- The Guardian, Tuesday 21 April 2009
New videos highlighting aggressive policing tactics at the G20 protests will be revealed today as MPs get their first opportunity to examine the issues raised since the death of Ian Tomlinson.
The Guardian will today provide the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) with five additional videos shot on mobile phones or camcorders and given to the newspaper in the last week. They are among 14 videos compiled by the Guardian showing alleged police violence or questionable tactics at the G20 protests.
They come to light as an opinion poll today shows the public believes that police used an unacceptable level of force during the protests. The Guardian-ICM poll found that 59% of people were opposed to the police operation at the demonstrations at the City of London, while 31% agreed that it was a necessary response to the situation.
The insight into public sentiment about the police approach to the demonstrations comes as Nick Hardwick, chairman of the IPCC, appears today before the home affairs select committee. Denis O'Connor, who is conducting a review of policing of protest for Her Majesty's chief inspector of constabulary, will also be questioned by MPs about the tactics used by police to contain thousands of protesters around the Bank of England for several hours.
The IPCC has received a record number of complaints about G20 policing, and is conducting three investigations into alleged attacks by officers. They include the criminal inquiry into the death of Ian Tomlinson, the newspaper vendor who collapsed and died of internal bleeding shortly after being attacked from behind by an officer. A police officer has requested a third postmortem examination following Tomlinson's death, Channel 4 news reported last night. The first examination found that Tomlinson died of a heart attack but a second test, carried out at the request of the 47-year-old's family, found he suffered an "internal haemorrhage".
The new footage handed to the IPCC by the Guardian includes a video of two police medics standing with riot officers on 1 April, apparently using batons to hit protesters. The incident took place in Threadneedle Street, close to where a small number of protesters had broken windows of an RBS branch.
Other footage from the same day reveals a bystander being bitten on the arm by a dog, and a person who appears to be a woman with a handbag being violently flung to the ground. Both incidents took place moments before the attack on Tomlinson and in the same general location.
The footage also sheds light on the policing at Bishopsgate, where officers stand accused of penning in thousands of peaceful protesters and charging them with batons as night fell. Footage, shot at 7.40pm, shows hundreds of protesters with arms in the air chanting "this is not a riot" while officers push them back with batons and shields. Another video two hours later shows officers grab protesters standing behind police cordons and forcefully push them inside the pen. One man, who appears not to confront officers, is hit hard in the face with a shield.
Three videos on 2 April at a memorial vigil for Tomlinson raise questions about the transparency of officers. One shows an apparently undercover officer, wearing nothing to identify his employer, carrying a baton and marching alongside riot police. Another shows an inspector with the standard two pips on his shoulder refusing to identify himself. A protester asks several times: "Could I have your number then please, sir?" The inspector repeatedly responds: "Bishopsgate police station."
The third 2 April video shows how a City of London inspector used section 14 of the Public Order Act to clear journalists away from clashes. The Met has already apologised for the incident, claiming photographers were "caught up" when the act was used to disperse protesters. However, the footage shows the order was directed at the media. Asked by journalists why they should leave, he replies: "You've got a choice: you either go away now or you spend the rest of the afternoon in a cell."
Yesterday Sir Ken Jones, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, condemned criticism. "We have seen a lack of perspective and a lack of objectivity, I am afraid, and, as a result of that, the [police's] reputation has been affected," he told Radio 4's Today. "I can't find any other country which doesn't use water cannon, CS gas, rubber bullets. Our approach is proportionate and, in fact, has delivered on many other occasions," he said.
Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation, said: "Attacks on police must end. The policing of protests in the UK is the most successful and public engaging in the world, using the least aggressive tactics and methods available to ensure the right to a democratic, peaceful demonstration is given."