Thursday 22 July 2010

No prosecution for officer in Ian Tomlinson case


Reacting to the Crown Prosecution Service deciding that the police officer involved in the death of Ian Tomlinson will not face criminal charges, Jenny Jones, Green member of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said:

"This decision by the MPS won't please anyone. It won't satisfy the family, who don't have justice. It won't satisfy the officer, as he hasn't been officially cleared, just not prosecuted. And it won't satisfy the police as their reputation will be damaged yet again. "

"Time and again, the police appear to get away with serious assault or even manslaughter. From Blair Peach to Jean Charles de Menezes, they aren't being held to account for their crimes, and it's damaging to their public image."

"A trial for the officer would have tested the reputations of the medical experts involved. I am confident that a judge would come down on the right side of justice."

Notes

Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper seller, died following demonstrations around the G20 summit, on 1 April 2009 in central London. Video footage obtained by the Guardian showed a riot officer striking the 47-year-old with a police baton, and pushing him to the ground, shortly before he collapsed and died. The CPS today cited conflicting medical evidence from two post-mortems. The first post-mortem ruled that Tomlinson died from a heart attack, whilst a second, conducted on behalf of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, found Tomlinson died from internal bleeding.

* Rugby Green Party comment - This verdict was given just a day after a court employed private bailiff is seen kicking a peace protester on the ground a number of times in Parliament square - it seems civil liberties are not safe with Cameron and Clegg?

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