10 September 2025
Renata Souza Almeida and Lucia D’urbano: Racism and Deadly Use of Restraint: Remembering Roger Sylvester and Olaseni Lewis
From January to April 2025, we had the opportunity to undertake a work-based learning internship organised by INQUEST and the Centre for Social Justice Research. During this experience, we became aware of the unjust deaths of Roger Sylvester and Olaseni Lewis through INQUEST’s digital archive website. Their deaths serve as reminders of the racism entrenched within our society, particularly regarding the use of restraint by the police when responding to people in mental health crises.
Roger Sylvester
Roger Sylvester, a 31-year-old Black man, was a beloved godfather to five children and well-respected by colleagues and service users at the mental health centre where he worked. In 1999, following a mental health crisis, he was violently restrained by 8 police officers outside his home. After hospitalisation, he was subjected to further restraint for approximately 20 minutes until he lost consciousness and fell into a coma. Tragically, just days later, he was pronounced dead.
In 2003, an inquest jury reached a unanimous verdict that Sylvester had been unlawfully killed. They noted that he did not receive the necessary medical attention and was restrained far too long without any effort to reposition him. During the inquest, the officers involved engaged in a concerted attack on Sylvester’s character, with references to drugs, exceptional strength, and violence, in an attempt to shift the blame onto the victim. The verdict was later overturned on a technicality, leaving many questioning the accountability of those involved.
Olaseni Lewis
Similarly, Olaseni Lewis – known as “Seni” – was a 23-year-old Black man, an IT graduate, studying for a master’s in business management at the time of his death. His family and friends describe him as a “gentle giant”. In 2010, after Seni voluntarily admitted himself to the hospital whilst experiencing mental ill health, he was restrained for an extended period by 11 police officers, which ultimately led to his death.
His family endured a seven-year wait for an inquest that found the restraint used was both disproportionate and excessive, directly contributing to Seni’s death. The jury unanimously condemned the actions of the police and the healthcare staff, who watched as he was violently restrained.
Seni’s family have since campaigned to ensure that no one else would die in this way. In this regard, the Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act of 2018 – known as “Seni’s Law” – aims to implement measures to prevent the inappropriate use of force in mental health settings and ensure accountability and transparency. However, Seni’s mother, Aji Lewis, recently lamented that “the change we need is not taking place”.
Racism in police restraint during mental health crises
The deaths of Roger Sylvester and Olaseni Lewis expose deep-rooted racism within policing and healthcare, which can have fatal consequences. Recent data further underlines this reality. According to the Home Office’s ‘police use of force statistics’ for 2022/23, while the use of restraints on non-Black inpatients in mental health units has decreased, the number of Black inpatients injured from restraint has risen dramatically.
This disproportionality speaks volumes about the treatment given to Black men during mental health crises, who are met with violence instead of care. INQUEST’s 2023 report, I can’t breathe: Race, death & British policing, evidenced that Black men are seven times more likely to die than their white counterparts following police restraint. It also noted that police officers are often quick to escalate the use of force against Black men experiencing mental health crises. The report highlights a long-standing problem of racism that has haunted the UK’s approach to policing and mental health care.
In remembering Roger Sylvester and Olaseni Lewis, we ensure that conversations about racism, police restraint, and mental health are brought to the forefront, where they must be. Their deaths occurred over a decade apart, yet reveal a sustained pattern of racism, violence, and an unwillingness for state bodies to change. We hope this blog post will encourage you to continue this necessary conversation.