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Death of Ian Tomlinson

Ian Tomlinson remonstrates with police after being pushed to the ground, minutes before he died.
Date	1 April 2009 (2009-04-01)
Time	c. 19:30 hours GMT
Location	Cornhill, City of London
First reporter	Paul Lewis, The Guardian
Filmed by	American investment fund manager
Deaths	Ian Tomlinson, aged 47
Suspects	Unnamed Metropolitan police officer
Charges	None
Awards	Bevins Prize for outstanding investigative journalism for Paul Lewis
Footage	American businessman's video obtained by The Guardian

Ian Tomlinson (7 February 1962–1 April 2009) was an English newspaper vendor who collapsed in the street and died in the City of London, London's financial district, on his way home from work during the 2009 G-20 London summit protests. A first postmortem indicated that he had suffered a heart attack because of coronary artery disease, and had died of natural causes.

His death became controversial a week later when The Guardian obtained video footage of Tomlinson's last moments, filmed by an American investment fund manager who was visiting London from New York. The footage shows Tomlinson being struck on the leg from behind by a police officer wielding a baton, then pushed to the ground by the same officer. It appears to show no provocation on Tomlinson's part—he was not a protester, and at the time he was struck, the footage shows him walking along with his hands in his pockets. He walked away after the incident, but collapsed and died moments later.

After The Guardian published the video, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) began a criminal inquiry from which the police were removed. A second postmortem, ordered by the IPCC and Tomlinson's family, indicated that Tomlinson had died from an abdominal haemorrhage, the cause of which remains unknown. The officer in question, who has not been named, was interviewed on suspicion of manslaughter, and a third postmortem was conducted at the request of his defence team, the results of which have not been released. The IPCC completed its investigation in August 2009 and passed its file to the Crown Prosecution Service. No charges have been announced.

Tomlinson's death and the inquiry that followed it sparked an intense debate about the relationship between the police and the public, the extent to which the IPCC is independent of the police, and the role of citizens in monitoring police and government activity—so-called sousveillance. There was criticism of the news coverage too, the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, calling it "an orgy of cop bashing." The incident was compared to previous deaths involving either police contact or allegedly inadequate investigations, such as the deaths of Blair Peach (1979), Stephen Lawrence (1993), and Jean Charles de Menezes (2005), each of which acted as a watershed in the public's perception of policing in the UK.

Background

Ian Tomlinson

Tomlinson was born to Jim and Ann Tomlinson, and was raised in Matlock, Derbyshire, moving to London when he was 17 to work as a scaffolder or roofer in the East End. At the time of his death, he was working casually as a vendor for the Evening Standard, London's evening newspaper. Known as "Tommo" to his friends, he had been married twice. The first marriage produced five children and the second four—five girls and four boys in all, aged between 15 and 32. He had been plagued for many years by alcoholism, as a result of which he had been living apart from his second wife, Julia, for 13 years, and had suffered long periods of homelessness. He had been living since October 2008 in the Lindsey Hotel, a shelter for the homeless on Lindsey Street, EC1, near Smithfield meat market. His friends told reporters he was a keen Millwall F.C. fan; he can be seen on the day of his death wearing a blue Millwall shirt underneath a grey "Neil Harris all-time leading goal scorer" T-shirt, along with black tracksuit trousers and black trainers.

The London police

The Metropolitan Police Service (known as the MPS, the Met, or Scotland Yard) is responsible for policing Greater London, with the exception of the financial district, known as the City of London, which has its own police force. The Met's commissioner at the time of the incident was Sir Paul Stephenson. Responsibility for supervising the force falls to the Metropolitan Police Authority, chaired by the Mayor of London. The Met is the largest police force in the UK and the City of London Police the smallest in England and Wales. Its commissioner at the time of the incident was Mike Bowron. The British Transport Police, also involved in policing the protests on 1 April, are responsible for policing the rail network and the London underground.

The officer seen pushing Tomlinson on The Guardian's video is a constable with the Met's Territorial Support Group (TSG or CO20), a unit of 720 officers who can be identified by the "U" on their shoulder numbers. Known as the "tough guys and girls" of the Met, according to The Daily Telegraph, they specialize in public-disorder policing, wearing "NATO"-style helmets, flame-retardant overalls, stab vests, and balaclavas, and carrying batons, pepper spray, and handcuffs. They are authorized to use tasers, and specially trained officers may carry handguns or Heckler & Koch MP5s. The operational commander of the TSG at the time of the incident was Chief Superintendent Mick Johnson. The TSG is the successor to the Special Patrol Group, famously reported to have been involved in the death in London of a protester, Blair Peach, during an April 1979 demonstration by the Anti-Nazi League against a British National Front meeting, a death that commentators have compared to Tomlinson's. Trapped inside a police cordon, Peach died after allegedly being hit by a Special Patrol Group officer, but no firm evidence ever emerged.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was created by the Police Reform Act 2002, and began to operate on 1 April 2004. It replaced the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) following public dissatisfaction with the latter's relationship with the police. Unlike the PCA, the IPCC operates independently of the Home Office, which regulates the police. IPCC investigators are not police officers, though they have been given the powers of the police. The IPCC refers to itself as the most powerful civilian oversight body in the world. Its current chair is Nick Hardwick.

