BBC’s Line of Duty is a fictional dramatization; focusing on police corruption at the deepest level. Crime unit AC-12 has been looking for the mysterious mole who runs a corrupt circle of police officers and criminals.
All interlinked, the latest season has focused on the murder of journalist, Gail Vella. Gail is shot by the OCG (allegedly) due to the findings of her investigation into racism during an ongoing investigation”. Lawrence Christopher died in police custody, after being found confused and uncooperative. Previously, he had been attacked by a group of white youths.
DC Bishop, in discussion with DI Arnott, explains that custody footage shows the police mocking an unresponsive Lawrence in his cell. Classifying the death as gang related, the case has been closed. However, Lawrence had no gang connections. In fact, Lawrence never had even been in trouble with the law.
The research into Line of Duty cases
The similarities between the active investigation conducted by Gail Vella and the mishandled case of Stephen Lawrence and Christopher Adler can not be ignored.
Stephen is the victim of a racist attack in 1993. A gang of six men killed him. He was 18 years old.
Two men are currently serving life sentences for the crime. The other four have never faced justice. Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Stephen’s mother, has been criticizing the Government ordered race review. The review states that the UK is not longer a country where ethnic minorities automatically have the system rigged against them.
Christopher Adler, a former paratropper, chocked to death. At the time of his death, he lay on the floor in handcuffs. Five police officers went on trial in 2002. A jury acquitted them of all charges.
Writer Jed Mercurio has always spoken about real life crime influencing his writing. Murders of Jill Dando and Daphne Caruana Galizia inspired the death of journalist Gail Vella. The script was written before 2020, of that we are sure. However, the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement means this series will definitely be significant, if not for the conversation it starts.
Thank you for reading Line of Duty: Not quite fiction !
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