/* */

PDA

View Full Version : G20 police assault on man may have caused him later to die



Ali.
04-07-2009, 08:27 PM
:sl:

LINK TO LATEST NEWS - Death caused by abdominal bleeding, not heart-attack

--

Link to video of incident

Dramatic footage obtained by the Guardian shows that the man who died at last week's G20 protests in London was attacked from behind and thrown to the ground by a baton–wielding police officer in riot gear.

Moments after the assault on Ian Tomlinson was captured on video, he suffered a heart attack and died.

The Guardian is preparing to hand a dossier of evidence to the police complaints watchdog.

It sheds new light on the events surrounding the death of the 47-year-old newspaper seller, who had been on his way home from work when he was confronted by lines of riot police near the Bank of England.

The submission to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) includes a collection of testimonies from witnesses, along with the video footage, shot at around 7.20pm, which shows Tomlinson at Royal Exchange Passage.

The film reveals that as he walks, with his hands in his pockets, he does not speak to the police or offer any resistance.

A phalanx of officers, some with dogs and some in riot gear, are close behind him and try to urge him forward.

A Metropolitan police officer appears to strike him with a baton, hitting him from behind on his upper thigh.

Moments later, the same policeman rushes forward and, using both hands, pushes Tomlinson in the back and sends him flying to the ground, where he remonstrates with police who stand back, leaving bystanders to help him to his feet.

The man who shot the footage, a fund manager from New York who was in London on business, said: "The primary reason for me coming forward is that it was clear the family were not getting any answers."

The Guardian's dossier also includes a sequence of photographs, taken by three different people, showing the aftermath of the attack, as well as witness statements from people in the area at the time.

A number of witnesses provided time and date-stamped photographs that substantiate their accounts.

Some said they saw police officers attack Tomlinson.

Witnesses said that, prior to the moment captured on video, he had already been hit with batons and thrown to the floor by police who blocked his route home.

One witness, Anna Branthwaite, a photographer, described how, in the minutes before the video was shot, she saw Tomlinson walking towards Cornhill Street.

"A riot police officer had already grabbed him and was pushing him," she said.

"It wasn't just pushing him – he'd rushed him. He went to the floor and he did actually roll. That was quite noticeable.

"It was the force of the impact. He bounced on the floor. It was a very forceful knocking down from behind. The officer hit him twice with a baton when he was lying on the floor.

"So it wasn't just that the officer had pushed him – it became an assault.

"And then the officer picked him up from the back, continued to walk or charge with him, and threw him.

"He was running and stumbling. He didn't turn and confront the officer or anything like that."

The witness accounts contradict the official version of events given by police.

In an official statement on the night of Tomlinson's death, the Metropolitan police made no reference to any contact with officers and simply described attempts by police medics and an ambulance crew to save his life after he collapsed – efforts they said were marred by protesters throwing missiles as first aid was administered .

The force said officers had created a cordon around Tomlinson to give him CPR.

"The officers took the decision to move him as during this time a number of missiles - believed to be bottles - were being thrown at them," it said.

Yesterday, the IPCC began managing an investigation by City of London police into the circumstances of Tomlinson's death after the Guardian published photographs of him on the ground and witness statements indicated he had been assaulted by police officers.

The IPCC 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 IPCC added that Tomlinson was captured on CCTV walking onto Royal Exchange Passage.

"This is the aspect of the incident that the IPCC is now investigating," it said.

It was here the video was shot. A post mortem carried out by a Home Office pathologist last Friday revealed Tomlinson died of a heart attack.

Prior to seeing the dossier of evidence, Tomlinson's family said in a statement: "There were so many people around where Ian died, and so many people with cameras, that somebody must have seen what happened in the Royal Exchange passageway.

"We need to know what happened there and whether it had anything to do with Ian's death.

"We know that some people who were at the protest may not feel comfortable talking to the police.

"People are putting pictures on the internet, writing on blogs and talking to journalists. But we really need them to talk to the people who are investigating what happened."

--

Great 'policing', eh?
Reply

Login/Register to hide ads. Scroll down for more posts
Muezzin
04-10-2009, 11:21 AM
Weird how there's no responses to this.

Or not, depending on your outlook.
Reply

Sahabiyaat
04-10-2009, 11:37 AM
i think i know sum ppl hu went to these protests, they said police were being a pain.

sad.
Reply

Eric H
04-10-2009, 11:20 PM
Greetings and peace be with you Ali,

If you would like to sign a protest about this go to...

http://www.avaaz.org/en/fix_british_protest_policing

In the spirit of praying for justice for all people

Eric
Reply

Welcome, Guest!
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up
Yanal
04-10-2009, 11:32 PM
Its sad people can't protest against what is wrong . This reminds me of the person tasered in the Vancouver airport for no reason by the RCMP,Robert -----(something) was his name he couldn't speak English and was tasered for what the policemen who tasered him said he was being rude and could be dangered with a stapler in his hand. It's sad what police think they are with power like this.