Operation Glencoe and "kettling"

The G20 security operation was codenamed "Operation Glencoe", a name that attracted comment—The Guardian reported speculation among protesters that it was chosen because of the 1692 Glencoe massacre in the Scottish Highlands. It was a so-called "Benbow operation," which meant the Metropolitan Police Service, the City of London Police, and the British Transport Police worked under one Gold commander, in this case Bob Broadhurst of the Metropolitan police, an officer with 32 years of service.

On 1 April, the police were dealing with six protests in the area: a security operation at ExCeL London, the conference centre that hosted the G-20 summit; a Stop the War march from Mayfair to Trafalgar Square; a Free Tibet protest outside the Chinese Embassy and the Dorchester Hotel; a People and the Planet protest; a protest outside the Bank of England; and a Climate Camp protest. Protesters ranged from peaceful environmentalists to violent anarchists. Between 4,000 and 5,000 were at the Climate Camp, and the same number at the Bank of England around midday on 1 April, according to the police. Over 5,500 Metropolitan police officers were deployed on 1 April, and 2,800 on 2 April.

The Bank of England protesters were contained from 12.30 pm until 7.00 pm using a series of cordons, a process the police call "containment" and the media calls "kettling," which consists of corralling protesters into small spaces ("kettles"), then keeping them there until they want to disperse them; the "kettle" is used as a metaphor for keeping in the heat and steam. A November 2009 report by the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, submitted in response to complaints that the police used too much force during the protests, calls it "limiting access to or egress from an area in order to prevent widespread violence and facilitate a controlled dispersal." The procedure can make protesters and others more agitated as they realize they are trapped; this in turn can make the police more aggressive. According to a July 2009 report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, one of the commanders on the ground had issued a confusing instruction at 12:20 pm that police cordons around the protesters by the Bank of England should be "absolute cordons with discretion." Officers were unclear how to act and found the crowd difficult to handle.

At around 7 pm, the police began to disperse the protesters. Senior officers made a decision that "reasonable force would be used," according to the Inspectorate's report. Between 7:10 and 7:40 pm, the report says that the crowd surged toward the police, missiles were thrown, and the police responded by using their shields to push the crowd back. Scuffles broke out and arrests were made. It was into this situation that Tomlinson wandered as he tried to make his way home.

The incident

Tomlinson's first encounter with police

Press reports indicate that Tomlinson did not take part in the G20 protests, but was walking across London's financial district in an effort to reach the Lindsey Hotel in Smithfield after finishing work. The route he took was apparently his normal way home from a newspaper stand on Fish Street Hill outside Monument tube station, where he worked with a friend, Barry Smith.

Several newspapers published images of his first encounter with police that evening, though the reported times the images were taken differ by one hour, possibly because of discrepancies in the cameras' internal clocks. Barry Smith says Tomlinson left the newspaper stand at around 7 pm. This image published by the Daily Mail shows Tomlinson smoking a cigarette in front of a police van in Lombard Street. The time was 6:07 pm, according to the newspaper. The Mail writes that an eyewitness, IT worker Ross Hardy, said Tomlinson was drunk and refusing to move; a police van tried to nudge Tomlinson out of the way, and when that didn't work, he was moved by four riot officers. The Daily Mail published this image of him apparently being pushed by the police at 6:09 pm. On 16 April, The Guardian published three new images of Tomlinson, clearly taken at the same time as the Daily Mail images, though The Guardian says they were taken at 7:08 and 7:10 pm, an hour later than the time given by the Mail.

After this first encounter with the police, Tomlinson stayed on Lombard Street for another half an hour, then made his way to King William Street, toward two lines of police cordons, where police had "kettled" thousands of protesters in the area around the Bank of England. At 7:10 pm, Tomlinson doubled back on himself, walking up and down Change Alley where he encountered more cordons, and five minutes later was on Lombard Street again, crossed it, walked down Birchin Lane, and reached Cornhill at 7:10, according to The Times, or at 7:15 pm, according to The Telegraph. A few minutes later, he was at the northern end of the Royal Exchange Buildings, near the junction with Threadneedle Street, where yet another police cordon stopped him from proceeding. He turned to walk south instead along Royal Exchange Passage, a pedestrian precinct where, minutes before he arrived, police officers had clashed with up to 25 protesters. Riot police from the Met, accompanied by City of London police dog handlers, had arrived from the cordon in Threadneedle Street to help their colleagues.

Circa 7:15 pm: First alleged assault

Five figures on the left and centre of the image dressed in yellow jackets, black trousers and black hats or blue helmets. One figure has a large dog on a lead. One other is holding a transparent shield. There are red telephone boxes in the background. On the right of the image a man stands with his hands in his pockets, looking to his right, where the figures with yellow jackets are standing. He is wearing black trousers, and a grey and blue top. He has short grey hair.

