G20 - Death of Ian Tomlinson

[Andrew49]

A verdict of unlawful killing due to excessive and unreasonable force has been brought in at the inquest.

That's good news - I think!

A biography, by his family, is included here Link

He seems to have been a quiet decent man and he had the support of his family despite problems in his life.

a statement from the Metropolitan police deputy assistant commissioner Rose Fitzpatrick:

"Over the last few weeks we have heard in detail the circumstances surrounding Mr Tomlinson's death and I wish to express my profound condolences to this family. It is a matter of deep regret that the actions of an MPS officer have been found to have caused the death of a member of the public. Policing major public order events is a challenging and difficult task. It has been demonstrated in this case that all police officers are accountable for their actions and we would not want it any other way. If someone dies following police contact it is only right their death is thoroughly investigated. It is in the best interests of all affected that the facts of what happened are fully established and the MPS has fully supported and cooperated with the independent IPCC investigations. PC Harwood will now be subject to misconduct proceedings and the Crown Prosecution Service will reconsider the case. It would therefore be inappropriate to say anything further at this point."

'MISCONDUCT PROCEEDINGS" !!!

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

Thats the internal Met procedure which will run alongside any charges laid by the CPS....

[Andrew49]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HECMVdl-9SQ"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HECMVdl-9SQ[/ame]

[Andrew49]

Videos showing Ian Tomlinson and several of the policeman

G20 Video evidence from Channel 4

[Seán Ryan]

I just read your quote from Rose Fitzpatrick, Andrew. Jesus! The balls of brass on that.

She basically concludes that the verdict proves that the police are accountable. Despite there having been no accountability to date. And now she announces that misconduct proceedings will commence. A homicide investigation should have commenced immediately upon the act itself if not on the appearance of the video footage.

There are very specific rules concerning the use of a baton: when it may be used and where an officer should strike with it. These rules were not adhered to with regard to Ian Tomlinson. They seldom are.

The verdict is anything but a vindication of the police and their alleged accountability. It is an indictment of them. And spinning that fact is a further indictment of them, indicating that the rot goes a lot further up the ladder, than merely visiting the officer who attacked Mr Tomlinson.

[5intheface]

Anyone just coming to this thread should have a look at the video in the OP which tracks the movements and behaviour of the PC involved before his attack on Mr. Tomlinson.

[Seán Ryan]

Since 1990 unlawful killing verdicts have been returned in eleven death in custody cases, none of which has resulted in a successful prosecution. The verdict of unlawful killing can only be returned on the criminal standard of proof where a jury is sure beyond reasonable doubt that the death was the result of gross negligence manslaughter or murder. Despite a pattern of cases where inquest juries have rejected the official version of events and found overwhelming evidence of unlawful and excessive use of force or gross neglect, no police or prison officer or nurse has been held responsible, either at an individual or senior management level, for institutional and systemic failures to improve training and other policies.

Our monitoring has revealed an institutional unwillingness to approach these deaths as potential homicides or manslaughter, which affects the whole process from the investigation carried out by the police (who may not even define the place of death as a crime scene) through to the considerations by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). This encourages a culture of impunity and sends a clear message to police and prison officers and other detaining agents that when deaths occur as a result of their acts or omissions they will not be called to account. Through this process the perception is created that state agents are above the law. This is one of the most contentious issues in relation to the approach of the criminal justice system to all deaths in custody.

JURY’S VERDICT OF UNLAWFUL KILLING AT INQUEST INTO DEATH OF IAN TOMLINSON VINDICATES FAMILY AND PUBLIC CONCERN

[Dr. FIVE]

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/story....code=47050&c=1


Paul Lewis: Met told us to 'lay off' Tomlinson story

4 May 2011

By Paul Lewis

Yesterday newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson was judged by an inquest jury to have been unlawfully killed by a policeman during the G20 protest in London on 1 April, 2009.

That inquest relied heavily on video and other evidence brought to light by The Guardian – which handed a dossier to the Independent Police Complaints Commission. Here Guardian reporter Paul Lewis reveals the story behind the story.

I was on the bus when my editor called. A man had died the previous evening during the G20 demonstrations, which I had been reporting.

All we knew about Ian Tomlinson at that time was he was a man wearing a Millwall shirt. I called the Millwall Football Supporters Association - no answer. I got my pad out on the bus and started calling all the mobile numbers of people I took quotes from the previous day, to see if they had seen anything.

One of them had, and I waited an hour at an estate in Shepherd’s Bush for some teenagers to bring me photos of Tomlinson, and another hour convincing them not to sell the pictures to the tabloids.

The images showed Tomlinson on the pavement, in front of a line of riot police. Another showed a protester picking him up. A quick look at Google Streetmap showed the pictures were taken at a different place to where he finally collapsed and died.

