Witnesses say police assault claimed protestor's life
Witnesses have claimed that Mr Tomlinson died after being assaulted during the G20 protests
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Sunday, 05, Apr 2009 05:45
A group of witnesses have told the Independent Police Complaints Commission that a man who was killed during the G20 protests had been assaulted by police.
Three people at the protests told the Observer that they had seen 47-year-old Ian Tomlinson being pushed to the ground by police officers. He was then picked by a bystander but fell to the floor minutes later and was pronounced dead in hospital later that evening.
A female protestor speaking to the paper on condition of anonymity, told the paper that she saw a man being attacked at the rally who she later recognised as Mr Tomlinson.
"I saw a man violently propelled forward, as though he'd been flung by the arm, and fall forward on his head," the witness claimed.
"He hit the top front area of his head on the pavement. I noticed his fall particularly because it struck me as a horrifically forceful push by a policeman and an especially hard fall; it made me wince."
Photographer Anna Branthwaite said she remembers seeing Mr Tomlinson being rushed from behind by a riot police officer before collapsing to the ground moments later
"He [Mr Tomlinson] was not a mouthy kid or causing problems, but the police seemed to have lost control and were trying to push protesters back," she told the Observer.
"The police had started to filter people into a side street off Cornhill. There were a few stragglers who were just walking through between the police and protesters. Mr Tomlinson was one of those."S
Police tightened security across the City of London in anticipation of protests against banks and financial institutions.
Offices of the Royal Bank of Scotland were attacked during the protests which saw huge crowds gather around the Bank of England.
Police said on Thursday that 122 people had been arrested during the demonstrations.