POLICE LET OFF THE MURDER OF IAN TOMLINSON
19 July 2012 Last updated at 15:16
Ian Tomlinson death: PC not guilty
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, on the grounds that he used reasonable force.
Mr Tomlinson, was pushed as he walked away from a police line in the City of London. He later collapsed and died.
His family said they would be pursuing the case in a civil court.
Members of Mr Tomlinson’s family cried in the public gallery as the verdict was delivered at Southwark Crown Court, as did PC Harwood, in the dock, and his wife, Helen.
Ian Tomlinson timeline
- 1 April 2009: Ian Tomlinson is caught up in a G20 protest. He collapses in the street and dies
- 4 April: Police say post-mortem examination show he died of “natural causes”
- 7 April: Video footage emerges of Mr Tomlinson being pushed to the ground by police officer
- April 2009: Further post-mortem tests find cause of death was abdominal bleeding, caused by blow
- 22 July: Prosecutors say there will be no charges as there is no agreement on death cause
- 3 May 2011: Inquest verdict of unlawful killing
- 20 June 2011: PC Simon Harwood charged with manslaughter after review of inquest evidence
- 18 June 2012: PC Harwood goes on trial at Southwark Crown Court
- 19 July 2012: PC Harwood found not guilty
The jury of five men and seven women had considered their verdict for four days.
During the trial, the police officer accepted he was “wrong” to have hit and pushed Mr Tomlinson.
He said that, had he realised at the time that Mr Tomlinson was walking away from police lines, he “would not have gone near him”.
Father-of-nine Mr Tomlinson, who was a heavy drinker who had slept rough for a number of years, walked 75 yards before he collapsed.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission has said PC Harwood will face internal Met Police disciplinary proceedings later in the year over his actions.
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