Two very contentious not guilty verdicts today

Two high profile court cases ended today with not guilty verdicts.

Firstly PC Simon Harwood who struck Ian Tomlinson with his baton and pushed him to the ground, during the G20 protest in 2009.

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And the 8 men charged with murder who were involved in running down 3 men protecting local businesses during the riots last year.

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Both of these verdicts could lead to further trouble or protests, and both verdicts are hard for me to get my head around.

Ian Tomlinson who was not involved in the protests and just caught up in them, was struck by PC Harwood and pushed to the ground, died after collapsing not long after. The verdict at his post mortem was unlawful killing, yet a jury decides the Police officer is not guilty of his manslaughter?

More details are allowed to be reported now that the trial is over, and PC Harwood abandoned his vehicle to arrest a protester, who got away, and then joined in a police line where he singled out Ian Tomlinson, who CCTV footage showed was not in any way involved or causing trouble, and just trying to make his way home.

It has also emerged that PC Harwood has a history of controversy, having had 10 complaints made against him in his 12 yr Police career, and in 2001 he faced disciplinary proceedings after he allegedly assaulted a driver he says he was trying to arrest, although off duty, in a road rage incident. He never faced the disciplinary hearing because he quit the Met Police on medical grounds, which luckily cleared up quickly as he re-joined the force in a civilian worker role the next week. He then re-joined as a constable in the Surrey Police force, where he also received a written warning for using the Poilce National Computer to look up details of a driver who had been involved in an accident with his wife.

Harwood was also involved in several complaints of assault and excessive force, none of which led to any disciplinary procedures, even when a fellow officer gave evidence against him after he punched a suspect.

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No Police officer has been found guilty of manslaughter for a crime committed on duty since 1986.

This final link shows the CCTV footage of the not guilty Police officer in action that day, and striking Tomlinson and pushing him to the ground. It does also show the difficult job Police officers have when these protests take place, but not guilty?

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The Birmingham men who were found not guilty of murder for mowing down 3 Asians protecting property during the riots in August last year is equally baffling to me. The court heard the telephone records of the men in the 3 cars, who arranged for two of the cars to chase people out into the street, so the third car could run into them, which is exactly what happened.

There was CCTV footage which showed the cars in an apparent planned manoeuver, and a hand signal by own of the drivers, before the car was driven at speed into the three victims.

This seemed like a clear cut case, although murder may have not been possible to prove for all of the accused, but the judge questioned the reliability of the evidence given in court by the senior investigating officer, which will have had a huge bearing on the not guilty verdicts.

Things like this always make me question how safe some convictions actually are, and doesn't exactly fill me with confidence in our justice system. It also makes me wonder if it might be worth taking a chance on some kind of criminal behaviour, as it isn't always easy to get convicted of an offence, and the penalties handed down are hardly ever that severe.

It also makes me even more sure that the Police can pretty much do whatever they want and get away with it, like Mark Andrews of Wiltshire Police, who was convicted of this assault against a female prisoner caught on CCTV, but was cleared on appeal.

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Re the Tomlinson case - I can't remember a verdict at which I was so angry.

It is easy to knock the police. It's too easy. But, over the years, I have spoken with otherwise calm and reasoned people who would not trust the police for one minute. I know this was a jury verdict but ..... Maybe the mistake was in going for 'murder' rather than 'manslaughter'.

Having been on the edges of a serious court case involving a friend, what happens in the court is not about finding the truth - it is about the ability of a solicitor to gather and present evidence in the most convincing way. There is an important difference.

On the surface, two weird and worrying verdicts.

cnuts and masons!

Two right wing victories today... no coincidence on the same day.... typical politics .. it's all about management of a populace in a time they're not sure where things are headed..
I agree with you about the manslaughter thing Knecht... going for murder was a ludicrous decision, and I just wonder if that in itself was a fix to ensure this bad apple got off. And just look into the whole post mortem thing and the lemon that was lined up to do it originally .... we're talking systemic here in the way 'out boys' are protected.... these situations have been 'game played out' and methods put in place to ensure the required outcome. It's lawful procedure, not justice.

