PC Harwood: ‘Ian Tomlinson posed no threat to anyone’
The police officer who hit Ian Tomlinson with a baton and pushed him to the floor before he died tells an inquest that the newspaper seller posed no threat to anyone. Simon Israel was at the inquest.
In the second day of PC Simon Harwood giving evidence at the inquest in Fleet Street, London, the jury was shown footage of the minutes leading up to and following 47-year-old newspaper seller Mr Tomlinson’s death in the midst of the G20 protests on 1 April 2009.
PC Harwood was asked if he thought Mr Tomlinson had posed a threat upon their encounter. “Not to me, no,” he replied. He added that he did not believe Mr Tomlinson posed a threat to anyone else.
Although he repeatedly denied he used “unreasonable, unnecessary and excessive” force against Mr Tomlinson, PC Harwood apologised to the Derbyshire man’s family members for “any way” he may be responsible for the death.
Follow our Ian Tomlinson inquest: special report where you will find all the background and latest developments
He added that he was “amazed” his “poor push” caused Mr Tomlinson to topple to the pavement. The officer said his actions were meant as “encouragement” to get Mr Tomlinson away from police lines during demonstrations. “He wasn’t moving away from the police line, he was encroaching. That’s why I moved forward,” PC Harwood said.
Earlier in proceedings, PC Harwood accepted that he had pulled a TV cameraman to the ground minutes before encountering Mr Tomlinson.
In his initial statement, he said he had “collided” with BBC cameraman Tony Falshaw, but the latter described being “pulled” down by PC Harwood.
“If it is the case I had been in any way the cause of Mr Tomlinsons death then I am sorry.” PC Simon Harwood
After video footage of the incident was shown to the the jury, PC Harwood said he agreed with Mr Falshaw’s description. He told the inquest that his balaclava and helmet impaired his peripheral vision, and as a result could not see Mr Falshaw’s camera. He said he turned to “keep him [Falshaw] away from myself”.
The jury also saw video evidence of other encounters between PC Harwood and protesters and bystanders in the minutes leading up to him hitting Mr Tomlinson in Cornhill. The inquest was told that he tussled with a man who evaded arrest after spraying graffiti on a police van, swiped his coat at a protester, and palmed off a man attempting to get through a cordon.
PC Harwood said he had to “recompose myself” after the confrontations as the demonstrations got “out of hand”. He said he had been “frightened and confused” in the tense atmosphere before the newspaper seller’s death.
When asked about his conduct during another confrontation, he told jurors: “I thought it was proportionate and reasonable to do so.”
Matthew Ryder QC, representing the Tomlinson family, suggested that PC Harwood told “half truths” and “deliberately painted a false picture of Mr Tomlinson” as he gave evidence.
He added: “I am going to suggest to you that you are not here to help Mr Tomlinson’s family but to help yourself,” to which PC Harwood responded: “I am not being evasive, I am not lying.”
“I am going to suggest to you that you are not here to help Mr Tomlinson’s family but to help yourself.” Matthew Ryder QC
Later on in proceedings, he acknowledged that the account of events he recorded in his notebook a fortnight after the protests was erroneous. Among the notes PC Harwood accepted were wrong, were claims that he had lost a baton, been hit by a protester in the head and was struck by a missile.
Asked by Judge Peter Thornton why the notes contained incorrect logs, PC Harwood replied: “Because at the time that is what I believed happened, from the information I had. That is what I believed happened to me there.”
The officer recounted to the inquest the moment he saw Mr Tomlinson talking to two police dog handlers on the Royal Exchange.
To see an interactive map documenting Ian Tomlinson's last movements, click here
He said he hit Mr Tomlinson with the baton because he was not complying with the other officers’ orders for him to move out of the way.
“I moved forward to engage Mr Tomlinson. I then struck Mr Tomlinson around the upper part of his left leg towards his thigh with my baton. I did not get any immediate reaction from Mr Tomlinson…I then, as a reaction, pushed him in the top part of his right shoulder.”
After the inident, Mr Tomlinson was helped to his feet by bystanders but collapsed and died about 100 yards away shortly afterwards.
PC Harwood of the Metropolitan Police Territorial Support Group did not face criminal proceedings from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). However, in his opening statement to the jury, Judge Thornton – the assistant deputy coroner – said: “That was not a final decision, but a provisional decision… He may review that decision after the inquest.”
The judge added that, from the footage, it was unclear where Mr Tomlinson was heading on the night of the protests, but could have been returning to his hostel in Smithfield. The jury was also told that Ian Tomlinson was an alcoholic, who had been drinking on that day.
The inquest continues.