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The officer in question was wearing a standard issue fire retardent head over. he was not hiding his identity.

- Mike, taunton england, 16/04/2009 15:42
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The policeman who made a cowardly attack on this man from behind, shoving him to the ground, should be arrested and charged with assault at the very least and if it can be seen that the attack led to the heart attack, then manslaughter.

- Jack Napier, London England, 15/04/2009 08:43
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A totally unprovoked unacceptable assault on an innocent bystander, lawfully going about his business trying to get home.

- Peter Jameson, Storrington, West Sussex, 08/04/2009 20:41
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An incident similar to this occurred some years ago, after that occurred I thought we were informed the numbers would be visible on police uniforms, so they could be identified. Why has the policeman who pushed Ian Tomlinson have a black scarf/cloth hiding his face ? Also is his number displayed ? Had this video been unavailable there would have been no proof, also were the policemen with him unaware of what he had done ?

- Kd., Kent. UK., 08/04/2009 12:26
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I am at loss to understand why some people are insinuating that by stating that Mr Tomlinson was NOT a protestor that this behaviour is unacceptable. Would it have been acceptable if he had been a protester?

I was at the Bank of England protest and I, along with many other normal men and women, wanted to go home at 12.30pm when the protest had finished. We were not allowed to. From what I saw, the Police tactics of holding 1000's of peaceful people with no food, water or facilities, created an atmosphere that was bound to end in tears.

Has any study been carried out into the effects of holding peaceful protesters forcibly? Has a study been carried out into the effects on the Police concerned of forcibly holding people? From what I saw, I very much doubt it or it wouldn't have been allowed. This 'Kettling' caused far more problems than it could ever hope to have solved and was a disgrace.

I wrote to the IPCC and the Met Police, as well as many politicians before it came to light that questions were being asked about the death of Mr Tomlinson. I stated that 'Kettling' would at some point lead to the death of an innocent person. Little did I know that I may already have been too late.

An urgent public investigation needs to be carried out into the physiological effects these tactics have on all concerned and if, as I suspect, it does increase tensions and the risk of violence, then it needs to be banned.

- Trish, Potters Bar, England, 08/04/2009 11:21
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Someone filmed it, it was shown on the news last night. He was pushed to the ground. There was about two seconds after he had fallen when he was not in the frame.

This unfortunate man's post-mortem should reveal whether he suffered any injury that caused his death, or whether this incident and his death are medically separate. It was not at all clear why the policeman pushed him from behind. To me it did look like an assault rather than proper policing. Not a serious assault, but the shock of being assaulted by a policeman could have been the last straw for a man whose heart was already in a bad state.

- Nigel, London, 08/04/2009 11:03
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Can we get back to topic? Was this guy " pushed' or beaten to death by the police ?

- Clive Allen, Brighton, UK, 07/04/2009 23:47
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Call it what it is Manslaughter - Now prosecute the police involved.

- Suusi M-B, Harpenden, Herts, 07/04/2009 23:36
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Jon/Steve. The man who died did not work in an office- he sold newspapers on the street !

"It's not rocket science" that if you have your hands in your pockets and back to the police you shouldn't expect to get clobbered from behind by the Police !

I work in Moorgate and from what I saw last week, the Police were itching for action. Most of all those bused in from all around including some from Hampshire I saw.

- Luis, London, 07/04/2009 23:15
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Paul, City Of London Police issued guidelines to all Companies within the City re the upcoming protests. One of the main points was to have employees NOT leave their office directly, but to assess what was going outside first. Its not rocket science.

- Steve, London, 07/04/2009 14:20
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Paul, local employers were not only given significant quantities of advice prior to the event but they were also provided with real time information on the location and progress of the protest.

I don't think you can realistically blame the police for your employers decision or failure to pass that information on. I received numerous updates via email and they proved to be both timely and accurate.

It was well within the power of your employer to advise you not to leave the building once the protest had entered the vicinity. If however you chose to disregards this advice then I'd say it's pretty much down to you.

- Jon, London, 07/04/2009 14:11
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There are no recorded instances of protesters turning on each other in this demonstration or any other in recent or distant history. It would be against everything protestors stand for. To protest is to join together in a communal sense of responsibility towards our fellow man, near and far. Although police tactics have notably become more violent and brutal since June 08, I urge you to attend a rally or a march and see for yourself the true spirit of democratic protest. You will also see a cross section of society - all financial classes, students, the employed, parents, grandparents, the same kind of people who march for CND all those years ago. When people marched thru London on January the 3rd this year for Gaza, there were hardly any police. We were able to police ourselves. and there was no trouble. There were also no headlines. If you want the truth about our rights and freedom of movement on our city streets, come out and watch closely, see where the threat and trouble really starts, because the media will never tell you the whole story.

- Exasperated Fat Mum, London, 07/04/2009 14:06
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Is this down to the Police tactics or is it down to the protesters?

There is a lot of focus on the Police about this, but don't forget if there wasn't a protest there wouldn't have been a need for Police.

I have said before and I shall say again, it is down to the protesters in future to police themselves. If you oust the trouble makers and ensure it is a peaceful protest you will allow the Police to have less involvement.

- Disappointed, UK, 07/04/2009 12:23
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I am a worker in Moorgate who tried to get in and out last week. In many cases, local workers exited their employment straight into a demonstration route, with no escape. Having been ‘on the ground’ here, then if the witness statements in this case should prove to be true I can say this was misadventure waiting to happen. The possibility of local workers entering and exiting police lines was not to my knowledge addressed by police with the local business community beforehand (well, certainly not with ours, quite a sizeable one within the area), and greater liaison should definitely have taken place. Like me, Mr Tomlinson was supposed to be one of the people being protected. Whether he was assaulted or not, he certainly wasn’t protected. We were advised by our employers to dress down - presumably on police advice - so this could have been any of us.

- Paul, London UK, 07/04/2009 12:13
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