Hello. My name is Antoinette, and I am fundraising for the legal fees for my brother’s inquest, taking place on 4 March 2024, along with my mother who is disabled. My mum is a wheelchair-user. My brother’s name is Michael Oyebode.

My brother, Michael, died on 29 September 2022. His death was sudden and unexpected. Due to the circumstances of his death, there is an inquest into his death. We are raising £24,300.00 for the legal expenses and representation for the inquest. Please we need your support and we are grateful for your contributions and sharing of our page.

A few details I will disclose are as follows:

• My brother was arrested by police. All he wanted was to see his children.
• The police released him without charge at 1am but kept his laptop and smartphone. He was not given an alternative device.
• My brother had Type 1 diabetes and used a diabetes patch to monitor his blood sugar levels so that he would know the correct dosage of insulin to take.
• My brother’s smartphone had an app that was linked to his diabetes patch.
• Without my brother’s smartphone, he had no way of monitoring his diabetes and knowing the correct dosage of insulin.
• When my mother did not hear from my brother, she called the police for a welfare check several times. However, this welfare check was delayed by many hours.
• My brother died.

We want to ensure that a safeguarding policy is enforced, so that others who are detained by police, but require technology for their health issues, are given alternatives or a care plan. This case should matter to everybody, no matter what your background, ethnicity, or health conditions are. We truly believe that if Michael was kept until morning (not released at 1am without a care plan), or taken to the hospital, or given an alternative phone for him to manage his diabetes, he would not have died. There must be a Report to Prevent Future Death so that another family does not go through what we went through.

In relation to other key evidence such as the data on Michael’s smartphone and his laptop, my mum and I were informed by the police that this has been ‘wiped’, and no explanation has been given. Michael’s smartwatch, and the footage from within his flat and from the ‘motion sensor’ doorbell is unaccounted for. Also, Michael’s CCTV footage has not been provided to show his last moments alive. The police are aware he had CCTV in his flat, but this has not been released. All requests for basic disclosure, that ordinarily is provided to a bereaved family, such as the Custody Record, has been refused.

My mum was in touch with North Yorkshire Police from the time Michael was arrested on 28 September 2022 during a Facebook Portal call with her. At that time, my mum raised concerns as to the treatment of my brother, her son, as a black man with mental health conditions and diabetes, by the police. My mum kept calling the police, even when he was arrested, to find out where he was and why he was arrested. My brother was arrested at 2pm, and it was only at 9pm that my mum received a phone call from a police officer at Scarborough Police Station to only let her know that “he is fine”, but they cannot mention any other information to her.

My brother was released at 1am on 29 September 2022. He called my mum and I using the Facebook Portal, but then the line cut off. We had no way to call him back. Hence, at 9am, my mum called the police to inform them that she has not heard from him, and that it was a “matter of life and death” because of his diabetes, and that it was “unusual” not to hear from her son. However, the police claimed that it was not critical for them to check on Michael because he was “fine” when he was released. However, my mum was persistent.

Thus, my mum and I decided to travel to Michael’s address from London to Yorkshire on 29 September 2022. When we got there, there was a police attendance at the flat, and we made ourselves known as next of kin. We found out that Michael had died. We arrived at 8:30pm, even though my mum first raised the alarm at 9am on that day.

Please find it in your heart to donate towards this cause. We seek the answers and justice on behalf of Michael. His two young boys no longer have a father, simply because he wanted to see them. He did not deserve to die. He died alone, but we continue to speak on his behalf and for his legacy. Thank you very much. We appreciate your support during this difficult time.