Back in the office, it was decided not to run all the pictures, but David Taylor, the editor who shepherded me through the story, took me off a web shift so I could dig deeper. David kept the email I sent to him: “I know there are thoughts I’m a conspiracy theorist, but the more I discover about dead man, the more suspicious I get. Things don’t add up and the police are cagey. Post-mortem postponed. Again.”

That day we started running stories questioning the police version of events. I got hold of ten witnesses, three of whom had seen police attack Tomlinson. I met the witnesses separately near the Bank of England, concerned they should not hear each other’s testimony, and asked them to walk me through events as they saw them.

Police official statements and briefings seemed to have discouraged others from looking into the story, and the Met and City of London police press offices are currently under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

I think there was a lot of briefing. My seniors at the paper were being told there was nothing in the story, and I should lay off. The Tomlinson family’s police liaison officer personally told me that my articles were upsetting them. (I later found out this was untrue.)

The breakthrough came from a New York hedge fund manager. He was in contact with Bloomberg about a digital camera video of the attack but, persuaded that the Guardian was the only news organisation questioning the police account, he decided to give it to us.

It was 2am that night that the file to drop arrived. I emailed David: “He has his hands in his pockets. Two officers with dogs surround him. A third officer hits him on his back with a baton and a great deal of force. He goes flying to the ground and hit his head. He remonstrates with police from the floor but they leave him there until a bystander helps him to his feet. Will be in first thing (ish) to show you.”

[Andrew49]

G20: Guardian reporter told to 'lay off' Tomlinson story. Link

.. or Journalism 101.

[kozlov]

Some of the British Police wouldnt be out of place in NAZI Germany!

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

Mixture of a bunker mentality and the fact that many of these 'police officers' have a low mental age and see the police as being in a gang.

Worked with a guy who was a former detective sergeant in south london and swore blind all round him that Colin Stagg was guilty of the Rachel Nickell murder on Wimbledon Common. Came out a few years later after the cops had tried everything in their power to fit Stagg up that a chap already in custody confessed to the murder.

The cops there even had a female police officer work undercover to try to befriend Stagg and record anything that might be useful in fitting him up. A judge described the cops involved as determined to shortcut all appropriate procedures.

I was chairing a panel of jurors some years ago and watched as a really thick PC tried to back up his mate in a case of assault on a police officer- he lied his head off in the witness box (really badly) and I would describe him as barely literate from the way he consulted his notes.

He must have had some talent though as he could apparently be witnessing two separate events in two seperate rooms of a house at exactly the same time. As it happened his evidence was unnecessary but it was a grim procedure watching a copper lying his head off embarrassingly obviously in a court room.

[Captain Con O'Sullivan]

PC to be prosecuted for death of Ian Tomlinson

'A police officer is to be charged with manslaughter over the death of newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson during the 2009 G20 protests.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, said there was now a "realistic prospect" of convicting Pc Simon Harwood.

An inquest earlier this month returned a verdict of unlawful death on the 47-year-old.

Mr Tomlinson's family said they were "more than happy" about the decision.

The officer is due to appear before magistrates on 20 June.'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13519281

[Andrew49]

PC to be prosecuted for death of Ian Tomlinson

'A police officer is to be charged with manslaughter over the death of newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson during the 2009 G20 protests.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, said there was now a "realistic prospect" of convicting Pc Simon Harwood.

An inquest earlier this month returned a verdict of unlawful death on the 47-year-old.

Mr Tomlinson's family said they were "more than happy" about the decision.

The officer is due to appear before magistrates on 20 June.'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13519281

Let's hope Justice wins out here for Ian and his family.

The last 26 minutes of Ian Tomlinson's life
1. 1855: Mr Tomlinson leaves Monument station to head home

2. 1859: He walks north along King William Street, but is turned back by police

3. 1902: The newspaper seller sits on a wall before cutting through onto Lombard Street

4. 1906: A few minutes later, he comes into contact with police again on Lombard Street

5. 1915: Mr Tomlinson then passes through Change Alley and is diverted again by more police officers

6. 1918: He crosses Cornhill towards Royal Exchange Buildings

7. 1920: As police sweep down Royal Exchange, Mr Tomlinson is hit by a baton and pushed to the ground. A bystander helps him to his feet

8. 1921: The newspaper vendor walks along Cornhill before collapsing and dying

Source: Inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson. Parts of route and some timings are approximate.

[Andrew49]

Incredibly a jury at Southwark Crown Court has concluded PC Simon Harwood's actions were not criminal and he has been found not guilty of manslaughter. Source


What the jury didn't hear was PC Simon Harwood was repeatedly accused of excessive force against public and avoided disciplinary proceedings by transferring between forces.
Source

[Andrew49]

During the inquest into Ian Tomlinson's death, lawyers for his family argued that PC Harwood's employment record should form part of the hearing. The coroner disagreed, saying that it would prejudice the hearing. The record was also kept from the jury at the manslaughter trial.

What was kept from the jury: LINK