For anyone under the illusion that the UK is anything but a police state with no regard for the safety of its subjects, this is how many police now behave, particularly in towns and cities and it is sadly a growing trend, this fact is bad enough but the courts now back them up on that behaviour, sending a clear message that this sort of thing is now acceptable.
One has to wonder if this how the police now wish to be seen, considering their actions of late. A reputation in tatters and no sincere sign of any kind of remorse as a vicious murderous thug walks free with his only punishment being the slight possibility that he may lose his job but realistically even that is doubtful.
Or perhaps considering the rising disenchantment of the public at large with the lies being spun from all levels of government, the wish is to have the public fear the Policy Enforcers, to feel they cannot rely on them. If this is the end goal then they are making great strides of progress towards it. However the victims of this practice are not just the public, it is the police also, who are little more than empty animated uniforms. They have a tendency to forget that when they take off that uniform they are just the same as the very people they inflict the will of their employers upon, that they and their children will have to live in the nightmare they helped to create. This by no means is restricted to the UK or even Europe, it is a global trend and one that will continue for as long as good people do nothing about it.
“Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.” - Martin Luther King Jr
The decision not to charge a police officer over the death of Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests in London is "disastrous" for the Metropolitan Police, a member of the Metropolitan Police Authority tells Channel 4 News.
A police officer was filmed by a Channel 4 News cameraman striking out at Mr Tomlinson during the G20 protests in central London last April, minutes later the newspaper seller died.
The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) announced today that the police officer involved would face no charges - after considering the three charges of manslaughter, assault and misconduct.
Video footage filmed by an eyewitness and by a Channel 4 News cameraman showed PC Simon Harwood, a member of the Metropolitan Police's territorial support unit striking out at Mr Tomlinson with a baton, and then pushing him to the ground.
Mr Tomlinson, 47, staggered about 100 metres from the scene and was found several minutes later collapsed on the ground.
Jenny Jones, member of the MPA and Green politician, told Channel 4 News: "At the very least it was utterly unprofessional behaviour - striking a man from behind.
The Tomlinson family seek 'justice'
The DPP decision's not to charge results from events going all way the back to 2 April last year and the decision by the coroner for the city of London to call in Dr Freddie Patel, a forensic pathologist who no longer had a contract with any police force, who's performance had been investigated in the early part of this decade and found to be wanting, writes Home Affairs Correspondent Simon Israel.
He received words of advice and carried on practising, even though the Metropolitan Police had decided not to use him any more in suspicious deaths.
When he was asked to perform the post mortem on Mr Tomlinson he was under investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC) concerning four cases. The GMC hearing where he's accused of deficient professional performance began this week and scheduled to carry on until September. But all this is too late for Mr Tomlinson's family.
The sad fact is that the images of him being struck with a baton by a policeman and shoved to the ground will never be defined as a criminal act.
Now that the DPP has defined this as assault it is quite possible that the officer will face an internal misconduct hearing where the ultimate penalty would be the sack.
But it's difficult to see even if an inquest at a later date was too return a verdict of unlawful killing that the family will ever get what they see rightfully as justice.
"This does nothing for the reputation of the Met...it is disastrous."
"The Met infuriates me but at the same time I want its reputation to be good," she said.
"The police's reputation with the public is dreadful - the fact that there were so many nice messages about the death of (Raoul) Moat shows that the police's reputation is quite poor."
Keir Starmer, Director of Public Prosecutions, announced today that following a review by the Crown Prosecution Service, no charges would be brought against the officer, saying there was "no realistic prospect" of a conviction.
Mr Starmer added there is a "fundamental" disagreement among medical experts about what led to Mr Tomlinson's death.
He added: "In the face of this fundamental disagreement between the experts about the cause of Mr Tomlinson's death, the CPS embarked on a detailed and careful examination of all the medical evidence and held a series of meetings with the meetings with experts in attempt to resolve, or at least narrow, the areas of disagreement.
"This inevitably took some considerable time."
Family: decision is 'disgraceful'
Flanked by her two sons and her daughter, Julia Tomlinson held a dignified silence as she walked into the CPS headquarters this morning to find out if, after 15 months of waiting for a decision, a police officer would face charges over the death of her husband.
Emerging an hour later, she held back her tears asking reporters: "What can we do now?", before turning to her son Paul King to address the media. Mr King described the family's bitter disappointment at the "disgraceful" decision not the charge the PC involved.
As they return to a home with no father, the police officer in question will be back on the beat, he said. The family said their only comfort was that the police officer "knows what he's done and has to live with it".
Mr King said: "We feel like it wasn't a full investigation from the beginning. It's been a cover up." The family’s lawyer said they would be seeking a review of the decision, as Mr King added: "This is not going to die down tomorrow. We feel let down, very disappointed… you haven't heard the last of us."
Later Ms Tomlinson told Channel 4 News said the family "won't give up yet".
But Mr King expressed frustration that today's decision meant they were "back to day one again."
Their lawyer Jules Carey said it was "unbelievable" that the officer faces no charges. "The issue today is the failure of the CPS. It's unbelievable, there needs to be an inquiry", he said.
How Channel 4 News covered Mr Tomlinson's death.
Mr Starmer said there was enough evidence to charge PC Harwood, who had struck Mr Tomlinson and knocked him to the ground with assault.
It was not the first time the officer has been investigated for the alleged use of excessive force.
While with Surrey Police, PC Harwood was the subject of a complaint in 2004. It was found to be unsubstantiated after an internal inquiry.
Three post-mortem examinations were conducted on Mr Tomlinson's body arrived at differing conclusions.
The first pathologist, Dr Freddy Patel, found he died of natural causes, linked to coronary artery disease.
Dr Patel is currently facing the General Medical Council accused of misconduct over his failings in a total of four unrelated autopsies performed between September 2002 and August 2004.
The second pathologist, Dr Nat Carey, found he died of internal bleeding as a result of blunt force trauma, in combination with cirrhosis of the liver.
A third, conducted on behalf of the officer, agreed with the findings of the second post-mortem.
Mr Starmer said prosecutors did not believe they could prove a "casual link" between the alleged assault on Mr Tomlinson and his death, blaming a "sharp disagreement" between the medical experts that was "irreconcilable".
Mr Starmer said prosecutors also considered assault charges but could not prove the strike or push substantially harmed Mr Tomlinson.
The officer could not be charged with common assault, which does not require proof of injury, because there is a six month time limit.
Speaking outside the CPS after the statement, Ian Tomlinson's family condemned what they called a "disgraceful decision".
Ms Jones said the Tomlinsons' best option would be to launch a civil case, however this would be expensive.
"Personally I think asking for a review won't get the family anywhere with the CPS, they could look again at the second and third pathologists' reports," she said.
The CPS' decision today was "terrible" Ms Jones said, simply "prolonging the agony" for all involved.
Read more at www.channel4.com
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