Police Kill Bystandard at G20- New Video

[Mindtoaster]

Dramatic footage obtained by the Guardian shows that the man who died at last week's G20 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/g20) protests in London was attacked from behind and thrown to the ground by a baton–wielding police (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/police) officer in riot gear.
Moments after the assault on Ian Tomlinson was captured on video (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2009/apr/07/g20-police-assault-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 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/apr/06/g20-ian-tomlinson-police-assault), 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."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/07/video-g20-police-assault


(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUMhGZhOP8w&feature=channel_page)

[Mindtoaster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUMhGZhOP8w&feature=channel_page

[Bud Struggle]

That poor bastard. There was no excuse for that behavior on the part of the police.

[Pirate turtle the 11th]

R.i.p

[Bud Struggle]

That cop is a murderer.

[Lord Testicles]

Acab.

[Pogue]

Rip.

Acab!

[Bud Struggle]

Acab.

I had to look that one up. Seems the OI and the White Power guys both claim to have made it up.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ACAB

I don't agree with all of them being bastards, but the one in the video certainly was.

[#FF0000]

I had to look that one up. Seems the OI and the White Power guys both clame to have made it up.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ACAB

I don't agree with all of them, but the one in the video certainly was.

Didn't the police say that they didn't hit the guy at all?

It was a lie and none of the cops stepped forward with the truth.

This reminds me of something I do when I see my relatives. They're all cops, and I always ask them, if it's really just a few bad apples making the rest of the cops look bad, then why do they defend them in court when they do something wrong?

Then I ask them to pass the butter. Another Thanksgiving in the Rorschach household.

[Bud Struggle]

^^^You have a good point there. ^^^

[Qwerty Dvorak]

TCAB - those cops are bastards.

Regardless,

OPHNBUHA - OP has not backed up his accusation. The man is quite clearly not dead in the video. The police pushed him, that doesn't mean they killed him.

[Qwerty Dvorak]

Also, what does this say about the far left theory that the mainstream media is engaged in a conspiracy against leftists?

[Rjevan]

Oh wow, you just feel relegated to the "good old days" here, with the SS and all its brutal disposal. What did this guy do wrong that they had to push him down? As far as I see he didn't even say something that could have been offensive. Well, maybe his nose looked a little bit too Jewish...

This cop may have contributed to Ian's death and I hope that he will get into serious trouble (yeah, I know I'm naive). R.I.P.

[Mindtoaster]

TCAB - those cops are bastards.

Regardless,

OPHNBUHA - OP has not backed up his accusation. The man is quite clearly not dead in the video. The police pushed him, that doesn't mean they killed him.

yeah, I'm sure when he dropped dead three minutes later from the heart attack, it had nothing to do with getting hit with a baton then thrown on the ground. Did you even watch the video?

[Mindtoaster]

IPCC has launched a criminal investigation probe into the mans death.


The police officer thought to be shown in video footage of the G20 protest in London pushing a man who later died has come forward.
An independent criminal probe has begun into the death of Ian Tomlinson, 47, who had a heart attack minutes later.
Additional video footage shown on Channel 4 News appears to show an officer striking him with a baton.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is trying to identify officers who were at the scene.
The IPCC has ordered a second post mortem examination as part of its investigation.

See a map of the scene (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7990423.stm#graphic)
Mr Tomlinson's stepson Paul King said the footage has "deeply touched" the family and said "we cannot lay our father to rest" until the relatives get justice.
The IPCC began its investigation before footage surfaced of Mr Tomlinson being shoved.
The IPCC said it would examine the footage from 1 April and discuss it with the Crown Prosecution Service.
Following Mr Tomlinson's death the IPCC had initially said it would oversee an investigation into the incident to be carried out by the City of London police.
Deborah Glass, of the IPCC, explained the decision to take over the investigation: "People are rightly concerned about this tragic death and this footage is clearly disturbing.
"In light of new information which we became aware of yesterday (Tuesday) evening, we have now taken the decision to independently investigate.
"People have been calling for a criminal investigation. I want to stress that, from the outset of all our investigations, we consider whether criminal offences have been committed.
"This is a criminal investigation and we will, of course, be discussing it with the Crown Prosecution Service.
"At the moment the investigation is focused on identifying the officers in the footage. Several have already come forward and all efforts are being made to trace those who haven't."
Heavy landing
Ms Glass appealed for more people to submit any other video footage of the incident.
The video, shot at 1929 BST at the Royal Exchange Passage on 1 April, initially shows Mr Tomlinson, who was going home from work and not protesting, walking away from a group of police officers.


