On Wednesday 1 April, during the G20 protests in London, Ian Tomlinson, a City of London resident, was walking home from work at a newsagents shop when he passed a line of policemen dressed in riot gear. Tomlinson had nothing whatever to do with the demonstrations, had his back to the police and his hands in his pockets.
Less than five minutes later he was dead.
Subsequently the police issued a statement that, "[He] suffered a sudden heart attack while on his way home from work."
That is true. He died of a heart attack. What the police did not state was ...
Less than five minutes later he was dead.
Subsequently the police issued a statement that, "[He] suffered a sudden heart attack while on his way home from work."
That is true. He died of a heart attack. What the police did not state was ...
The man who shot that footage, a fund manager from New York who was in London on business, said he had attended the protests out of curiosity.
He said: "The primary reason for me coming forward is that it was clear the family were not getting any answers."
Had the police noticed that this man was filming, they could have arrested him under section 76 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008, confiscated his equipment and this footage would never have been seen.
Fortunately they seem not to have realised.
But they may be more alert next time.
UPDATE
More photographic evidence has come to light, on tape recovered from a damaged news camera, showing the force with which Ian Tomlinson was struck. No indication of why the camera was damaged is given.
UPDATE
More and more footage is coming to light on this incident. Here’s some taken at the spot where he collapsed.
In this sequence the police seem to be surrounding him. Use the timer (at the bottom). At 19 seconds it appears that a single plastic water bottle is thrown (but this is difficult to see) and other protestors call out to stop as there’s someone hurt. This contradicts the police statement that “... a number of missiles - believed to be bottles - were being thrown at them”.
Then between 23 and 30 seconds someone is jumping up and down, waving his hands and shouting 'Back up. Back the fuck up. There's someone hurt."
Finally pause at 56 seconds and count the number of police with their faces masked. Why do they need to wear masks?
From reading the reports it appears that the police released misinformation and untruths about what happened from the start.
Without film-makers and photographers being present the truth about this incident may well not have come to light.
He said: "The primary reason for me coming forward is that it was clear the family were not getting any answers."
Had the police noticed that this man was filming, they could have arrested him under section 76 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008, confiscated his equipment and this footage would never have been seen.
Fortunately they seem not to have realised.
But they may be more alert next time.
UPDATE
More photographic evidence has come to light, on tape recovered from a damaged news camera, showing the force with which Ian Tomlinson was struck. No indication of why the camera was damaged is given.
UPDATE
More and more footage is coming to light on this incident. Here’s some taken at the spot where he collapsed.
In this sequence the police seem to be surrounding him. Use the timer (at the bottom). At 19 seconds it appears that a single plastic water bottle is thrown (but this is difficult to see) and other protestors call out to stop as there’s someone hurt. This contradicts the police statement that “... a number of missiles - believed to be bottles - were being thrown at them”.
Then between 23 and 30 seconds someone is jumping up and down, waving his hands and shouting 'Back up. Back the fuck up. There's someone hurt."
Finally pause at 56 seconds and count the number of police with their faces masked. Why do they need to wear masks?
From reading the reports it appears that the police released misinformation and untruths about what happened from the start.
Without film-makers and photographers being present the truth about this incident may well not have come to light.
Posts
3 comments:
I believe that footage of the camera getting damaged was on More4. See @bitoclass then @krishgm. But as I didn't see that bit of More4 news, I can't tell you more (so I don't know WHO damaged it, or under what circumstances)
Upon googling a few of the key words, it would appear that the camera was damaged by a protester. See G7uk.com. Not an attempted cover-up, just random violence :-)
Thanks for that information Jack
Post a Comment