Friday, July 23, 2010

No justice for Ian Tomlinson

On 1 April 2009, a London police officer beat Ian Tomlinson from behind with a baton. Tomlinson, whose hands were in his pockets and who posed no threat to police, died shortly afterwards, his insides pulped by the blow. Today, the Crown prosecution Service announced that the police officer will not face charges for the death - not manslaughter, not grievous bodily harm, not even common assault.

There's more detailed dissection (and the family's reaction) in the Guardian. The CPS's decision on manslaughter is based on the strong disagreement between pathologists - the police having given Tomlinson's body to an incompetent (who is coincidentally about to be struck off) to cover up their wrong-doing. He concluded that Tomlinson had died naturally of a heart attack; it took a second post-mortem, after video evidence of the beating was exposed by the media, to show the real cause. Despite this, the Independent Police Complaints Commission had pushed for manslaughter charges - presumably on the grounds that a jury could decide between differing experts. As for grievous bodily harm and assault, despite the clear video evidence, the CPS dismissed Tomlinson's injuries as "minor", while their sitting on the file for a year meant that the time-limit for an assault charge had expired (how... convenient).

The decision comes five years to the day after the murder by police of Jean Charles de Menezes. The decision not to charge was made by the same lawyer who whitewashed the police in that case as well.

This is simply a cover-up. Once again, we have been shown that there is no justice in the UK. Once again, we have been shown that the British establishment protects its own, even when they kill and maim innocent people. Once again, we have been shown that the government and the police do not work for the people, but for themselves.