He was not one of the demonstrators — he was on his way home from work — and at the time his death was reported as a coincidence. Nothing to do with the police or the demos.
News stories said that police and emergency workers were hindered in their attempts to help the dying man by demonstrators who pelted them with bottles and other missiles. The police also asserted that they had had no previous interaction with Mr. Tomlinson before he collapsed.
Since then evidence has surfaced showing that the police account of Ian Tomlinson’s death is — to put it kindly — not entirely candid. Watch the footage below and see an officer apparently strike Mr. Tomlinson from behind with his baton, and them vigorously shove him face-first to the ground. After that Mr. Tomlinson was helped up by bystanders, staggered away, and collapsed again a few moments later.
Thanks to Vlad Tepes for YouTubing this video so promptly:
Here’s the accompanying report from The Guardian:
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UK: Video Reveals G20 Police Assault on Man Who Died
Exclusive footage obtained by the Guardian shows Ian Tomlinson, who died during G20 protests in London, was attacked from behind by baton—wielding police officer
The Guardian obtained this footage of Ian Tomlinson at a G20 protest in London, shortly before he died. It shows Tomlinson, who was not part of the demonstration, being assaulted from behind and pushed to the ground by baton-wielding police Link to this video Dramatic footage obtained by the Guardian shows that the man who died at last week’s G20 protests in London was attacked from behind and thrown to the ground by a baton—wielding police officer in riot gear.
Moments after the assault on Ian Tomlinson was captured on video, he suffered a heart attack and died.
The Guardian is preparing to hand a dossier of evidence to the police complaints watchdog.
It sheds new light on the events surrounding the death of the 47-year-old newspaper seller, who had been on his way home from work when he was confronted by lines of riot police near the Bank of England.
The submission to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) includes a collection of testimonies from witnesses, along with the video footage, shot at around 7.20pm, which shows Tomlinson at Royal Exchange Passage.
The film reveals that as he walks, with his hands in his pockets, he does not speak to the police or offer any resistance.
A phalanx of officers, some with dogs and some in riot gear, are close behind him and try to urge him forward.
A Metropolitan police officer appears to strike him with a baton, hitting him from behind on his upper thigh.
Moments later, the same policeman rushes forward and, using both hands, pushes Tomlinson in the back and sends him flying to the ground, where he remonstrates with police who stand back, leaving bystanders to help him to his feet.
The man who shot the footage, a fund manager from New York who was in London on business, said: “The primary reason for me coming forward is that it was clear the family were not getting any answers.”
The Guardian’s dossier also includes a sequence of photographs, taken by three different people, showing the aftermath of the attack, as well as witness statements from people in the area at the time.
A number of witnesses provided time and date-stamped photographs that substantiate their accounts.
Some said they saw police officers attack Tomlinson.
Witnesses said that, prior to the moment captured on video, he had already been hit with batons and thrown to the floor by police who blocked his route home.
[…]
The witness accounts contradict the official version of events given by police.
In an official statement on the night of Tomlinson’s death, the Metropolitan police made no reference to any contact with officers and simply described attempts by police medics and an ambulance crew to save his life after he collapsed — efforts they said were marred by protesters throwing missiles as first aid was administered .
The force said officers had created a cordon around Tomlinson to give him CPR.
I’m not going to draw any conclusions from all this — I’ll leave that to the people in Britain who were closer to the events in question. However, it does make me wonder if this isn’t the kind of event that the Metropolitan Police were hoping to keep off-the-record by shutting down part of the Westminster CCTV network.
In any case, there were too many freelancers taking video and photos that day for anything to be kept secret for long.
The next logical step would be a law banning digital cameras, camcorders, and camera-phones entirely.
Hat tip: Gaia.
14 comments:
This incident has all the trappings of the Rodney King arrest.
Antifa and other radical factions have so instilled modern demonstrations with violent counter-protest manuevers and anti-government tactics that it should no longer be any sort of shock if law enforcement retaliates with exceptional force.
Rodney King led Los Angeles police officers on an entirely needless automobile chase that often exceeded 100 MPH (almost 200 KPH) speeds. The anger at having had to endanger both themselves and the general public must have utterly enraged the pursuing and arresting officers.
I'm willing to think that Antifa is intentionally driving EU law enforcement towards the same sort of illicit boundaries which ended up seeing Ian Tomlinson die.
It would not be the first time that radical liberal elements demonstrated such a feckless disregard for innocent human life.
While I always appreciate your opinion Zenster, I have to take issue this time.
It seems to me the British police have gone 180 from how Rodney King was handled. I hate to say this but I have seen enough video of British Police in action to conclude that if you appear to be a native Brit and you are not agressive and not shouting foul and not wearing a bandana over the lower portion of your face then you are free game for the police. If, OTOH, you appear to be a member of an ethnic minority and you are shouting foul and you are being agressive and you are covering your face then you must be treated with kid gloves. The police will actually retreat in the face of the latter and confront in the face of the former.
This common working man had his route home blocked by the police and was being forced to co mingle with an out of control demonstration. The police were literally herding him into their midst. No wonder he was walking so slowly... I only hope that the badge or ID # of the officer that hit and shoved him can be discerned from the captured video and that he is prosecuted.
zenster,
i'm sorry, but you've got to be joking. this is a guy, not even facing the officers, with his hands in his pockets, being slammed to the concrete. even if he had been obstreperous earlier, and there's no evidence that he had, he was submissive and completely unthreatening at the moment of attack.
