One week on in the City

The echoes of last week’s protests still linger in the City, from the police van parading anti-capitalist graffiti to the headlines in the news of the ever increasing storm surrounding the death of Ian Tomlinson. As more witnesses come forward some of the narratives become more contradictory (drunk v not drunk, only encounter with police or previous encounter) and it will take time to untangle the threads and come closer to finding out what really happened.

In these kind of situations it’s hard to get an idea of context, particularly if you’re not familiar with the City. The image below comes from the Evening Standard’s “This is London” website and shows Ian on the ground after being pushed by one of the police.

The image below is my own picture from across the road showing a wider view. 

If you go forward fifty yards or so you’ll come to the RBS that was damaged by protestors and if you go left just over fifty yards you’ll come to the front of the Royal Exchange, the epicentre of last many of last week’s events, so by any reckoning it occured very close to the centre of the protests. If you head thirty yards or so to the right down Cornhill you’ll find floral tributes attached to a streetsign as a memorial to Ian, which I assume mark the spot where he was treated and subsequently died.

For the sake of the family I hope the truth will out. 

Google Streetview
Location of the picture of the incident
http://bit.ly/15YfM
Location of the damaged RBS
http://bit.ly/6eu
Location of the floral tribute
http://bit.ly/fxYb

The Evening Standard coverage:
“I’ll see you tomorrow if I am still living and breathing”
G20 victim seen on film clashing with police an hour before fatal fall

The City Blog Flickr Page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/moorgatemercurius

Video Shows Police Assault On Ian Tomlinson

A shocking video has been obtained by the Guardian that appears to show police officers assaulting Ian Tomlinson from behind whilst he had his hands in his pockets and posed no threat. In the video, he is seen being hit in the legs by a police officer and then forcefully pushed to the ground.

After a period of time on the floor, he then gets up and stumbles off although it should perhaps also be noted that his walking at the start of the video before he is struck also seems slightly haphazard. He later collapsed and died of a heart attack.

Ian Tomlinson was a 47 year old newsagent in the City of London, and was apparently returning back to a hostel he lived in after finishing work. The video obtained by the Guardian will raise many questions about the police conduct on that day and will no doubt form an important part of the IPCC’s investigation into the matter.

Man Dies At G20 Protests

News broke on Wednesday evening of man unfortunately dying at the G20 protests in the City of London. The man was apparently in his 30s and died of “natural causes”.

The Press Association quotes a spokesperson from the Metropolitan Police as saying:

“A member of the public went to a police officer on a cordon in Birchin Lane, junction with Cornhill to say that there was a man who had collapsed round the corner.

“That officer sent two police medics through the cordon line and into St Michael’s Alley where they found a man who had stopped breathing.”

Update: The man that died has been named as 47 year old Ian Tomlinson.

Were you at the G20 protest? Did you see anything relating to this incident? Leave your comments below…

Don’t miss out City Blogger’s coverage of the G20 protests.