LONDON, (Reuters Life!) – British reggae star Smiley Culture has died during a police raid in southern England, media outlets reported yesterday, and the death is being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
The IPCC said in a statement that police went to a house in Warlingham, Surrey, to make an arrest and while they were there “it is believed a man suffered a stab wound and died at the scene.”
“We will be looking into the planning of the arrest, the way in which it was carried out and the actions of all the officers who were present at the time of the incident,” said IPCC commissioner for the southeast Mike Franklin.
A separate statement from the police said the raid was part of an ongoing operation, and that the man who died was 48.
Smiley Culture, whose real name was David Emmanuel, enjoyed chart success with his 1984 song “Police Officer,” which expressed how many black people felt they were being treated unfairly by the police.
