Policewoman said she was 'shocked by forcefulness' of push by fellow officer on Ian Tomlinson, who died during G20 protests
Ian Tomlinson "posed no threat" to the police at the time he was pushed to the ground, a woman constable has told an inquest on the second anniversary of his death.
PC Kerry Smith also said she was "shocked by the forcefulness of the push" to Tomlinson, a 47-year-old newspaper vendor who died at the G20 protests. Smith said it was clear to her he was not a demonstrator, but he had been told that he could not come through police lines. Asked if Tomlinson had "posed any threat to any officer at all", she replied: "I didn't feel so at the time." Smith had spoken with Tomlinson shortly before the incident involving another officer. She said she was helping a police cordon push protesters out of a passage called Royal Exchange Buildings towards Cornhill when Tomlinson approached their line. "He said he wanted to get through and pointed to the line behind us. I told him no, I did point towards the south-east corner, so going towards Bishopsgate, as an alternative direction. "He said 'I want to get through'" but didn't say why, Smith told the inquest. "To me he wasn't aggressive or swearing, he didn't seem rude as such. I had told him to get back because he didn't move. I am sure he had heard me. Because he didn't move he was told to get back from the line. I had heard it from other officers. After a bit of a pause he then did turn around. "He was pushed then by a police officer on his left shoulder, or left upper arm, I think it was his left shoulder. "I saw the push, I saw a police officer's arm push on to his shoulder. I didn't know which officer … Mr Tomlinson then fell to the floor. He went forward quite hard, he didn't use his hands to break his fall, so he appeared to possibly fall on his face. "He turned around and sat up. I think two people came to his aid, members of the public or demonstrators. They weren't police officers. He sat up and looked towards us and he said 'I just wanted to go home' or 'I wanted to go home.' "I said: 'It's obvious mate, you can't come through.'" Smith said she "was shocked by the forcefulness of the push on Mr Tomlinson". Questioned by Matthew Ryder QC, counsel for the Tomlinson family, she agreed with him that "from the dealings I had" she did not think it was necessary to use any force on Tomlinson. Asked by Samantha Leek, counsel for the Metropolitan police, if Tomlinson posed any threat to any officer at all, PC Smith replied: "I didn't feel so at the time." In her notes from the day Smith wrote of the incident: "Thought he hit head. Expected to see blood. Dazed and shocked." Moments earlier Tomlinson had made no response to being struck on the leg by a police baton or to a police dog being close enough to bite him, the inquest heard. Robert Fitch, a City trader with a hedge fund, said most people were walking away very quickly from the vicinity of Royal Exchange when officers with dogs began clearing the area. Fitch had a clear, uninterrupted view from his office window and was about 50 metres from Tomlinson. He said in a statement read to the inquest: "It was at that point I commented on there being people around who clearly weren't protesters. I said to somebody that this guy (Mr Tomlinson) was wearing a Millwall shirt. "He looked as if he had a bit to drink because he was walking slowly with his hands in his pockets." As the police approached him a dog came close enough to him "to move the trousers he was wearing". "I can't say if it bit him but it was close enough to do so. The dog was barking, the lead was definitely tight. "Ian did not respond to the dog as everyone else did, he just didn't move very quickly, he was just shuffling forward, still with his hands in his pockets, towards Cornhill. He turned around briefly but not fully, to face the officers. I can't tell if he said anything to the officers. "I saw a police officer … he stepped forward and struck Ian on the right knee area two to three times. It was pretty clear that Ian was being asked to move along because of the dog. "Ian was struck on the leg but he did not seem to respond in any way, which was consistent again with my view that he was drunk. He still had his hands in his pockets at this time. I do not know if any warning was given verbally and there was nothing in the movements of the officer or Ian to suggest a warning was given. "Almost in the same movement the officer shoved Ian in the back towards the shoulder blade area on the left side. Ian staggered forward and he went straight down. The officer was pulled back, I think by another officer. Ian … had fallen really hard, but I think another officer pulled this officer back into the police. "This happened because Ian had not moved on when he was approached by the dog and when he was struck with the baton. It was a violent shove but I did not think it was over the top and it was proportionate to the other incidents I had seen before." Fitch said he saw another officer striking a woman with a baton and pushing her. "This incident struck me because it was very similar to what I had witnessed a short time previously when I had seen Ian struck with the baton and shoved by the police officer."
No comments:
Post a Comment