G20 Protester Death Hastened By Police
A Metropolitan Police officer strikes Ian Tomlinson.The man who died in last week's G20 protests in the City of London was assaulted by a police officer in the moments leading to his fatal heart attack.
Ian Tomlinson, 47, was making his way home from work at a nearby newsagents last Wednesday evening when the officer gave him an apparently unprovoked shove in the back causing him to tumble to the pavement.
Mr Tomlinson was not connected with the G20 protests that day.
Photographer Anna Branthwaite said: "I can remember seeing Ian Tomlinson. He was rushed from behind by a riot officer with a helmet and shield two or three minutes before he collapsed."
The Guardian today released video footage of the assault, which seems to cast doubt on an earlier City of London Police statement that Mr Tomlinson had died of entirely natural causes.
The video shows Mr Tomlinson walking slowly with his back to the police and hands in his pockets. Moments later an officer enters the right of shot, striking Mr Tomlinson's legs with his baton and shoving him to the ground.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) are investigating the events leading to Mr Tomlinson's death.
The IPCC's commissioner for London, Deborah Glass, said: "Initially, we had accounts from independent witnesses who were on Cornhill, who told us that there had been no contact between the police and Mr Tomlinson when he collapsed.
"However, other witnesses who saw him in the Royal Exchange area have since told us that Mr Tomlinson did have contact with police officers.
"This would have been a few minutes before he collapsed. It is important that we are able to establish as far as possible whether that contact had anything to do with his death."
The yellow 'MP' helmet markings (just visible under the officer's visor in the image above) indicate that the officer involved is from the Metropolitan Police. The two dog handlers in the background are from the City of London Police.
With all the media interest in Mr Tomlinson's death I expect the Metropolitan Police to deal with the perpetrator very swiftly.
Ian Tomlinson, 47, was making his way home from work at a nearby newsagents last Wednesday evening when the officer gave him an apparently unprovoked shove in the back causing him to tumble to the pavement.
Mr Tomlinson was not connected with the G20 protests that day.
Photographer Anna Branthwaite said: "I can remember seeing Ian Tomlinson. He was rushed from behind by a riot officer with a helmet and shield two or three minutes before he collapsed."
The Guardian today released video footage of the assault, which seems to cast doubt on an earlier City of London Police statement that Mr Tomlinson had died of entirely natural causes.
The video shows Mr Tomlinson walking slowly with his back to the police and hands in his pockets. Moments later an officer enters the right of shot, striking Mr Tomlinson's legs with his baton and shoving him to the ground.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) are investigating the events leading to Mr Tomlinson's death.
The IPCC's commissioner for London, Deborah Glass, said: "Initially, we had accounts from independent witnesses who were on Cornhill, who told us that there had been no contact between the police and Mr Tomlinson when he collapsed.
"However, other witnesses who saw him in the Royal Exchange area have since told us that Mr Tomlinson did have contact with police officers.
"This would have been a few minutes before he collapsed. It is important that we are able to establish as far as possible whether that contact had anything to do with his death."
The yellow 'MP' helmet markings (just visible under the officer's visor in the image above) indicate that the officer involved is from the Metropolitan Police. The two dog handlers in the background are from the City of London Police.
With all the media interest in Mr Tomlinson's death I expect the Metropolitan Police to deal with the perpetrator very swiftly.
0 comments:
Post a Comment