Fury after Yves Sakila dies after ‘being pinned down by Dublin shop security’ | News World

A person died after being restrained by security guards outside a Dublin shopping centre in a case with echoes of the killing of George Floyd.

Yves Sakila was pronounced dead in hospital after being held on the bottom outside a busy shopping district, last Friday.

Mr Sakila, who lived in Ireland for 22 years, was detained by security outside the doorway of Arnotts on Friday afternoon on suspicion of stealing bottles of perfume from the department store.

Police briefly handcuffed the 35-year-old Congolese national as they tended to a pensioner who was also injured within the alleged shoplifting.

A five-minute video clip appears to indicate Mr Sakila being held down by around five people, showing the moment they realise he wasn’t respiratory. Mr Sakila died in hospital shortly after.

The clip has been shared widely online, and has been described as ‘deeply disturbing’, sparking concern amongst minority communities.

At one point, a security guard could be seen putting his knee on the back of his head, forcing his face into the ground.

Moms with babies in prams watch on as he screams out but his head is pinned to the bottom within the busy shopping area.

The guards shout ‘stay down’.

After greater than three minutes, he appears unresponsive and the safety guards let go. One in all the guards puts Mr Sakila’s hood up and appears shaky as he makes a phone call.

Dozens of individuals gathered at noon on Tuesday, laying flowers and red roses along the busy shopping street.

Chants of ‘Justice for Yves’ and ‘no more violence’ were heard, while some held signs reading ‘Black lives matter here too’.

Gardaí said the person had been detained in reference to alleged shoplifting shortly after 5pm, before becoming unresponsive. He later died in hospital.

The Garda Ombudsman (Fiosrú) is now examining the incident after it was referred by officers.

Arnotts said it was ‘deeply saddened’ by Mr Sakila’s death and confirmed it’s co-operating with the investigation, in addition to carrying out a review with its contracted security firm.

Ireland’s Taoiseach Micheál Martin offered his sympathies, saying the case should be ‘thoroughly investigated’.

‘I don’t need to prejudice the consequence,’ he said, ‘but individuals are clearly very concerned about what has transpired.’

On the vigil, members of the general public spoke of their shock.

Chris Kibiadi said: ‘It’s not all concerning the color. This might occur to anybody.’

A lady named Lolo described the death as ‘painful’, adding that gardaí must have been called.

John Kabongo told the group his children were left frightened after seeing the footage.

‘They asked me, “Is that this really happening in Ireland?” I didn’t know explain it,’ he said.

Community representatives also called for answers, with Walter Kabangu of the Congolese Chamber of Commerce Ireland saying he was ‘shocked and saddened’.

‘As a community, we demand justice,’ he said.

The Irish Network Against Racism (INAR) said it was ‘extremely disturbed’ and urged a full investigation to take care of trust within the justice system.

Arnotts added: ‘No lack of life should ever be the consequence of a retail security incident.’

The investigation is ongoing.

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