A second post-mortem into the death of G20 protest victim Ian Tomlinson has shown he died from an internal bleeding and not a heart attack.
The 47-year-old newspaper vendor was seen being shoved violently by police and then being pushed to the floor during the London rally.
The officer involved in the incident has since been questioned under caution for manslaughter, the Independent Police Complaints Commission has confirmed.
Mr Tomlinson was first thought to have died from a heart attack but the second post-mortem examination has contradicted these findings, Mr Tomlinson’s family solicitor said.
A IPCC spokesman said: “Following the initial results of the second post-mortem, a Metropolitan Police officer has been interviewed under caution for the offence of manslaughter as part of an ongoing inquiry into the death of Ian Tomlinson.”
The second post-mortem was carried out by Dr Nat Cary at the request of the Independent Police Complaints Commission and Mr Tomlinson’s family.
It should be stressed that these findings do not appear to rule out natural causes. To my medically untrained eye, at least, it’s hard to see how even a fairly stiff fall such as Tomlinson suffered could result in abdominal bleeding.* However, serious questions must now be asked about why the first post mortem was carried out so quickly and who decided that an apparently discredited surgeon should perform it. As with every step of this ghastly affair, the plentiful indications of cover-up are at least as worrying as the original event.
*UPDATE: But see the comments of A&E Charge Nurse over at Liberal Conspiracy which point to the possibility of a pre-existing condition effectively being suddenly brought to a head by the fall – though note this comes with a suitable speculation-only disclaimer.
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7 Comments
The claim that no CCTV caught this (there are photos of 3 cameras in the area); the rushed and convenient first post mortem and the initial police denials of any wrong-doing, coupled with claims of ‘barrage of bottles’ thrown – are all clear indicators of a cover-up that reached out from the police to other areas including medical examiner and media.
That this has all been revealed because people had camera phones & video, makes me wonder how often this occurs and how many cases should now be re-opened in light of this.
Regardless of Ian Tomlinson’s state of health at the time of the incident, NO member of the public (protesting or otherwise) should be subjected to such inhumane treatment and NO member of the public should be allowed to be deceived by those in authority.
Oh dear, that doesnt sound good – looks more clearly like a direct result of the police attack. 🙁
“As with every step of this ghastly affair, the plentiful indications of cover-up are at least as worrying as the original event.”
You’re not wrong there Alix.
I’m reminded of The Law of Unintended Consequences. The state uses technology to erode our liberties, but it turns out the people have their own use for technology against an arrogant state and its agents.
Not only is there this incident, but also Guido’s latest scalp.
Poetic justice to my thinking. Yes, it’s time for the people to surveille the State.
Wayno: What a great line – It’s time for the people to surveille the State. Wish I had thought of it. I hope it’s taken up
I think there’s also a point of principle here. Why is it a matter of practice for the police to cover their epulete ID when policing demos? They’re not a paramilitary force and they are civilians accountable to other civilians.
I would have thought a simple and effective move would be to make it compulsory for the police to ensure the ID of their officers are on display at all times on duty – that way there is no temptation to go further as you can’t be identified.
After all if their innocent they’ve got nothing to hide…
the police always get away with assault and the ipca dont exactly help either as the police all club together. This copper should be tried for murder not manslaughter as ian died as a result of police brutallity which was clearly premeditated and totally unnecessary as all videos show. a life for a life it should be and the police should stop hiding behind a uniform and uniformity !!!!!
“I would have thought a simple and effective move would be to make it compulsory for the police to ensure the ID of their officers are on display at all times on duty …”
It’s already compulsory for police officers to display their numbers, isn’t it?