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Ian Tomlinson G20 Death: Officer Steps Forward
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by Rachel Nixon | April 8, 2009 at 09:16 am
511 views | 33 Recommendations | 2 comments
Update: The officer shown shoving Ian Tomlinson to the ground during the G20 protests have stepped forward during an investigation by the IPCC .
A Met spokesman said last night that the officer identified himself to his team leader as “being potentially involved in the incident shown on the video footage”. The spokesman said: “A total of four officers, inclusive of this officer, have now come forward with potentially relevant information in relation to the investigation.”
The officer's name, along with those of others who presented themselves before the commission, has not yet been released.
A police watchdog in the UK is trying to identify officers who were caught on video when a man was shoved to the ground - and later died - at a G20 protest in London on April 1st.
Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper seller, had a heart attack shortly after being shoved by a police officer. Mr Tomlinson, who was returning from work and not protesting, received a two-handed push and landed heavily before remonstrating with police. Minutes later he collapsed and died, having received first aid.
Video footage of the incident has been obtained by the Guardian newspaper.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it would also request a second post mortem test.
Some of the officers filmed have yet to come forward, the watchdog revealed.
The IPCC began its investigation before footage surfaced of Mr Tomlinson being shoved.
The IPCC said it will examine the footage from 1 April and will discuss it with the Crown Prosecution Service.
The IPCC's Deborah Glass said:
"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."
Ms Glass appealed for more people to submit any other video footage of the incident.
Video recorded by a New York fund manager at the Royal Exchange Passage initially shows Mr Tomlinson walking away from police.
Video obtained by the Guardian of the minutes before Tomlinson's death clearly shows City of London officers standing near the officer who attacked the newspaper seller. That officer is believed to be from the Metropolitan force.
The video footage shows Tomlinson walking past police with his hands in his pockets, then being knocked to the ground by a police officer in riot gear as officers from the City of London force look on, minutes before he suffered a fatal heart attack.
After Ian Tomlinson's death, activists gathered to demand an inquiry.
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Uwe Paschen
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 13:23 on April 8th, 2009
The footage of the assault on Tomlinson is chilling. It looks like mob rule was in yellow that day.
at 03:04 on April 9th, 2009
The videos and reporting of this has left a lot to be desired for content. There's even debate suggesting that Tomlinson was one of the protesters, but I can't pull that out of the video I've seen so far. The officer strikes Tomlinson behind the knees with what looks more like a riding crop than a baton and in continuing the forward motion then shoves Tomlinson forward when the strike failed to either move him along or cause him to buckle and fall. The shove ultimately causes his loss of balance and only then does Tomlinson's hands come out of his pockets to appearently break the fall.
Without more info before the moment of this happening there's little to go on. He could have been a protester barely moving to intentionally slow the police effort. He could have been a guy walking home from work and not intending to be a part of anything.
So far the comments have prejudged this to the "F" degree. I can't go along with the prejudging.
As for the nut cases that called this "murder", I'd consider the source.