TOMLINSON VERDICT

The jury in the Ian Tomlinson inquest has returned a verdict of unlawful killing, marking the first victory in the Tomlinson familiy’s two year search for justice.

After more than a month of listening to evidence, the jury concluded that PC Simon Harwood had - after all (as the videos clearly show)  acted illegally, recklessly, dangerously and used “excessive and unreasonable” force when he struck Ian with a baton before pushing him to the ground at the G20 protests in April 2009 (see SchNEWS 682).

The verdict could pave the way for maslaughter charges to be brought against Harwood, as the CPS are now reviewing their initial decision to sweep the episode under the carpet (see SchNEWS 732). Harwood will also now face an IPCC disciplinary hearing, which will be held in public.

The Tomlinson family welcomed the verdict, but declared they had “a long way to go in their search for justice”.

After two years of attempting to cover the affair up, the police issued a far from grovelling apology saying, “It is a matter of deep regret that the actions of an MPS officer have been found to have caused the death of a member of the public.”

It is with deep regret that we tend to find the police are a bunch of lying bastards.