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Ian Tomlinson assaulted by police moments before collapse

Guardian - Video reveals G20 police assault on man who died: Exclusive footage obtained by the Guardian shows Ian Tomlinson, who died during G20 protests in London, was attacked from behind by baton-wielding police officer

Analysis of that same video here.

Kettling is wrong. Indiscriminate kettling now appears to have led to a man dying simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time... not that it would have been right to kill a man just because he had a far better idea of why police might be rounding up people in the street and hemming them in.

Inquiry now, please.

(See also: Jean Charles de Menezes)

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UPDATE - Hm. That was silly of me. I forgot the lessons of this exchange. There are unseen moments between this event and Tomlinson's collapse; he might've been hit by a bus or something.

(ahem)

While the paper that needs to do the most elegant reverse ferret has the most time between now and going to print, you should expect some odd noises from tabloids tomorrow, as they struggle to fit this clear turnaround of events into the tightest of schedules.

"This is exactly why it should never be illegal to photograph and film the police" - Stephen Mullen

Oh, and if you want to stage a demonstration about police conduct, you'll probably need to fill out form 3175 or 3175a, a mind-focusing short-term consequence that's only the chewy crust of this iceberg-sized shit sandwich:

Often at protest events in London, some police officers will have a number or letter missing from their lapels, and that's just the start of it. The Met have been getting away with the use of this tactic and others for quite some time now, and I'd readily wager that several unsavoury tactics and practices will now come to light and make a political nuisance of themselves.

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UPDATE - Many eyewitness accounts here, and a renewed appeal from the family for witnesses.

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UPDATE - Interactive map of Ian Tomlinson's last movements including accounts by eyewitnesses and Guardian video now available on YouTube. Share, share, share.

UPDATE - A photo of a police medic in action that is sure to impress you. Also, a couple of hours after the assault of Ian Tomlinson was captured on camera, this report went live on Indymedia; "We are current(ly) receiving reports from the Climate Camp in the city, that all people are going to be searched to be allowed out, as well as people are told to delete photos of officers from their cameras, under the threat of seizure."

UPDATE - The Met issues an apology for their use of Section 14 against press photographers, and some further reading on 'kettling'.

[MINI-UPDATE (10 Apr) - Headline altered for the sake of accuracy. Tomlinson was assaulted moments before his collapse, not his death. I would say 'heart attack', but let's wait for the second autopsy ordered by the IPCC, eh?]

Posted by Manic on April 7, 2009 8:40 PM in the category The War on Stupid

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