I'll fix this problem when I am a policeman myself inshAllah because if we fear the police and say nothing,they will continue to do these kind of things.
Reply

Trumble
04-11-2009, 11:53 AM
The point is,

Its sad people can't protest against what is wrong
this guy WASN'T protesting. He was going about his lawful business, and what seems to have happened is that he was mistaken for a protester, presumably being in the 'wrong place' when police were trying to keep them in the same place. As a policy I have some sympathy with that, these G10/12/20 protests have turned extremely nasty in the past (and not just in the UK) and an idiot element of the demonstrators has been just as culpable as the the authorities.

Obviously a serious mistake was made by the officer/s concerned who both misjudged the situation and acted with excessive force. Hopefully a public enquiry will establish the facts, and suitable disciplinary and legal action follow. I am wary, though, of the claim in the thread title that "G20 police assault on man causes him later to die". We don't know that yet, hence the second post-mortem.
Reply

Ali.
04-11-2009, 11:57 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Trumble
I'm not sure what we are supposed to be protesting about.
I think he meant petition.

I am wary, though, of the claim in the thread title that "G20 police assault on man causes him later to die". We don't know that yet, hence the second post-mortem.
You're right, it's not definite that this was the cause, I should've put "G20 police assault on man may've been the cause of his death soon after".
Reply

Muezzin
04-11-2009, 06:53 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Ali.
You're right, it's not definite that this was the cause, I should've put "G20 police assault on man may've been the cause of his death soon after".
Your wish is my correction.
Reply

Ali.
04-17-2009, 04:00 PM
Death caused by abdominal bleeding, not heart attack

The police officer suspended following the death of Ian Tomlinson during G20 protests has been questioned on suspicion of manslaughter, after a second postmortem showed that the newspaper vendor did not die of a heart attack.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission said: "Following the initial results of the second postmortem, a Metropolitan police officer has been interviewed under caution for the offence of manslaughter as part of an ongoing inquiry into the death of Ian Tomlinson."

The new postmortem showed that Tomlinson died from an abdominal haemorrhage. The cause of Tomlinson's injury has not been established, but investigators will now have to decide whether alleged police assaults on the 47-year-old contributed to his death.

The dramatic shift in the Independent Police Complaints Commission's criminal inquiry into the alleged assaults came after the results of the second post mortem were revealed. Police previously said Tomlinson had died of a heart attack.

Tomlinson collapsed and died around 7:25pm on 1 April, shortly after being attacked by at least one riot officer. He had been attempting to walk home from work when he was confronted by lines of riot police.

An officer was suspended and a criminal inquiry launched after the Guardian revealed footage showing the attack on Tomlinson from behind.

Today the City of London coroners court released the following statement:

"On 9 April 2009 HM Coroner for the City of London opened and adjourned the inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson. In so doing he received evidence of identification and the provisional findings and opinion as to the medical cause of death, from a report prepared by consultant forensic pathologist Dr F Patel, instructed by HM Coroner to conduct the post-mortem examination. The pathologist's final opinion must await the completion of additional tests.

"Dr F Patel made a number of findings of fact including descriptions of a number of injuries and of diseased organs including the heart and liver. He found a substantial amount of blood in the abdominal cavity. His provisional interpretation of his findings was that the cause of death was coronary artery disease.

"A subsequent post-mortem examination was conducted by another consultant forensic pathologist, Dr N Cary, instructed by the IPCC and by solicitors acting for the family of the late Mr Tomlinson.

"Dr Cary's opinion is that the cause of death was abdominal haemorrhage. The cause of the haemorrhage remains to be ascertained. Dr Cary accepts that there is evidence of coronary atherosclerosis but states that in his opinion its nature and extent is unlikely to have contributed to the cause of death.

"The opinions of both consultant pathologists are provisional and both agree that their final opinions must await the outcome of further investigations and tests. These are likely to take some time.

"The IPCC's investigation into the death of Ian Tomlinson is ongoing."
Reply

Amadeus85
04-17-2009, 04:30 PM
That was cruel and stupid act by the policmen, but few people protest when so called "alter-globalists" were burning Athens or making demolish on every international meeting.
Reply

Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 01-17-2013, 05:32 PM
  2. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 11-03-2011, 09:53 PM
  3. Replies: 0
    Last Post: 06-12-2008, 08:43 AM
  4. Replies: 1
    Last Post: 08-10-2006, 02:34 AM
  5. Replies: 2
    Last Post: 04-26-2006, 12:19 PM
British Wholesales - Certified Wholesale Linen & Towels | Holiday in the Maldives

IslamicBoard

Experience a richer experience on our mobile app!