Officer Simon Harwood Won't Be Charged in Ian Tomlinson Death

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Simon Harwood, Caught on Video Shoving Ian Tomlinson to the Ground During G20 Protests Escapes Prosecution

After a year of closed-door investigations, the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) stated that Police Constable Simon Harwood, the police office caught on tape as he beat newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson with a baton and shoved him to the ground during the 2009 London G20 protests will not be prosecuted.

Tomlinson died after the incident. The police initially claimed that Tomlinson died from a heart attack before footage of the police beating emerged on the Internet.

• Ian Tomlinson G20 Death: Officer Steps Forward
• Video of British police assault on a citizen, who died at G20

Critics of the investigation assert that this is no more than a cover-up, and that CPS had no intention of actually prosecuting the offending officer, and the decision is being legally challenged. Said Sarah McSherry of Christian Khan Solicitors, "The news is as unsurprising as it is disappointing."

Had Ian Tomlinson been assaulted by another member of the crowd, as opposed to by a police officer, especially with such clear video evidence, a criminal investigation would be mounted well within a year: of that there can be little reasonable argument.