'It would not be the first time that radical liberal elements demonstrated such a feckless disregard for innocent human life.'
why is this statement not being directed at the police instead of liberal elements? they're the ones who killed him, albeit manslaughter not murder. and they lied through their teeth about it afterwards, like they always do in the UK.
i take your point about the hardcore elements in antifa who are extremely violent and who aim to provoke violence from the police. but all we have evidence of here is the police assaulting a guy on his way home. i'm disturbed that you can compare this guy, directly or indirectly, to a dangerous criminal like rodney king.
Obviously, I was not sufficiently clear in my original post. My only point is that, like Rodney King, Antifa, and not Ian Tomlinson, is winding up the British constables so that they are over-reacting when the opportunity presents itself. This is what I meant when I wrote:
I'm willing to think that Antifa is intentionally driving EU law enforcement towards the same sort of illicit boundaries which ended up seeing Ian Tomlinson die.
I could not agree more with either of you that the British police are obviously taking such "opportunities" only when presented with vulnerable specimens such as ordinary English citizens as opposed to hardened targets like radical Muslims and their Antifa handlers.
I don't know how it is up there but here, the goal of the "shock police - polícia de choque" is indeed to stop violence through violent means: To crack the most heads possible with no killings.
1) In such situations, the shock police does (may) not (usually) discern potentialy dangerous criminals / protesters with the really dangerous ones.
2) It seems to me that the policeman who pushes late Ian is trying to take him out of the way, creating a sort of strategic zone for the police to act.
3) Of course it should not be this way, but it is. The policemen do indeed put their lifes to the risk in this kinds of situation.
4) The man was not killed in the video. Was he killed by the police? Hard to prove...
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This was no normal security police, I think this is the shock police. This is a sad thing that sometimes happens, Ian was at the wrong spot at the wrong time.
Have you ever seen how the "shock police" acts during a football game against hooligans? They will not care if you are a hooligan or not, they will just clear it all. The strategy is the same, no?
"It seems to me that the policeman who pushes late Ian is trying to take him out of the way, creating a sort of strategic zone for the police to act."
Based on my viewing of the video, the actions of the police were unwarented. You want the British citizen to move after you have blocked his route home so you beat him with a night stick?
Shock police or no, although possibly the audio might enhance our understanding of what was going on. This man was a common worker and he was hit and shoved by the police with his hands in his pockets. I think it will be a very hard case to prove that this man was not abused by the police, even if he was white! (even I think I sound like a racist but what is one to conclude after seeing this video, the videos at Lutton and the videos of the Mohammed cartoons?) Does any reasonable person still think the British police are on the side of native Brits?
We can parse this a million different ways but no one can make a supporting argument, based on the videos, that this man was confronting the police. No, he was a native Brit and therefore free game to the police. I guarantee you that if he were of ethnic origin this would not have taken place. I say that based on all the other videos I have seen lately of British Police in action.
From the short video which has aired on British TV, it seems possible to me that Mr. Tomlinson was already having a bit of a turn before the bobby shoved him to the ground. He seemed to be shuffling a bit, and didn't appear to be fully aware of his surroundings.
It's extremely difficult to say for sure, of course, but it could be the case that the poor fellow's cardiac event was already beginning beforehand.
Getting thrown to the pavement isn't going to help you in that situation, but it's possible that the bobby's actions had no causal relationship whatsoever with the poor lad having an MI.
Whatever the truth of the matter, it's a tragedy for the lad, and for his family, that goes without saying. I believe he was just walking home from his work.
You have to wonder if the bobby in question would have acted in the same way if the bloke in front of him was not white, had a long beard, and was carrying a placard saying that British troops were war criminals.
In the police we have a dreaful image of what the establishment wants to turn us into: Robots, violent, stupid, souless ghouls.
For a long time now, police in many western countries have been conditioned by their socialist governments and like minded appointees as heads of police forces into conceptualizing their highest purpose to be protecting minorities from supposed racism by the host population. Brainwashing courses under the rubrics of "diversity" and "discrimination" are bearing fruit and those resistant are weeded out by losing out on promotions etc.
Britain is especially far advanced in this new police culture turning them into government funded thugs enforcing multiculturalism on an unwilling population.
There seems to be no reasonable scenario in which this policeman in this situation can be justified in attacking a retreating citizen from behind even were said citizen muttering imprecations under his breath (no evidence of that) or resentfully slow to follow instructions.
Agree with Babs that had the civilian been a non-white, no police officer would have dared handle him in the same way.
Because of government conditioning, it seems unlikely that police will side with a rebellious citizenry if it ever comes to that and wouldn't that realization make a rebellion less likely?
ok zenster, your meaning was not 100% clear to me, i confess.
I think that what several people have said now is probably true: the fellow was white and therefore a risk-free target.
It's a shame the police didn't take a more robust approach when those Muslims in Luton were protesting as British soldiers came home after finishing their tour.
Britain is especially far advanced in this new police culture turning them into government funded thugs enforcing multiculturalism on an unwilling population.
As the writer John O'Sullivan put it: "The police have become little more than the paramilitary wing of The Guardian".
The problem is that it shows him wandering through a riot area. Is he really "going home from work?" I think not, it is clear he was participating in the rioting at least as a memeber of the crowd. It is also clear that it is not audible, that he is being given commands to move and he is deliberately sauntering away. He is deliberately ignoring commands to move and move faster.
And I don't believe that a banker from New York just happened to be there. It appears to be a deliberate provocation of the police. The deliberate interference with the attempts to control the crowd. Clearly a provocation as these rioters always use.
You don't believe a banker from new york was going home from work in the late afternoon in one of the largest banking cities in the world?
I realise that we have to be wary of "provocations" but there is a point where you can take the suspicious nature just a tad too far.
The man died.
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