "License Fi Kill" by Linton Kwesi Johnson asks the question "You can't ask Colin Roach if he really shot himself". Roach's death, and that of Altab Ali, provide context for Joe Thomas' 2023 crime novel White Riot. The Colin Roach Centre, a community centre, was set up in Hackney to commemorate the death. References External links Documentation of calls for a public inquiry into the death, archived at the Wayback Machine News coverage of the subsequent demonstration Year of birth missing 1983 deaths Black British history Deaths by firearm in London Deaths by person in London 1983 in London History of the London Borough of Hackney Stoke Newington History of the Metropolitan Police