• IPCC reverses decision to hand case to City of London force
• Second postmortem to form part of independent investigation
[guardian.co.uk] Britain’s police watchdog today reversed its decision to allow police to investigate the death of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 protests in London last week after watching Guardian video footage of a baton-wielding officer attacking him. [videos on guardian.co.uk]
The
Independent Police Complaints Commission will appoint its own
investigators to conduct a full criminal inquiry into whether Tomlinson
was assaulted by police and whether that attack contributed to his
death.
The IPCC
has ordered a second postmortem examination, which aims to provide
medical evidence as to what caused the death of the newspaper seller.
The first attributed his death to natural causes.
Tonight, Tomlinson’s family released a statement through their lawyer which said that they wanted "to thank the media for bringing crucial evidence about Ian’s death to light".
The
family said they were "grateful to all the witnesses who have come
forward and asked for anyone else who has information to contact
Tuckers Solicitors and the IPCC".
The family’s solicitor, Jules
Carey, said her clients now requested "that their privacy be respected
while they come to terms with the tragic loss of Ian".
Earlier,
the IPCC deputy chair, Deborah Glass, said the investigation was
focused on identifying the officers in the footage. "Several have
already come forward and all efforts are being made to trace those who
haven’t," she said in a statement.
Earlier
this week the IPCC appointed the City of London force to investigate
the incident, despite its officers having been involved in policing the
protest.
Video obtained by the Guardian
of the minutes before Tomlinson’s death clearly shows City of London
officers standing near the officer who attacked the newspaper seller.
That officer is believed to be from the Metropolitan force.
The
video footage shows Tomlinson walking past police with his hands in his
pockets, then being knocked to the ground by a police officer in riot
gear as officers from the City of London force look on, minutes before
he suffered a fatal heart attack.
Furthermore, new footage
obtained by Channel 4 News also appears to show from a different angle
a police officer hitting out at Tomlinson with a truncheon.
In a statement last Friday, the head of the City of London force
declared the policing operation a success, further calling into doubt
the force’s suitability to conduct the investigation.
Mike
Bowron, the City of London police commissioner, said: "The success of
the operation is shown in the excellent feedback we have received from
across the Square Mile."
There had been intense pressure on the
IPCC to use its powers to conduct an independent investigation. Brian
Paddick, a former deputy assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan
police, demanded that police be removed from the case and said any
officer who struck the innocent passerby could face a manslaughter
charge.
He said the officers from the City of London force would be key witnesses in the investigation.
Paddick
told the Guardian: "How can the City of London do the investigation
independently? I’m sorry but there are three City of London officers in
that video, how can they do the investigation? It certainly needs to be
a full-blown criminal investigation … [into] whether there is a
provable link between the death and assault, because an assault is a
criminal offence. Police are allowed to use force, provided it is
justified."
Paddick refused to comment on whether the police
actions in the video were justified, but said the officer seen striking
Tomlinson could potentially face a charge of manslaughter, for which
the maximum penalty is life imprisonment. "If it is held that there is
a link between the violence he [the officer] was inflicting and the
heart attack [suffered by Tomlinson], that then is an assault,
resulting in death, albeit unintended. If a court held it is an
assault, it is an unlawful action resulting in manslaughter," he said.
Reaction
to the publication of the video came from the police and from across
the political spectrum. The Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Paul
Stephenson, said today the video images "raise obvious concerns" and should be investigated fully.
Stephenson
said the Met would co-operate with the investigation. "It is absolutely
right and proper that there is a full investigation into this matter,
which the Met will fully support," he said.
The home secretary,
Jacqui Smith, defended the IPPC’s role in the inquiry, saying there
would be a criminal case if necessary: "What’s extremely important from
the events last week, from the sad death of Ian Tomlinson, is that
there is an inquiry through the IPCC," she said. "If it identifies the
need for a criminal investigation then that also needs to be pursued."
Boris
Johnson, the London mayor, is pressing for a "speedy and thorough"
inquiry by the police complaints body, his chief spokesman said. He
said the mayor had watched the footage today and had been seriously
concerned by what he saw.
Many opposition and backbench Labour MPs had called for a fully independent inquiry into the attack.
• The Guardian’s Ian Tomlinson video is on YouTube if you wish to embed it on your website or blog.
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
