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View Full Version : Ian Tomlinson's family 'not giving up' over G20 death




Vessol
07-23-2010, 10:09 PM
"The widow of a man who died after being pushed over by a police officer at the G20 protests in London has said her family "can't give up on justice".

Charges will not be brought against the officer as pathologists could not agree why Ian Tomlinson, 47, died at the demonstrations in April 2009.

Julia Tomlinson said the Crown Prosecution Service's (CPS) decision was "a scandal".

The Metropolitan Police has expressed "regret" to Mr Tomlinson's family.

The CPS announced on Thursday it would not be bringing any prosecution, having looked at charging the officer with various offences including assault and manslaughter.

But Mrs Tomlinson said her family were not "going to walk away from this", adding: "What message would it send to the police if we do?

"We don't see how Ian can die moments after being assaulted by the police officer and he isn't made to face a jury."

Mr Tomlinson was a newspaper seller who was not involved in the protests about the summit.

Video footage showed him being apparently struck by a baton and then pushed to the ground.

Although he moved on afterwards, he was then found collapsed on Cornhill, 100 metres away.

The first post-mortem examination of him - conducted by Dr Freddy Patel - found he was killed by a heart attack.

Dr Patel faces a misconduct hearing over four separate examinations.

Two other pathologists later said he died from internal bleeding caused by blunt-force trauma.

The CPS said this discrepancy jeopardised the chance of obtaining a conviction for manslaughter and an assault charge could not be brought as this had to happen within six months of any incident.

Mr Tomlinson's family have told their legal team to review the prosecutors' decision.

"Our preliminary view is that the decision is flawed," said a statement from Tuckers Solicitors, which represents the Tomlinsons.

"The CPS stated yesterday that their decision would be 'reconsidered' at the conclusion of the inquest.

"It may be that we determine that the appropriate time to challenge the CPS decision is if they again reject the possibility of a charge at that stage."

The Met has said the forthcoming inquest would ensure "the facts will be heard publicly" and it would consider misconduct proceedings once an Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation had been held.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-10745608