Ian Tomlinson

[ahinton]

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/05/ian-tomlinson-apology-met-police

I'm unsure which is the most regrettable and reprehensible - the fact that this happened at all in the first place or the fact that it's taken four years and so much persistence and heartache to elicit these admissions that should and could have been made publicly in the immediate aftermath of the tragic incident.

[edashtav]

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2...ogy-met-police
I'm unsure which is the most regrettable and reprehensible - the fact that this happened at all in the first place or the fact that it's taken four years and so much persistence and heartache to elicit these admissions that should and could have been made publicly in the immediate aftermath of the tragic incident.

A deeply shaming affair for the MET. I note how its apology has been issued in the middle of the "silly season".

[amateur51]

A deeply shaming affair for the MET. I note how its apology has been issued in the middle of the "silly season".

Sadly it's a matter of that record that each succeeding Met Chief Commissioner finds himself embroiled in sorting out some scandal or other that took place under his predecessor's watch. How many more to come is the question, I suppose.

[scottycelt]

Why bring this up again?

The issue has now been settled and compensation awarded to the satisfaction of Mr Tomlinson's family. It was indeed a tragic incident which happened when the police force concerned was under particular pressure and Mr Tomlinson was clearly under the influence of drink. The idea that anyone could seriously think that there should have been 'admissions ... made publicly in the immediate aftermath of the tragic incident' almost beggars belief. Doesn't getting at the truth (rather than allegations) mean anything any longer to some members? There will always be allegation and counter-allegation. Justice has now been served though sadly it won't bring back Mr Tomlinson.

What purpose is served by reviving this very sad case when those who were directly affected have now settled by mutual agreement?

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Good of the Police to bring this up again; to admit that there was wide-scale lying by many members of the police force at the time to cover up the unacceptable thuggery of one of their numbers, and brave, too, of three officers to go against the prevailing winds and state publicly that those officers were lying. I hope that the Commissioner's public apology today makes it clear that the slurs with which the Police attempted to smear Mr Tomlinson and his grieving family were lies, the type of which will not be tolerated in today's Police force.

[amateur51]

And of course the police officer whose actions led directly to Ian Tomlinson's death we now know should never have been there because he had been the subject of disciplinary action before but had been inadvertently taken back on to the Surrey force as a result of inadequate record keeping.

The most satisfactory part of all this for me is that, quietly, the Met has sacked him for gross misconduct.

[eighthobstruction]

Why bring this up again?

Justice has now been served though sadly it won't bring back Mr Tomlinson.

What purpose is served by reviving this very sad case when those who were directly affected have now settled by mutual agreement?

Well it was top item on all news prog's....that's a good enough reason isn't it.

Yes Scotty I'm sure the families minds are now settled with this and they will never have to think about it again <sarcasm>

The purpose (as with many other issues around police/state brutality) is so that it does not happen again (though of course it will)....justice was not done, Harwood got away with it some how, and indeed that in itself is worthy of 100,000 words analysis....

Shall we just say Scotty and I are diametrically opposed on this issue (and leave it there)....I will not pick your statement too much apart Scotty but I believe it's a pretty naive and ill founded statement.... a statement that if applied to many other of the issues and challenges in this society, would lead to a frighteningly scarey role for the state and police to do what they like, when ever they like, in any manner that they like without redress or PUBLICITY.....SURE, we will just let the 'We're all in this together' PROPOGANDA smell as lovely as sweet violets.... FOUR YEARS it took....a year after the Harwood trial verdict....that's the sort of viscus justice we get when it is the organisations of the state on trial....

[scottycelt]

Easy to be judgemental from the comfort of an armchair or computer stool.

The Tomlinson family (and they are the only ones who really matter here) are now satisfied, or in Mrs Tomlinson's own reported words, 'as much as we could possibly hope to be'.

That should be good enough for everyone else.

[amateur51]

Easy to be judgemental from the comfort of an armchair or computer stool.

The Tomlinson family (and they are the only ones who really matter here) are now satisfied, or in Mrs Tomlinson's own reported words, 'as much as we could possibly hope to be'.

That should be good enough for everyone else.

As a forty-year plus resident of London I am quite aware of what it's like being policed by the Met, the majority of whose personnel cause me no trouble at all. But when I read of incidents like that which led to Mr Tomlinson's death, including the attempted lying and deception (from a police force, remember), the delays, the failure to treat the family with basic human decency, then I'm afraid it leaves a very bad taste in my mouth. I'm pleased that the family have achieved some sort of justice but I'm just waiting for the next incident, hoping it's not going to be me or my friends or neighbours who suffer this time.

[eighthobstruction]

>>>>Easy to be judgemental from the comfort of an armchair or computer stool. <<<<

well lets never talk/write about anything then; using that as an axium....

....never make a judgement about anything....sure....

[ahinton]

Why bring this up again?

The issue has now been settled and compensation awarded to the satisfaction of Mr Tomlinson's family. It was indeed a tragic incident which happened when the police force concerned was under particular pressure and Mr Tomlinson was clearly under the influence of drink. The idea that anyone could seriously think that there should have been 'admissions ... made publicly in the immediate aftermath of the tragic incident' almost beggars belief. Doesn't getting at the truth (rather than allegations) mean anything any longer to some members? There will always be allegation and counter-allegation. Justice has now been served though sadly it won't bring back Mr Tomlinson.

What purpose is served by reviving this very sad case when those who were directly affected have now settled by mutual agreement?

Why bring it up again? Good grief, scotty! Because there is news today about the admission and settlement - and of the fact that the police lied and covered up for years but have now given ground about their conduct! I'd have thought that even you could recognise that!

[Flosshilde]

It's now emerged that the Met had made two earlier pay-outs as a result of actions by Simon Harwood - an off-duty road rage incident & racial abuse. These were made before the incident involving Ian Tomlinson. It would seem that there are more questions to be answered about just why Harwood was re-employed.

[jean]

I think courts often show too much caution in deciding what should be revealed to a jury about a defendent's previous behaviour.

Some of this was known at the time of Harwood's trial.