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Police probe over G20 death
Kiran Randhawa15 May 2009
The Metropolitan Police is to be investigated after claims it deliberately misinformed the public following Ian Tomlinson's death during the G20 protests, it is revealed today.
The family of the newspaper seller have complained that Scotland Yard along with the City of London police knew its officers had contact with him before he collapsed and died during the demonstrations.
They allege both forces issued “misinformation” about the level of contact until a newspaper published a video six days later showing an officer pushing Mr Tomlinson to the ground and hitting him with his baton.
The allegations raise the possibility that police were involved in a cover-up, and deliberately withheld crucial information about the potential involvement of officers.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission is now investigating the claims and is likely to want to scrutinise the information senior press officers had before they released statements to the media.
An investigation is already underway into the circumstances of the 47-year-old's death and the officer who assaulted him has been questioned over his manslaughter.
The Met's first statement about Mr Tomlinson, four hours after he collapsed and died on April 1, made no mention of any prior police contact with him.
It also claimed that during the time officers were giving him CPR they took the decision to move him because protesters were throwing bottles at them.
However, those protesters who went to Tomlinson's aid after he collapsed said the Met's version of events was incorrect. The Met later said it has not “deliberately misled” the media about the death.
Daniel MacPhee, 24, who was on the phone to the ambulance services when police arrived at the scene, said officers ignored the requests of the ambulance service woman to speak to them on his mobile phone.
The following day, journalists were briefed by police that he had not been involved with police and two days later, City of London police released a statement saying Tomlinson had died of a heart attack on his way home from work, but made no mention of the pathologists' discovery of injuries on his body and a significant amount of blood in his stomach.
But on April 7 a video shot by a fund manager from New York emerged which showed Mr Tomlinson had his back to officers and hands in his pockets when he was approached by officers from the Met's Forward Intelligence Teams and Territorial Support Group, as well as dog handlers from City of London police.
He was violently pushed to the ground and struck with a baton.
No officers went to Tomlinson's assistance when he was laying on the floor, and it was left to a bystander, Alan Edwards, 34, to help him to his feet before he was seen stumbling towards the place where he collapsed.
IPCC deputy chairman Deborah Glass said: “Not only the Tomlinson family but also many members of the public and MPs have raised with us concerns about whether the police either misinformed the public about the circumstances of Mr Tomlinson's death or failed to correct misinformation about how he died.
“I have therefore decided that, not only will we investigate the family's specific complaint about the content and timing of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) media communications on the night of April 1, but that we should also seek to determine, as far as practicable, the state of knowledge that both the MPS and City of London Police had about any police contact with Ian Tomlinson between April 1 2009 and April 7 2009.”
The IPCC is also carrying out another three investigations into allegations that officers assaulted members of the public at the G20 protests.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “The Commissioner has made it clear on a number of occasions that Ian Tomlinson's family deserve, and should expect, answers to their questions in relation to his death.
“It is important that there is a transparent process, which provides clarity as to what the MPS, City of London Police and the IPCC said and knew regarding the circumstances of Ian Tomlinson's death.
“Therefore we welcome the IPCC investigation and will continue to cooperate fully with them.”
Reader views (5)
Just remember that the provided photograph is one of a man in the last few minutes of his life.
- Benv, USA, 17/05/2009 09:59
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Just go for those that gave the orders to attack the public not the thugs that did the attacking. We are sadly under the control of a police state.
- Mike, London, 16/05/2009 05:34
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Jaber, better a slow and real investigation than a rushed one with the answers people want to hear!
- Not Exactly A Looney Lefty!, The real world, 15/05/2009 14:56
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We are still waiting for an inquiry into the police killing of Blair Peach thirty years ago.
- Jay, London, 15/05/2009 14:05
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A probe, about time but will anything ever come of it and when will the findings be published ? about 2015 i think.
- Jaberwokie3, switzerland, 15/05/2009 12:54
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