An eyewitness, Anna Braithwaite, told The Times that as Tomlinson passed the statue of George Peabody on the corner of Threadneedle Street and Royal Exchange Avenue, a police officer "rushed forward" and grabbed him from behind with his left hand. She said: "He grabbed his back and charged him and threw him forward. Ian landed on his left side and bounced because of the force of the impact. He looked absolutely petrified. Clearly had no idea what was happening." She said the officer then struck Tomlinson with his baton twice, either on the torso or the upper legs: "Ian was scrambling to get up and was half up when the same police officer grabbed him again and threw him forward. He took a couple of steps forward, stumbling, and started trying to run away. He was in total shock." The Times writes that Tomlinson continued walking along Royal Exchange Buildings, and that he was filmed "stumbling and swaying" with his hands in his trouser pockets. Police officers are reported to have followed him as he walked 50 yards (45.72 m) along the street. He tried to head towards Threadneedle Street, but again ran into police cordons. He doubled back on himself yet again towards Cornhill.

7:20 pm: Second alleged assault

At 2 a.m. on 7 April, a week after the incident, The Guardian was passed footage shot by an investment fund manager from New York who was in London on business. The video shows a group of officers approach Tomlinson again—the same group of officers, according to The Times—outside a Montblanc store at the southern end of Royal Exchange Passage, near the junction with Cornhill. The group included officers from the TSG in riot gear and City of London police dog handlers. Tomlinson is walking slowly with his hands in his pockets, while several of the officers with dogs walk closely behind him. An eyewitness, Alan Edwards, said Tomlinson was tellling them, "I want to go home. I live down there. I'm trying to get home."

The footage shows one officer appear to lunge at Tomlinson from behind, then strike him across the legs with a baton the officer was holding in his left hand. The same officer then appears to push Tomlinson's back, causing him to fall. On 8 April, Channel 4 News released their own footage of the same scene from a different angle. Their video shows the officer's arm swing back fully to head height before bringing it downwards to hit Tomlinson on the legs with the baton.

7:25 pm: Tomlinson's collapse

The Guardian video shows Tomlinson briefly remonstrating with police as he sat on the ground. None of the officers seen on the video tried to help him. After being helped to his feet by a protester, Alan Edwards, Tomlinson walked 200 feet (61 m) along Cornhill, where he collapsed at around 7:25 pm outside the Co-operative Bank opposite St Michael's Alley. Witnesses say he had been stumbling, appeared dazed, his eyes were rolling, and his skin was grey. They also said he smelled of alcohol.

An ITV News photographer tried to give medical aid, but was forced away by police, as was Lucy Apps, a third-year medical student. Daniel McPhee, a social support worker, told The Daily Telegraph that he was one of the first on the scene, and that he dialled 999, the UK's emergency services number. At that point, Tomlinson was reportedly still breathing. The ambulance operator told McPhee to put Tomlinson on his back, McPhee says. Then a group of riot police surrounded Tomlinson. The operator asked to speak to the police, but McPhee says the police ignored the request. Police medics then attended to Tomlinson, who was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

The officer in the video

The officer seen striking Tomlinson and three colleagues from the Met made themselves known to a manager, then to the IPCC, on 8 April, the day after The Guardian published the video evidence. When the second postmortem indicated Tomlinson had died of internal bleeding, the officer was interviewed on suspicion of manslaughter, according to the IPCC on 17 April. Several newspapers reported that he had collapsed when he learned what had happened.

The officer in question is a police constable with the Territorial Support Group (TSG) at Larkhall Lane police station in Lambeth, South London. The Guardian alleges that he may have removed his shoulder number and covered the bottom of his face with his balaclava before hitting Tomlinson. The Daily Mail writes that this image shows the officer's shoulder ID was missing. According to The Mail on Sunday, TSG officers have been known to swap shoulder IDs, then claim, if accused of wrongdoing, that their unit was elsewhere at the time and that it must be a case of mistaken identity.

Simon Israel of Channel 4 News reported on 22 April that there were several distinguishing marks that identified the officer on footage taken in several locations on the day: the letters U41 on his helmet; apparently left-handed; wearing a balaclava but no gloves; not carrying a shield; and wearing his yellow jacket tucked in. The IPCC sought but failed to obtain an injunction to prevent Channel 4 from airing Israel's report—one of their concerns was that the report might prejudice the criminal inquiry, because some of the officers who may have been eyewitnesses had not been questioned by the time Channel 4 aired it.

The Guardian reported that the officer had faced a misconduct hearing early in his career with the Met, but had retired before being disciplined, then had re-applied to join the force. He had became involved in a road-rage incident while on sick leave with a shoulder injury, and reportedly tried to arrest the other driver, who complained that the officer had used unnecessary force. Before the misconduct case was heard, the officer retired from the Met on medical grounds and was awarded a pension. Several years later, he rejoined the Met as a civilian computer worker, then applied to join the police in Surrey, just outside London, as an officer. The unresolved disciplinary issue should have shown up during vetting, but appears not to have, either when he joined the Surrey force, or when he applied for a transfer back into the Met.