Deborah Glass, IPCC: 'We continue to appeal for more information'

The footage, recorded by a New York fund manager, shows Mr Tomlinson receiving a two-handed push from an officer, landing heavily before remonstrating with the police.
Minutes later, Mr Tomlinson collapsed and died of a heart attack, after walking to nearby Cornhill where he received first aid from police.
Earlier the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said the images raised "obvious concerns" and pledged full support from the Met.
The Guardian newspaper obtained the video and has handed it to the IPCC.
Opposition MPs have called for a criminal investigation into the death.
The police have well-established powers to use reasonable force if they think there is a threat either to themselves or the public, but these are enhanced during a protest or riot.


The key concept is that of "reasonable force" - i.e. force that is in proportion to the threat faced either by the public, the police or property
Thus "reasonable force" may literally range from putting a hand on someone's elbow, to shooting them dead
The legislation governing police powers during demonstrations (mostly the Public Order Act 1986) must also be seen in context of human rights' legislation
Under European human rights' laws the police are required to actively protect the public's right to peaceful protest
Policing during a protest, therefore, is a negotiation between the rights of police to use reasonable force to protect the public, and their responsibility to allow peaceful protest to take place



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7990423.stm

[brigadista]

I received this today from the Justice for Jean Charles Menezes Campaign




JUSTICE4JEAN STATEMENT ON DEATH OF IAN TOMLINSON

The family of Jean Charles de Menezes and their Campaign wish to express their deep condolences to the family of Ian Tomlinson over his tragic death. Our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

We have been following the emerging evidence relating to the police assault on Ian with grave sadness as we remember the early accounts of how Jean Charles’ death was reported. The Tomlinson family has a right to find out the truth behind what led to Ian’s death. We know from experience that their pain at this time is only being exacerbated by the misinformation and half truths that have been circulating.

We are concerned that the police appear to have misled the public about vital information regarding the circumstances of Ian’s death and find it deeply worrying that Ian’s death is not being independently investigated but rather; the City of London police force is investigating the Metropolitan police. How can an investigation claim to be independent if police officers are investigating themselves?

The notion that the Met has fully learned the lessons of the Menezes tragedy must be called into question in the way in which they have handled the aftermath of Ian Tomlinson’s death. The media also must shoulder some criticism for its continued unquestioning acceptance of police accounts of contentious deaths.

Justice4Jean continues to campaign to ensure that no family has to go through what the Menezes family endured. We have long called for an independent inquiry into the over arching issues raised by the shooting including the ability of the IPCC to deliver justice and how the police are able to repeatedly mislead the public over contentious deaths. The need for such an inquiry is clearly needed now more than ever and we hope the Tomlinson family get the truth and justice they deserve.

[danyboy27]

not that i defend the police in that story, but i dont think it was smart to stay that close from the police during a manifestation.

he might have been only a bystander, wtf was he doing at less than 5 meter of the cops!

[brigadista]

not that i defend the police in that story, but i dont think it was smart to stay that close from the police during a manifestation.

he might have been only a bystander, wtf was he doing at less than 5 meter of the cops!

He was a street newspaper seller on his way home from work.

[#FF0000]

TCAB - those cops are bastards.

Regardless,

OPHNBUHA - OP has not backed up his accusation. The man is quite clearly not dead in the video. The police pushed him, that doesn't mean they killed him.

He died three minutes later and then they cops told everyone who tried to help to back off. Either way, he is dead, and the cops are, in large part, responsible.

And, no, all cops are bastards is correct. Thin blue line and all that.


Also, what does this say about the far left theory that the mainstream media is engaged in a conspiracy against leftists?

Nobody claims there's a grand conspiracy, just that media bias exists, and in the west, it's biased to favor ruling class opinions. It's not a conscious thing.

What is it with former regular members suddenly becoming absurdly naive when they get restrict?

[brigadista]

yeah, I'm sure when he dropped dead three minutes later from the heart attack, it had nothing to do with getting hit with a baton then thrown on the ground. Did you even watch the video?

ever heard of delayed shocK?

[#FF0000]

ever heard of delayed shocK?

He is being sarcastic you silly goose.

[brigadista]

He is being sarcastic you silly goose.

Its been a long day...:)

[Trystan]

Didn't the police say that they didn't hit the guy at all?

It was a lie and none of the cops stepped forward with the truth.

This reminds me of something I do when I see my relatives. They're all cops, and I always ask them, if it's really just a few bad apples making the rest of the cops look bad, then why do they defend them in court when they do something wrong?

Then I ask them to pass the butter. Another Thanksgiving in the Rorschach household.

