Ian Tomlinson death: PC not guilty

[muriel_volestrangler]

A police officer who hit Ian Tomlinson with a baton and pushed him to the ground at the G20 protests has been found not guilty of manslaughter.

PC Simon Harwood, 45, of south London, denied the manslaughter, in April 2009, of Mr Tomlinson, 47.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18900484

It seems to me he intended to hurt him - hitting him with a baton was not a way to get him to move faster, which was what Harwood claimed. And I thought intent to injure, which resulted in death, mean manslaughter.

[oldironside]

1. I agree.

Having seen the video, it is impossible that the incident is anything less than a vicious little assault intended to cause pain and injury. It's unbelievable that the copper walked.

[non sociopath skin]

2. Un-feckin-believable.

Again, I despair.

The Skin

[ikri]

3. Cannot understand the decision

Harwood's push/attack/assault on Tomlinson was completely unnecessary and unprovoked. Even if he didn't intend to cause harm he still lashed out at a completely innocent passer-by.

And it turns out that he has a history of violent behaviour

[oldironside]

4. And so, now it seems that the bastard had form.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/pc-simon-harwood--10-complaints-in-12-years-for-the-red-mist-officer-7959576.html

How is it that this man was able to leave the police service under dodgy circumstances and then rejoin without any questions about his character or disciplinary record?

Mr Ryder told the inquest last year: “When Pc Harwood is under pressure or he is angry, he is prone to unlawful violence. He acts excessively.

“He doesn’t want to face responsibility for actions we suggest he knows were wrong and we suggest that is an indication of how he conducts himself as a pattern. What we are left with, then, is a set of one proven allegation which shows dishonesty and anger leading to unlawful behaviour, and one set of very compelling, we would suggest, allegations which are only unresolved on one view because of the ability of Pc Harwood to side-step.”

[tjwmason]

5. Very sad indeed.

The inquest ruled an unlawful death, and this verdict appears to fly in the face.

The details about his history make for very concerning (though, I fear, not surprising) reading about the police's attitude to abuse of power by fellow plods.

[LeftishBrit]

6. Ugh

Sometimes all you can say is ugh.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. A different view on the Ian Tomlinson case

The jury more than understandably decided that it was not proven beyond reasonable doubt that Harwood caused the manslaughter of Tomlinson, and we have to respect that decision.

You really can’t envy those chosen to serve on this particular case, thanks to the incompetence of Freddy Patel, the pathologist who carried out the first autopsy on Tomlinson.

They had to reach their decision based on conflicting accounts: Patel continues to maintain that Tomlinson died of natural causes, coincidentally just a matter of minutes after he was pushed over and struck by Harwood, while the two other doctors who subsequently carried out a re-examination decided the cause of death was internal bleeding caused by trauma associated with a blow to the abdomen.

The jury was not told that Patel had been suspended last year by the General Medical Council after similar failings in the autopsy he carried out on Sally White, who he found had died of natural causes. Her body had been discovered in the house belonging to Anthony Hardy, who later pleaded guilty to the murder of White and two other women.

http://liberalconspiracy.org/2012/07/20/a-different-view-on-the-ian-tomlinson-case/

I must admit that Patel had already been shown incompetent, in my mind (his suspension was reported in the media last year), so I was ignoring his claims. However, I wonder why the prosecution wasn't allowed to draw the jury's attention to his suspension.

[dipsydoodle]

8. The family are likely to pursue a civil case

Last edited Fri Jul 20, 2012, 02:51 PM - Edit history (1)

and now those facts ARE known.

I just couldn't believe the verdict.