Yesterday's verdict by the Coroner's inquest looking into the death of Ian Tomlinson has certainly thrown a cat amongst the Metroplitan Police Service's pigeons.
The film footage broadcast on the various news programmes seems irrefutable; Mr Tomlinson was clearly assaulted by being hit on the leg with a police baton and was then pushed violently to the ground while walking away with hands in pockets. Eye witnesses confirmed that the film footage told no lies and also appeared to show the same police officer being pretty unrestrained in his treatment of several other demonstrators.
After being attacked, Mr Tomlinson left the scene but collapsed and died a short time later. Contrary to the original pathologist's report, 3 new experts have now decided that Mr Tomlinson died from an internal haemorrhage due to blunt trauma to the abdomen, and not a heart attack; it is also reported that Mr Tomlinson was a heavy drinker and had serious liver damage which could have been a contributory factor. Having seen and heard all of this, the Coroner's jury returned a verdict that Mr Tomlinson had been unlawfully killed and pointed the finger at the police officer, PC Simon Harwood who, they said, had used excessive and unreasonable force and had acted 'illegally, recklessly and dangerously'. It is now for the CPS to review the case again and decide whether or not to bring charges in light of the Inquest verdict.
The problem faced by the CPS is that they have to consider the likelhood of a prosecution against a specific individual being successful in a criminal court. While there can be little doubt that PC Harwood did hit and push Mr Tomlinson, it may be difficult, in the circumstances of a criminal prosecution, to prove that his actions amounted to criminal assault, let alone were the direct cause of Mr Tomlinson's death. It must be possible that Mr Tomlinson had sufferred an earlier trauma and was already haemorrhaging before he encountered PC Harwood; he could even have fallen against some object after this encounter. Proving guilt 'beyond a reasonable doubt' may be very difficult to do.
Something else that has to be considered is the general manner in which large crowds are now routinely policed. The police appear dressed, as was said on Radio 4 this morning, in a style reminiscent of 'Robocop'. Bulky protective clothing, helmets, batons and an array of other miscellaneous paraphernalia dangling from their belts give them the look of a paramilitary force, rather than of simple peace-keepers or law-enforcers; the demeanour of this baton-waving battalion does nothing to dispel this impression. Their appearance must be highly inflammatory to some, and shockingly intimidating to others and can do nothing to encourage the population to accept that the police are approachable or, indeed, 'on our side'. One has to wonder to what extent this current style of policing was a contributory factor in the tragic death of Ian Tomlinson and, possibly, the attitude apparently adopted by PC Harwood.
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