Name Death Maxwell | ||
Maxwell Itoya (died 23 May 2010) was a Nigerian immigrant in Poland, who was killed in a police raid on a market in Warsaw, Poland. His death sparked a "riot" and the mass arrest of non-whites at the scene of Itoya's death. The event also led to a debate in the Polish media regarding policing and racism.
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Death
Itoya worked as a street vendor at an open-air market in the Praga district of Warsaw selling counterfeit shoes. Itoya had been living in Poland for eight years and was married to a Pole with whom he had three children. On 23 May 2010, there was an action of Polish Police on a market to curb down on illegal and black market trade. After being asked for documents, various African vendor attacked police with machetes and sticks and some of them began throwing stones. Itoya died after being shot by police. 32 immigrant traders were rounded up and arrested, including 29 Nigerians, one Cameroonian, one Guinean and one Indian. The police and press described this as a riot.
The exact reason for the lethal shot being fired is unclear: police sources said that it was an accident and took place during a riot that started when vendors were checked for documents and thus Itoya was being arrested; immigrants said that the shot caused them to attack the police.
Reaction
The next day, a demonstration of 50 immigrants and far-left activists marched protesting against the police's actions, chanting slogans such as: "The police have blood on their hands" and "Stop racism and police brutality". The police officer who shot Itoya was not suspended from duty or charged with any crime.