Exactly. Hit from behind too - Peter Sutcliffe style. Makes you wonder how many other such incedents like this there are, since the bastards didn't admit tpo the man having been hit. And on the same day, a cop is found guilty of killing a 16 year old girl when driving at 94mph without sirens or lights. His boss made an excuse for him, too. They're not all bastards, to be sure. I've met some really good ones. Nevertheless, there are some really scummy elements within the Met which reach all the way to the top.

Manslaughter charges? Don't count of it.

[#FF0000]

Exactly. Hit from behind too - Peter Sutcliffe style. Makes you wonder how many other such incedents like this there are, since the bastards didn't admit tpo the man having been hit. And on the same day, a cop is found guilty of killing a 16 year old girl when driving at 94mph without sirens or lights. His boss made an excuse for him, too. They're not all bastards, to be sure. I've met some really good ones. Nevertheless, there are some really scummy elements within the Met which reach all the way to the top.

Manslaughter charges? Don't count of it.

It actually could (should) be negligent homicide. They had people there that could have at least done something to try to help him but they threatened them with sticks.

[Qwerty Dvorak]

What is it with former regular members suddenly becoming absurdly naive when they get restrict?
It's nothing to do with naivety. They simply disagree with your world view and you can't handle that. It's why the development of the far left is so retarded even in the most ideal circumstances and it used to frustrate the hell out of me back when I was a regular member.

[graffic]

The whole restriction thing on this website is ridiculous.

Sure, if your an out and out facist then I can understand a restriction but people get "restricted" for petty things thus giving out shit vibes about the leftist community.

[Qwerty Dvorak]

It actually could (should) be negligent homicide. They had people there that could have at least done something to try to help him but they threatened them with sticks.
Is negligent homicide not the same as manslaughter? Are you a yankee doodle per chance?

[Qwerty Dvorak]

It actually could (should) be negligent homicide. They had people there that could have at least done something to try to help him but they threatened them with sticks.
Is negligent homicide not the same as manslaughter? Are you a yankee doodle per chance?

[danyboy27]

i know that if i would go back from work and there was a protest, i would try to stay away from the cops.

its just logical, there is a huuge risk you will be considered a threat by them if you stay in their way.

people see that action has sheer brutality, but we just dont know what orders the cops received or the warning they previously had during their briefing before the protest.

there is no doubt that the cops overreacted, but from his understanding of the situation maybe he will consider that he was right. dosnt mean he should not be accountable for this.

i doubt the cops who did this wanted to kill the guy, if it would have been his intention the guy would not be identifiable.

the cop was an assole, and he should be punished, but this was an accident.

its not like he would have killed the guy shooting him 13 time in the chest or banged his head 10 times with a baton until his skull break.

yes, this is a tragic incident, yes the cop overreacted, but please guy, give me a break with your ss allusion, the ss where far more brutal toward opposition groups.

[Qwerty Dvorak]

Agree completely spetnaz. Still must emphasise that I too think the cop overreacted and should face sanction.

[#FF0000]

The whole restriction thing on this website is ridiculous.

Sure, if your an out and out facist then I can understand a restriction but people get "restricted" for petty things thus giving out shit vibes about the leftist community.

You know we didn't always have restrictions here. As I understand it, we put it in place because every single thread ended up becoming a communist v. capitalist thing.


It's nothing to do with naivety. They simply disagree with your world view and you can't handle that. It's why the development of the far left is so retarded even in the most ideal circumstances and it used to frustrate the hell out of me back when I was a regular member.

Yeah but the media is funded by moneyed interests of of course they'd be biased in their favor, right? That just seems obvious to me.


Is negligent homicide not the same as manslaughter? Are you a yankee doodle per chance?

Oh dear I always thought they were different. :(

[Patchd]

TCAB - those cops are bastards.

Regardless,

OPHNBUHA - OP has not backed up his accusation. The man is quite clearly not dead in the video. The police pushed him, that doesn't mean they killed him.

Nah, ACAB. All Cops Are Bastards.

Anyway, there's another footage showing Tomlinson being hit while he was on the ground with police truncheons, this happened earlier on apparently, according to an eyewitness who's job was in photography. They had pushed him over earlier on too, and he was seen bouncing off the ground and rolling.

Before he collapsed and died, he was seen walking dazed and criss-crossing, possibly the result of repeated assaults and a smack to the head on a number of occasions. In addition, his heart attack could well have been the result of over-stressing due to the attacks by the police, afterall, he was a bystander, had nothing to do with the protest and was simply going home, imagine what must have been going through his mind when he was attacked by the police. :(

[graffic]

You know we didn't always have restrictions here. As I understand it, we put it in place because every single thread ended up becoming a communist v. capitalist thing.

