Birmingham riot deaths: calls for police chief to quit Demands are growing for the chief constable of West Midlands police to resign after a senior officer was accused of lying under oath during the trial of eight men who were subsequently acquitted of the murder of three people during last year's riots. There was anger on the streets of Winson Green on Thursday night after the men were found not guilty of the deaths of brothers Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31, and their friend Haroon Jahan, 21, as they tried to guard businesses in the area at the height of the riots in Birmingham last August. Following the verdicts it emerged that the senior officer leading the inquiry, Detective Chief Inspector Anthony Tagg, was under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Questions were raised about the murder inquiry during the trial when it emerged that Tagg had failed to disclose to the defence until very late in the proceedings that he had offered immunity from prosecution to witnesses in the case. As he tried to explore the facts of the non-disclosure, the trial judge at Birmingham crown court, Mr Justice Flaux, accused Tagg of lying under oath, saying he had invented an account about the matter. The cleared men celebrated outside court with champagne after the jury acquitted them and were promised a "hero's welcome," which community leaders described as insensitive. The three friends were flung 3 metres in the air after being hit from behind by a speeding car in what the prosecution said was a modern-day equivalent of a "chariot charge" of three cars. A jury took four hours over two days to find Ian Beckford, 30, who drove the Mazda involved in the collision, and seven other men - Everton Graham, 30, Joshua Donald, 27, Aaron Parkins, 18, Adam King, 24, Ryan Goodwin, 21, Sean Flynn, 26, and Pablo Ruiz-Gaviria, 31, all from Birmingham - not guilty of the murders of the three men. They also cleared them of the lesser charge of manslaughter. Raj Rattu, from a Handsworth residents' group, said: "We can't say how much of an impact the [alleged] perjury had on the outcome of the trial, but for an officer to lie - it undermined the whole case. The chief constable [Chris Sims] is responsible for the actions of all his officers and the accountability has to stop with him as the most senior officer. Rattu chaired an emergency meeting between the police, Birmingham city council and community groups after the verdict. Derrick Campbell, from Race Equality Sandwell, said some "pointed questions" were asked when he met senior police officers on Friday and police would be responding to the concerns raised. He said he would not be calling for the police chief to resign but felt there needed to be a "serious look at his ability to continue to do the job that he was selected to do." People in Winson Green expressed their outrage and disbelief at the verdicts on Thursday night. People are screwing, man. They are not happy," said Paul Matthews, who was helping a friend load empty boxes into a car near Dudley Road, just a mile outside the central city. All my neighbours are not happy. Everyone wanted justice for those three people. They are still dead. But there is no justice for them. He cited the case of a person who picked up a doughnut during the riots and received a 16-month sentence as an example of the disparity in the legal system. All they were doing was protecting their businesses. It's a good job it's raining and cold tonight. Because once the weather improves, it's going to kick off. Nearby, Muhammad Ali, 39, shook with anger as he said the verdicts were "like a slap in the face. Ramadan's starting [on Friday] - the timing couldn't have been worse. I'm not happy, man. Ali said the police were a disgrace. Imagine the guy who lost two sons - how do you think he feels tonight? When I heard the verdicts, my blood boiled. Those three who died were well-liked. Everyone knew them. He claimed that if he'd run someone over he would be convicted by a jury and jailed for life because he is Asian. He said the community was restrained last year, but he feared that would not be the case in 2012. Imran Hussain, 21, said: "Everyone feels let down by the police. My uncle was a witness and saw what happened. There was CCTV but they said it was an accident. He said the situation was confusing because everyone had helped the police as they wanted justice for the three men. The next time someone gets killed, maybe people won't call the police but take matters into their own hands. When businesses re-opened on Friday morning, Kuldip Kumar, of Winson Hardware Goods, said: "This means that if you knock someone down and kill them, you can get away with it. It does not seem to be right. We live in Wolverhampton, but a lot of people around here are very angry. They feel that the verdicts were unfair. If you killed three animals on the footpath, you would be punished. Nearby at Hassan Brothers convenience store, manager Muhammad Adras said: "They should have been charged with something, but they've just got away with it. If someone steals sweets from this shop, then they get punished. There's something wrong somewhere that three people have died. The community feel justice has not been done. Adras is a former special constable who was awarded an MBE in 2004 for services to the local community. In the aftermath of the verdicts there has been a heavy police presence in the area. When the riots happened, we telephoned the police as we were trying to defend our businesses and they didn't turn up as they said they didn't have the manpower. Then this happened. They apologised in the end, but it still doesn't change the fact that three men died.