Postmortem examinations

Three postmortem examinations were conducted, the first at the request of the police on 3 April by Dr Freddy Patel, a member of the Home Office register of accredited forensic pathologists. He concluded that Tomlinson had died of a heart attack. He said there were no bruises or scratches on Tomlinson's head and shoulders, but did not say whether there were injuries elsewhere on his body. He also found blood in his abdomen. John Scurr, a vascular surgeon at London's Lister Hospital told ITN that, in the absence of a suspicion of assault, Patel might have concluded that the bleeding was from accidental injury inflicted during attempts to resuscitate Tomlinson, which is not unusual during cardiac massage.

The Guardian writes that Patel's work had come under scrutiny twice before. He was reprimanded by the General Medical Council in 1999 after releasing to reporters medical details about Roger Sylvester, a black man who had died in police custody; Patel told reporters that Sylvester was a crack cocaine user, something his family denied. In 2002, the police dropped a criminal inquiry because Patel said the victim, Sally White, had died of a heart attack, with no signs of violence, though she was reportedly found naked with bruising to her body, an injury to her head, and a bite mark on her thigh. Anthony Hardy, a mentally ill alcoholic who lived in the flat in which her body was found locked in a bedroom, later murdered two women and placed their body parts in bin bags. In response to the criticism, Patel said the GMC reprimand was a long time ago, and that his findings in the Sally White case had not been contested. The Sunday Telegraph reported in July 2009 that Patel had been suspended from the government's register of pathologists, pending an inquiry.

The IPCC removed the Tomlinson inquiry from the City of London police on 8 April, after publication of The Guardian video. An inquest opened on 9 April with Paul Matthews as the coroner, and a second postmortem, ordered jointly by the IPCC and Tomlinson's family, was carried out that day by Dr. Nathaniel Cary. Cary's provisional findings were that Tomlinson had died because of abdominal haemorrhage, the cause of which remains unknown. Although there was evidence of coronary atherosclerosis, it was insufficient to have contributed to Tomlinson's death, in Cary's view. Because of the conflicting conclusions of the first two postmortems, a third was conducted on 22 April at the request of the accused officer's defence team. The results were not released.

How the story emerged

How the story emerged
1–22 April 20091 April: Tomlinson dies around 19:30. 1 April: At 23:36, the Met says protesters attacked them while police fought to save him. 2 April: Newspapers lead with that angle. City of London placed in charge of case. 3 April: Three constables say they saw Tomlinson pushed by officer; Met tells City of London police. 3 April: 1st autopsy: heart attack. 3 April: Guardian tells City of London police it has pics of Tomlinson at feet of riot police. 4 April: City of London police say Tomlinson died of natural causes. 5 April: Guardian publishes photos and testimony that Tomlinson was hit by police. 5 April: IPCC says Guardian has upset the family. Tells journalists there is "nothing in the story". 6 April: IPCC confirms Tomlinson had contact with police; appeals for witnesses. 7 April: Guardian publishes video showing Tomlinson hit by officer. 8 April: IPCC removes police from inquiry. 9 April: IPCC suspends officer. 2nd autopsy: abdominal haemorrhage. IPCC says no CCTV cameras near assault. 14 April: Evening Standard finds CCTV cameras near the assault. 17 April: Officer questioned on suspicion of manslaughter. 22 April: 3rd autopsy: abdominal haemorrhage.
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1 April: First police statement

The Met initially assumed responsibility for the investigation into Tomlinson's death, and issued its first statement on 1 April at 23:36 pm, four hours after he had died. The statement was approved by the regional director for London of the IPCC. It said that police had been alerted that a man had collapsed, and were attacked by "a number of missiles" as they tried to save his life, an allegation that later media reports said was inaccurate: Template:Quote box4 According to journalist Nick Davies in The Guardian, this statement was the result of an "intense argument" in the Met's press office. An earlier draft had been rejected, and the final draft was approved by a regional director at the IPCC. Davies writes that both the Met and the IPCC say the statement represented the truth as they understood it at the time, and that there had been no allegation at that point that Tomlinson had come into contact with police. Davies asks why the IPCC would have been involved had they not realized there had been police contact. Davies cites the IPCC's guidelines, which say incidents should be referred to them where, "persons have died or been seriously injured following some form of direct or indirect contact with the police and there is reason to believe that the contact may have caused or contributed to the death or serious injury".

Davies alleges that, contrary to the official stance of the Met and IPCC, senior sources within the Met have said privately that the assault on Tomlinson was spotted as soon it happened by the police control room at Cobalt Street in south London, and that a chief inspector on the ground had also reported it. In response to Davies's story, the Met issued a statement saying they had checked with every chief inspector who had been part of Operation Glencoe, and that none of them had called in such a report. On 2 April, the Met handed responsibility for the investigation to the City of London police.

