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G20 Death due to Police Action
Many of you will have read about or seen on the news the tragic death of Ian Tomlinson who was struck and pushed over by a police officer during the G20 protest in April 2009.
For many of us our first reaction would be one of horror and disgust. Why would a professional police officer do such a thing to a man who was simply walking along the road with his hands in his pockets and who seemed to be causing no threat?
As a result of the investigation the police officer concerned is now facing disciplinary proceedings for gross misconduct.
And, as you would expect, all of the senior police chiefs have come out and condemned the action with Sir Paul Stephenson (the Met Comissioner) saying that; “the incident had “cast a shadow” on the professionalism of the overwhelming number of staff and officers involved in policing the G20 event”.
If the officer acted criminally he should face the full force of the law and face charges for Mr. Tomlinson’s death. Lets face it, if someone did that to a police officer I am sure that the police would use the full scope of the law and go to great lengths to prosecute.
But could there be more to this than just the officer at fault? Could there be more fundamental reasons why the officer ‘over-reacted’? And are the police using the officer as a scapegoat to appease Mr. Tomlinson’s family and the public at large to direct attention away from other issues that may have led to the death.
Read the following articles and let me know what you think. Id be very interested in your comments.
http://www.nfps.info/_webapp_228656/The_’Rodney-King’_Effect
http://www.nfps.info/_webapp_199371/Why_Do_Humans_Errors_Really_Occur
