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G20 victim seen on film clashing with police an hour before fatal fall
Justin Davenport and Jack Lefley9 Apr 2009
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THE man who died in the G20 protest had a confrontation with riot police more than one hour before he was beaten and pushed to the ground by another officer, it was revealed today.
Ian Tomlinson, 47, had to be physically moved aside by four officers after he stood blocking the path of a riot van at 6.07pm last Wednesday.
At 7.15pm he was reportedly seen being thrown to the ground and hit twice by police with a baton.
At 7.29pm video captured Tomlinson being hit again and pushed to the ground by riot police. Mr Tomlinson suffered a heart attack at 7.32pm and later died.
The new details of Mr Tomlinson's contact with police emerged as the police officer who pushed the newspaper seller to the ground came forward to be interviewed.
A spokesman from the Independent Police Complaints Commission said the officer, believed to be a member of the Met's Territorial Support Group, will be interviewed “as soon as possible”.
The IPCC launched a criminal investigation into the case yesterday and the officer could face charges of assault.
Scotland Yard said a decision on whether to suspend the officer would be taken today.
The Met said an officer had identified himself to his team leader yesterday as “being potentially involved in the incident shown on the video footage”. Three other Met officers have also come forward to say they were present.
The new detail of an earlier confrontation between Mr Tomlinson and police came to light after a bystander took pictures of him blocking the path of a riot van. They show him unsteady on his feet after he had apparently been drinking.
Mr Tomlinson was staying at a hostel in Smithfield and had recently come out of rehab for a drinking habit. He was estranged from his wife Julia because of his drink problem.
The photographs show him in a Millwall shirt smoking a cigarette in Lombard Street at 6.07pm, one hour and 25 minutes before he collapsed.
He was blocking the path of a riot van and the driver can be seen shouting at him to move out of the way.
IT worker Ross Hardy, who took the pictures, told the Sun: “I'd been watching some of the protests and saw this older guy standing in the road. A police riot van was trying to make its way up the street toward the Bank of England.
“Tomlinson stood out because of his football shirt and he seemed in his own little world. It was weird. The van approached and a cop leaned out to shout at him to get out of the way.
“But he didn't go anywhere. He just mumbled something and raised an arm a bit unsteadily. It was then it became obvious that he had been drunk because he wasn't really coherent and couldn't move well.”
The officer yelled again and when he didn't move the van nudged him but he still did not get out of the way.
Mr Hardy, 24, said: “When that didn't work four riot police moved in and dragged him to the pavement. The van moved past but Tomlinson stuck around for at least another half an hour. He certainly wasn't on his way home.”
There were also further details today of the moment he was attacked by police in the Royal Exchange Passage.
The bystander who helped Mr Tomlinson to his feet after a riot officer was filmed hitting him said he feared police would continue to attack him.
Alan Edwards, 34, of Derbyshire, described how he had been stuck inside police cordons near the Bank of England for around six hours when he first spotted Mr Tomlinson.
He said: “I was stood on the corner, and basically they'd pushed [Tomlinson] around. He was saying: I want to go home. I live down there. I'm trying to get home.'”
Mr Edwards is the only witness to have declared publicly that he made eye contact with the riot officer who launched the attack.
He said: “I tried to eyeball him to see if I would remember who he was but he was balaclava-ed up. All you could see was his hands and his eyes. He looked slightly crazy.”