2–3 April: Early police, news, and eyewitness accounts

From 2 April over the next few days, the IPCC told reporters that Tomlinson's family were not surprised he had had a heart attack. When journalists asked whether he had been in contact with police officers before his death, they were told the speculation would upset the family. After being told on 3 April that The Guardian had obtained a photograph of Tomlinson lying at the feet of riot police—not published until 5 April—the City of London Police issued a statement on 4 April: "A post-mortem examination ... found he died of natural causes. suffered a sudden heart attack while on his way home from work."

In accordance with police briefings, the Evening Standard, London's evening newspaper, reported on 2 April that, "police were bombarded with bricks, bottles and planks of wood" as they tried to save Tomlinson, forced by a barrage of missiles to carry him to a safe location to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Eyewitnesses said the story was inaccurate. They said it was protesters, not police, who provided the initial first aid and telephoned for medical help. Witnesses said that one or two plastic bottles were thrown by people who were unaware of Tomlinson's situation, but other protesters told them to stop. The Times wrote that an analysis of television footage and photographs showed just one bottle, probably plastic, being thrown. Video taken by eyewitness Nabeela Zahir, published by The Guardian on April 9, shows one protester shouting, "There is someone hurt here. Back the fuck up." Another voice in the crowd says, "There's someone hurt. Don't throw anything."

7–21 April: four videos released

Guardian/American businessman video, 7 April

The first Guardian video showing the second alleged assault on Tomlinson was shot on a digital camera by an investment fund manager from New York, visiting London on business, who said he attended the protests out of curiosity and asked not to be named. He didn't understand the significance of his footage at first. It was only after several days, on his way to Heathrow airport, that he realized the man he had filmed being assaulted was the same man reported as having died of a heart attack. At that point, at 2 am on 7 April, he passed his footage to The Guardian, which published it that afternoon, after which the newspaper passed a copy to the IPCC.

Channel 4/Ken McCallum video, 8 April

A second video was published shortly after the Guardian's, this one taken by Ken McCallum, a cameraman for Channel 4 News. Shot from a different angle, the footage shows the officer who hit Tomlinson draw his left arm back fully to head height before bringing the baton down on Tomlinson's legs. Alex Thomson, chief correspondent of Channel 4 News, who was present at the time, writes that McCallum was filming another incident, where three bankers appeared to be provoking the crowd. In the background, unseen by the journalists but recorded by the camera, Tomlinson was being assaulted. Half an hour later, Thomson was doing a live broadcast, when something happened that caused the camera to be broken; he wouldn't say what, as the incident was being investigated by police and lawyers. It took engineers several days to recover the tape, which is when they saw that Tomlinson's assault was on it. Channel 4 broadcast it on 8 April.

Nabeela Zahir video, 9 April

On 9 April, The Guardian published footage shot by Nabeela Zahir, a freelance journalist. The video shows the immediate aftermath of the incident, with Tomlinson on the ground, almost hidden by members of the public and the police. The police can be seen moving away at least one woman who tried to help him, and a man, Daniel McPhee, who was on the phone to the ambulance services. According to The Guardian, the footage shows that the Met's initial claim that there had been a barrage of missiles from protesters while police tried to save Tomlinson was inaccurate. Protesters can be heard calling for calm; one shouts "Don't throw anything." The newspaper writes that, 56 seconds into the video, three officers can be seen with their face masks pulled halfway up their faces.

Guardian Cornhill video, 21 April

The Guardian secured a four-minute video from an anonymous bystander who was filming on Cornhill between 7:10 and 7:30 pm, catching from a different angle the moments before Tomlinson was struck, as well as the moment his head hit the ground. The footage shows Tomlinson standing behind a bicycle rack in the middle of Royal Exchange Passage with his hands in his pockets, appearing to offer no resistance to a group of advancing police officers. When a police dog approaches him, he turns his back. At that point, he is hit on the legs and pushed by a TSG constable. He is seen scraping along the ground on the right side of his forehead. Eyewitnesses talked of hearing a noise as his head hit the ground. The IPCC sought an injunction against the broadcast of the video by Channel 4 News, but a judge rejected the application. On 24 April, Sky News obtained this image of Tomlinson after he collapsed and was being attended to by police medics, which appears to show bruising on the right side of his forehead consistent with the fall seen in the Guardian Cornhill video. A head injury was recorded by the pathologists, but was not thought to have been the cause of death, according to Sky News, though a report on 10 April cited the IPCC as saying that no bruising or scratches to the head and shoulders had been found by the first pathologist.

14 April: CCTV cameras

Nick Hardwick, chair of the IPCC, said on 9 April there were no CCTV images of the assault on Tomlinson because there were no CCTV cameras in the area. On 14 April, the Evening Standard wrote that it had discovered at least six CCTV cameras in the area around the assault. After photographs of the cameras were published, the IPCC reversed its position and said its investigators were looking at footage recovered from cameras in Threadneedle Street near the corner of Royal Exchange Passage, where Tomlinson was assaulted.