:(

Well whoever makes the decisions on "restricting" people is doing a fantastic job at creating animosity where there could be potential comrades.

[Ele'ill]

Well whoever makes the decisions on "restricting" people is doing a fantastic job at creating animosity where there could be potential comrades.


:thumbup:



The police didn't kill him. Having poor health killed him. He could have been having the heart attack before the police walked up to him.

[Mowgli]

This whole situation simply illustrates the unnesessary force used by the police at protests, and what it can lead to.

[OneNamedNameLess]

i know that if i would go back from work and there was a protest, i would try to stay away from the cops.

its just logical, there is a huuge risk you will be considered a threat by them if you stay in their way.

people see that action has sheer brutality, but we just dont know what orders the cops received or the warning they previously had during their briefing before the protest.

there is no doubt that the cops overreacted, but from his understanding of the situation maybe he will consider that he was right. dosnt mean he should not be accountable for this.

i doubt the cops who did this wanted to kill the guy, if it would have been his intention the guy would not be identifiable.

the cop was an assole, and he should be punished, but this was an accident.

its not like he would have killed the guy shooting him 13 time in the chest or banged his head 10 times with a baton until his skull break.

yes, this is a tragic incident, yes the cop overreacted, but please guy, give me a break with your ss allusion, the ss where far more brutal toward opposition groups.

Doesn't matter.

That cop technically committed an assault; he breached the laws which he is supposed to be protecting; it was unprovoked and he abused his position.

His actions are not permitted by law. Do I have to say anything else? He acted like a brainless thug and deserves to be treated as one.

Anyway, were you at the demos? I was there and I witnessed many sickening acts by the police which were even worse than this. There is no way of defending or undermining the severity of this incident.

[MikeSC]

The police didn't kill him. Having poor health killed him. He could have been having the heart attack before the police walked up to him.

He'd apparently been knocked down and hit with batons, while on the ground, earlier in the day than in the video. For not moving fast enough out of the way (not even for attempting to get in the way- for not being quite as fast as the pigs would like!)- which is a bullshit reason to knock someone to the ground. It's bully behaviour. And there's no telling that's even true (that he wasn't fast enough)- the things the police originally said, we know for certain that they were lying through their teeth.

Sounds like an intensely stressful day...

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

It is staggering how eager the BBC has been to relegate the killing of a citizen by the police to a non-story, worth only one line in its initial coverage. Whether they were leaned on, or whether they just followed their natural inclinations, they just didn't give a good fuck about this suspicious death. Even when it became clear that the police were lying about protesters obstructing assistance, and that the single anonymous source who said he died of 'natural causes' was probably wrong, there was zilch. Worse, according to Guardian journalist Stephen Moss, when the BBC were offered the latest footage by The Guardian, they were told: "No thanks, we're not covering this, we see it as just a London story." Even now that they are forced to give the issue proper coverage, they don't mention that independent eyewitnesses confirm that Ian Tomlinson was repeatedly attacked by the police moments before the video was shot. That is a significant part of the story to just leave out. Neither do they mention that this kind of assault was part of a sequence of attacks on entirely innocent people, which the police take for granted as their right. At every stage, the BBC's performance has been a disgrace. Ian Tomlinson's family are rightly demanding justice. They might also want to ask why a supposedly public service broadcaster exhibited such callous indifference to Mr Tomlinson's death

From here:

http://leninology.blogspot.com/2009/04/bbcs-disgraceful-performance-over-ian.html

[Dóchas]

WTF!!! he was just walking along minding his own business and he wasnt pushed to the side as police went by, the police changed their direction just to get a cheap shot at an isolated individual (i dont even think he was involved in the protest). they didnt even check to see if he was ok they just stood there as he struggled to get up!! im not sure if there is proof that is was because of this that he suffered a heart attack but it seems pretty coincidental.

RIP Ian Tomlinson

ACAB, NO EXCEPTIONS

[#FF0000]

Well whoever makes the decisions on "restricting" people is doing a fantastic job at creating animosity where there could be potential comrades.

Police apologists, sexists (including anti-abortionists), and people who believe capitalism just needs to be made "nicer" are hardly comrades.

[Rosa Lichtenstein]

There are also date and time-stamped photographs that show he was attacked by the cops.

[Lord Testicles]

:thumbup:



The police didn't kill him. Having poor health killed him. He could have been having the heart attack before the police walked up to him.

Looks like you were wrong.

Ian Tomlinson did not die of a heart attack. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8004222.stm)

[Dóchas]

now for the cover up :rolleyes: