The events leading to his drowning have been described as "the physical and psychological destruction of a homeless Black man, whose brutal and systematic harassment was orchestrated by the Leeds City Police Force.

[2][3] The legacy of his life, experiences, and death has shaped discussions on systemic racism within British legal institutions, police brutality and practices, inequality, and mental health policy.

[10][11][12] In 1953, Oluwale was charged with disorderly conduct and assault following a dispute over the bill at the King Edward Hotel in Leeds City Centre.

As a Black immigrant in 1960s Britain, his options for lodging and employment were severely limited (the Race Relations Act, which prohibited discrimination in these areas, did not receive royal assent until October 1968).

However, two independent witnesses testified that they saw uniformed police officers pursuing a man who could have been Oluwale near the river on the night he is believed to have drowned.

On several occasions, they drove him out of Leeds in police vehicles, abandoning him on the outskirts in the early morning hours with the intention of forcing him to leave the city and not return.

He was buried in a pauper's grave, and no suspicious circumstances were noted in the official account of his death at the time.In 1970, a young police cadet named Gary Galvin reported to a senior officer that he had heard gossip from colleagues about the severe way Kitching and Ellerker had treated Oluwale.

An enquiry was launched, carried out by Scotland Yard, and sufficient evidence was gathered to prompt manslaughter, perjury and grievous bodily harm (GBH) charges being brought against Kitching and Ellerker in 1971.

In November 1971, former Inspector Geoffrey Ellerker—who was already serving a prison sentence for his role in covering up the death of a 69-year-old woman—and Sergeant Kenneth Kitching stood trial for the manslaughter of Oluwale.

The proceedings presented a deliberately negative portrayal of Oluwale, depicting him as "a wild animal" and "a menace to society," while failing to call witnesses whose testimonies contradicted this narrative.

[23][24][25] During the trial, Judge Mr. Justice Hinchcliffe—who at one point described Oluwale as "a dirty, filthy, violent vagrant"—directed the jury to acquit the defendants of manslaughter, perjury, and assaults occasioning grievous bodily harm.

This was used by Kester Aspden to write the book Nationality: Wog, The Hounding of David Oluwale, published in 2007, which returned the story to the public eye.

The Remembering Oluwale anthology was published by DOMA in 2016 and its many varied entries cover "the issues that David endured: mental health distress, incarceration, police brutality, destitution and homelessness—all linked to his status as a migrant from Nigeria, a British citizen who happened to be black".

The 26 long-listed entries are in the book, along with already published work by Caryl Phillips, Kester Aspden, Ian Duhig, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Zodwa Nyoni, Sai Murray and The Baggage Handlers".

[37] Oluwale's story is also the subject of a film installation by Corinne Silva, entitled Wandering Abroad, which premiered at Leeds Art Gallery in 2009.

[39] Events included an exhibition at The Tetley,[40] readings by Linton Kwesi Johnson and Jackie Kay and a vigil at his graveside in Killingbeck Cemetery.

In September 2022 the Tetley also hosted the exhibition of the maquette for Hibiscus Rising, a public sculpture by Yinka Shonibare commissioned by DOMA and LEEDS 2023.

[4] The same evening the plaque was stolen from the bridge; West Yorkshire Police began an investigation, which treated the theft as a hate crime.