Reaction and analysis

The death provoked a discussion within the UK and elsewhere about the nature of Britain's policing. David Gilbertson, a former assistant inspector who worked for the Home Office formulating policing policy, told The New York Times that the British police used to act with the sanction of the public, but tactics changed after a series of violent assaults in the 1990s. Now dressing in military-style uniforms, and equipped with anti-stab vests, extendable metal batons and clubs that turn into handcuffs, an entire generation of officers have come to regard the public as the enemy, the Times said. Tomlinson's death prompted an examination of the police-public relationship; the relationship between the police and the media; and the relationship between the police and the IPCC.

The Guardian, the police, the family, and the IPCC

The Guardian alleged that the IPCC and police appeared to mislead or obstruct initial inquiries by journalists. The announcement of Tomlinson's death was delayed by three hours in a statement that accused protesters of hampering police efforts to save Tomlinson's life, a claim that appears to have no factual basis and for which the police declined to name their source. Tomlinson's family were not told he had died until nine hours after his death. The police and IPCC then attempted to guide news coverage by telling journalists that his family had been concerned about his health and were not surprised to hear he had had a heart attack. Journalists who asked whether police had had any contact with Tomlinson before his death were asked not to speculate in case it upset the family, and direct contact with the family was refused, the police issuing a statement on behalf of the family instead, which said, "The police are keeping us informed of any developments."

The police did not tell the family that, on 3 April, The Guardian had obtained photographs of Tomlinson sitting on the ground surrounded by riot police. The next day, the results of the postmortem were released, concluding that Tomlinson had died of natural causes. Reporters who approached the coroner directly were met with a refusal to comment. Police refused to say whether the postmortem had revealed any marks on Tomlinson's head or body from a baton blow. The Guardian published its image of Tomlinson sitting on the ground on Sunday, 5 April. That morning, Tomlinson's family attended the scene of his death, where they met Paul Lewis, a Guardian reporter. They wanted to know more and gave him their contact details. In August 2009, Tomlinson's wife said this meeting with Lewis was the first the family had heard about any police contact with Tomlinson before his death. The family's police liaison officer later approached the newspaper to say he was "extremely unhappy" that Lewis had spoken to the family, and that the newspaper had to stay away from them for 48 hours. The IPCC separately accused the newspaper of "doorstepping the family at a time of grief," according to The Guardian. On the same day, the IPCC briefed journalists from other newspapers that there was nothing in the story that Tomlinson might have been assaulted by police before his death." During this period, according to Tomlinson's family, they were prevented from seeing Tomlinson's body; they say they were first allowed to see him six days after his death.

On 7 April, The Guardian published on its website the American investment banker's video, and later that evening handed evidence to an IPCC investigator and a City of London police officer who arrived at the newspaper's offices. In a statement issued on 8 April, the IPCC said it had had no knowledge of the video until they heard it had been published on the Guardian website, at which point they requested and were given the footage. The officers requested the removal of the video from the website, arguing that it was jeopardizing their inquiry and was not helpful to the family. Nick Hardwick, chair of the IPCC, said the IPCC had asked the The Guardian to remove the video only because it would have been better had witnesses not seen it before being questioned. There was no attempt to hinder The Guardian's inquiries, he said.

Criticism of news coverage

The extensive and detailed nature of the news coverage attracted criticism. Brendan O'Neill wrote in The First Post that it "crossed the line from journalism to snuff movie," featuring a "semi-pornograpic hunt" for images of Tomlinson's last moments, designed to whip up outrage "against the dark forces who rule over us." O'Neill was particularly critical of The Guardian for having burned its logo into the original footage of the assault, increasing its brand-name recognition whenever the video was watched. Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, called the coverage an "orgy of cop bashing." John Gaunt, the interviewer, told Johnson that a friend of his was an officer in the Met and that morale in the force was apparently at an all-time low."

Criticism of the IPCC

The IPCC was criticized for having taken seven days from Tomlinson's death, and five days after hearing evidence that police may have been involved, formally to remove the City of London police from the investigation. Hardwick said that the IPCC had first obtained eyewitness allegations of Metropolitan police involvement in the death on 3 April. City of London police continued to be formally involved in the investigation until 8 April, the day after The Guardian published the New York investment manager's video. Hardwick defended the IPCC's actions, arguing that, because Tomlinson's death became the focus of a criminal inquiry, the IPCC had to be meticulous in the way it proceeded, which precluded them from acting as fast as journalists were able to.

The organization has been criticized before for not being responsive to public concerns. On 11 January 2008, the Police Action Law Group (PALG), over 100 lawyers who specialize in police complaints, resigned from the IPCC's advisory body, citing a failure to provide adequate oversight; a pattern of favouritism towards the police, with complaints being turned down despite strong evidence; indifference and rudeness towards complainants; delays stretching over several years in some cases; and key decisions being made by managers with little or no legal training or relevant experience. They wrote to Hardwick that there was "increasing dismay and disillusionment" at the "consistently poor quality of decision-making at all levels of the IPCC." Hardwick responded to the criticism in a letter to The Guardian that some of the examples cited were the legacy left by the previous oversight body, the Police Complaints Authority, acknowledging that the IPCC did struggle shortly after it was set up in 2004 to cope with the number of cases it had inherited. He denied there was any pattern of favouritism toward the police and said the IPCC robustly defends its independence and impartiality.

Metropolitan police response

The Metropolitan Police commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, announced on 15 April 2009 that he had ordered a review of public order policing in London, to be led by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary Denis O'Connor. O'Connor's 150-page report was submitted in two parts, the first in July 2009, the second in November. It was hailed by The Guardian as a blueprint for wholesale reform of British policing, and a return to a consent-based approach. O'Connor wrote that there had been a hardening of police attitudes in recent years, with officers now believing that proportionality meant reciprocity. He criticized that the deployment of officers in riot gear had become a routine response to lawful protest, largely the result of an ignorance of the law and a lack of leadership from the Home Office and police chiefs; that officers are being trained to use their riot shields as weapons; and that forces across the country differ in their training, the equipment they have access to, and their understanding of the law. The failure to understand the relevant legislation was in part due to its complexity, the report said, with 90 amendments to the Public Order Act passed since 1986.

The report recommended that the Home Secretary issue guidance to the 44 police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to make sure they know how to facilitate peaceful protest; the creation of a set of national principles emphasizing the minimum use of force at all times; and an overhaul of the Association of Chief Police Officers to make it more accountable. O'Connor also recommended that the privacy and human rights concerns about Forward Intelligence Teams—surveillance units that film activists and retain their data—be taken seriously. Regarding the display of officers' ID, one of the issues highlighted by the media during the G-20 protests, O'Connor wrote that visible ID numbers are not required by law in England and Wales but are a matter for individual chief constables. The Met dress code does require these to be worn, correct, and visible at all times. The Operation Glencoe Gold Commander had stressed this during briefings, and the report says the overwhelming majority of officers did adhere to the dress code during the protests. The report recommends giving consideration to making the display of police ID a legal requirement.

Other complaints and alleged assaults during the protests

Over 185 complaints were received by the IPCC about the policing of the protests, 90 of them about the use of force, 52 of them about police tactics. The only officer charged was Sergeant Delroy "Tony" Smellie of the Territorial Support Group, also based in Larkhall Lane police station, Lambeth, where the suspect in Tomlinson's death is based. On 14 April, newspapers published video taken during a vigil for Tomlinson on 2 April outside the Bank of England. Smellie is seen slapping a protester, Nicola Fisher from Brighton, across the face when she argued with him, then striking her legs with his baton; Fisher went on to sell her story to newspapers for £50,000 using Max Clifford, a well-known publicist. According to The Guardian, Smellie's badge number was concealed. The footage was shot by Tristan Woodwards, an administrator from Basingstoke, who uploaded it to YouTube on 8 April. Smellie was charged with assault and pleaded not guilty when he appeared in court in November 2009. His trial is scheduled to begin on 22 March 2010.

References

1. Top award for Guardian journalist, The Guardian, 19 November 2009.
2. Ian Tomlinson death: Police officer comes forward to IPCC, The Guardian, 8 April 2009. Note: The source for his date of birth is a placard at a vigil attended by members of his family, photographs of which can be seen here.
3. Lewis, Paul. Ian Tomlinson death: Guardian video reveals police attack on man who died at G20 protest, The Guardian, 7 April, 2009.
4. Lewis, Paul. Ian Tomlinson's family accuse police of cover-up over his death, The Guardian, 6 August 2009; Prosecutors handed G20 death file, BBC News, 4 August 2009.
5. Riddoch, Lesley. Sousveillance means we watch the watchers The Scotsman, 13 April, 2009; Lewis, Paul. How Ian Tomlinson's death at the G20 protests changed policing, The Guardian, 25 November 2009; for the Boris Johnson quote, see Bleaken, Nathan. Boris Johnson condemns media response to G20 policing, The Guardian, 23 April 2009.
6. Booth, Robert. Friends of G20 protests victim shocked by loss of 'lovable man', The Guardian, 8 April 2009; G20 man: Homeless alcoholic 'who wouldn't harm a fly', Daily Mail, 9 April 2009; Swaine, Jon. G20 death: Police gave Ian Tomlinson a 'good beating', says his father, The Daily Telegraph, 10 April 2009. For Tomlinson's clothes, see Millwall fan dies during G20 riots, South London Press, 6 April 2009.
7. Laville, Sandra. Specialist protest squads at centre of investigations into G20 police violence, The Guardian, 16 April 2010.
8. Swaine, Jon. G20 death: what is the Metropolitan Police's Territorial Support Group?, 9 April 2009; Waldren, Michael J. The Police Use of Firearms since 1945. Sutton, 2007, p. 224.
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12. The Guardian 28Mar2009
13. Operation Glencoe policing and security for the G20 London Summit, Metropolitan Police Service, 2 April 2009, accessed 11 February 2010.
14. O'Connor, Denis. Adapting to protest, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary, cover page, chapter 2 for the number of police; p. 23 for the number of protesters and the four different security operations. For "peaceful environmentalists to violent anarchists," see Lyall, Sarah. Critics Assail British Police for Harsh Tactics During the G-20 Summit Meeting, The New York Times, 30 May 2009.
15. Lewis, Paul and Laville, Sandra. G20 police authorised to use reasonable force minutes before Tomlinson died, The Guardian, 7 July 2009.
16. O'Connor, Denis. Adapting to protest, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary, p. 23 for kettling description and Annex D, p. 79 for the times the police began to disperse the crowd; Lyall, Sarah. Critics Assail British Police for Harsh Tactics During the G-20 Summit Meeting, The New York Times, 30 May 2009; Lewis, Paul and Laville, Sandra. G20 police authorised to use reasonable force minutes before Tomlinson died, The Guardian, 7 July 2009.
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20. Brown, David. Ian Tomlinson: 'See you tomorrow, Barry, if I’m still living and breathing', The Times, 9 April, 2009; Gammell, Caroline. G20: The last moments of Ian Tomlinson, The Daily Telegraph, 18 April 2009.
21. Lewis, Paul. The helper: Ian Tomlinson was obeying police orders, says G20 protester, The Guardian, 9 April, 2009; Lewis, Paul and Fernando, Shehani. Video of police assault on Ian Tomlinson, who died at G20 protest, The Guardian, 7 April 2009.
22. ^ Lewis, Paul and Fernando, Shehani. Video of police assault on Ian Tomlinson, who died at G20 protest, The Guardian, 7 April 2009.
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25. Gammell, Caroline. G20: The last moments of Ian Tomlinson, The Daily Telegraph, 18 April 2009.
26. Brown, David. Ian Tomlinson: 'See you tomorrow, Barry, if I’m still living and breathing', The Times, 9 April, 2009: "Video footage shows the same group of officers that had previously confronted Mr Tomlinson approach him again outside a Montblanc shop at the south end of Royal Exchange Buildings."
27. Lewis, Paul. The helper: Ian Tomlinson was obeying police orders, says G20 protester, The Guardian, 9 April, 2009.
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31. Rayner, Gordon and Swaine, Jon. G20 death: Ian Tomlinson's final moments, The Daily Telegraph, 9 April, 2009.
32. Lewis, Paul and Laville, Sandra. G20: Police question witness to alleged assault on man who died during protests, The Guardian, 6 April, 2009.
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35. ^ Delgado, Martin and Powell, Laura. Officer in G20 protest death of Ian Tomlinson signs off sick. The Mail on Sunday, 12 April 2009.
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39. Fresco, Adam and O'Neill, Sean. Officer suspended in investigation into G20 death of Ian Tomlinson, The Times, 10 April 2009; Davies, Nick. Can the police and the media trust each other?, The Guardian, 27 April 2009; ITN interview with John Scurr, undated, accessed 11 February 2010.
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57. Guardian Cornhill video, from 01:09 mins.
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75. Lewis, Paul. Riot officer denies hitting G20 activist, The Guardian, 16 November 2010.

Video

Regarding Tomlinson

• The Guardian/American investment banker footage, the first video showing the alleged assault, released 7 April, accessed 11 February 2010; the same footage on YouTube, uploaded by The Guardian, accessed 11 February 2010.
• Channel 4/Ken McCallum footage, the same incident from a different angle, released 8 April, accessed 11 February 2010.
• Nabeela Zahir video, the scene after Tomlinson collapsed, released 9 April, accessed 11 February 2010.
• Guardian Cornhill video, showing Tomlinson's head hitting the ground, released 21 April, accessed 11 February 2010.
• Videotaped eyewitness accounts, Indymedia London, accessed 11 February 2010.

Video taken in or near Royal Exchange Passage just before the Tomlinson incident

• Anonymous city worker. 1 April, 7:15pm, Royal Exchange Passage, about five minutes before the Tomlinson incident, The Guardian, 15 April 2009.
• Anonymous city bystander. 1 April 7:10–7:15 pm, Royal Exchange Passage, YouTube, accessed February 16, 2010.
• Katz-Wise, Nadia. 1 April, 7:16pm, Threadneedle Street, near Royal Exchange Passage, The Guardian, 15 April 2009.

Other video shot in the area during the protests

• G20 protest videos: Growing catalogue of evidence against police, part 1, part 2, The Guardian, 15 April 2009, accessed 16 February 2010.
• Woodwards, Triston. Alleged assault on Nicola Fisher, 2 April, released 8 April. Also on YouTube here, incident begins at circa 3 minutes, 49 seconds, accessed 11 February 2010.

Further reading

• Ian Tomlinson's family campaign, accessed 11 February 2010.
• O'Connor, Denis. Adapting to protest, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary, accessed 12 February 2010.

• 2009 deaths
• 2009 in London
• Alleged police brutality
• G20
• Police misconduct
• Protests in the United Kingdom
• People from Matlock
• Deaths by person