I was there that day, it was a bit frantic on occasion, but nothing like the poll tax riots, and returned to the Bank of England next day to register my protest at his death, along with thousands... the police presence that weekend was like northern Ireland. Many people were attacked around the city. Much was harmless banter of course, but sometimes it isn't. At the time I discussed the case on Pasoti, and was met with the usual barrage of abuse. I said it wouldn't be long before troops would be on the streets. As I remember Deap Throat, sorry, wozzer, said I was being ridiculous. Well, Wozzer, just take a look at the troop deployment conveniently being rolled out in London all of a sudden for the Olyimpics.... it won't be the last time. Times are a changing.

How that other bunch got off is beyond me... look how long the Lawrence killers, who had connections, got off until they were finally nailed.

If that was any of us that had pushed a man to the floor who had his hands in his pockets and his back to us who had then dies, we would be inside. I got fined £880 for hitting a bloke in a pub with a truncheon we kept behind the bar when matey leapt over the bar and had his hands around the throat of a 5'2" barmaid, I was told I was lucky not to be going down! If only I had donned the whole uniform.

Or if it was any of us who were involved in the G20 protest and pushed a Copper over, we would have been given a good kicking, resisting arrest Sarge, and found guilty of assault.

This Police Officer, with a history of assaulting people on duty, gets away with murder, literally.

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It's interesting how the whole range of newspapers are reporting this verdict and its implications.

I'm clearly not objective in this, but.....

There are three main issues arising from the Tomlinson case for me; the first is that amongst the many police officers & staff I have spoken with, all without exception have opined that a conviction seemed appropriate. I most certainly think that on the evidence I saw, the officer was guilty.

That said, I am certain that the Met will act quickly & robustly in applying the most stringent sanction open to them.

The second point however is that I feel really quite uncomfortable about the after-verdict behaviour of the press. We all are innocent until proven guilty (& yes, increasingly that is an issue of shades of colour rather than black and white) & the way in which his life (thats the life of an innocent man, mind) is being forensically & publically investigated and examined concerns me. The associated commentary shocks me.

The third point is really a follow on to the last - I note with interest that the CCTV coverage of Tomlinson's actions was widely circulated before, during & after his trial. The CCTV coverage of the West Mid's fatalities is 'secret'. Looked at side by side, this doesn't appear equitable to me.

Surprisingly (!), I often agree with Penz's viewpoints & although I suspect we're coming at this acquittals from a different direction, I share many of the concerns that he has regarding how emblematic these cases & the connected machinery are, of life in the 2012 UK.

The 'stuff' that we project onto the police is obvious. That's one of the reasons why my first post on this said "It is easy to knock the police. It's too easy."

I don't really understand the relationship - formal and informal - between the CPS and the police service but the decision to go with a 'murder' charge seemed a mistake at least.

Yes, the press in this country stinks and he was clearly 'found guilty' before it went to trial.

But, even with those caveats, the evidence as reported - not the least being the images of the assault - did seem pretty conclusive.

I know that the press are crucifying PC Harwood now, and digging up any dirt they can on him, but that's the press for you these days and you can't be crucified if all you have ever done in your Police career is active responsibly.

This guy resigned due to ill health from the Met Police, to conveniently avoid a disciplinary hearing into his behaviour, only to start a civilian role in the force a day or two later. He keeps his nose clean for a few months and then re-joins the Police force. That is the Police looking after their own.

Fast forward a few years and he's back in the Met never having faced the disciplinary hearing, and accruing several more complaints of assault and excessive force, one of which a colleague gave evidence against him and he is still free to carry on acting like Gene Hunt with toothache.

There have been plenty of opportunities to root out this bad apple, but he was allowed to continue until it ended in a fatality.

I don't suppose for one minute he imagined he would kill Ian Tomlinson, he just wanted to show him who was boss, and that's where the issue lies for me. There are far too many Police officers who like to show people that they are the boss, when a calm head is called for. Easy for me to say perhaps, but it should be an essential trait of someone in the Police force.

I understand that these protests and the riots last year are horrendous for the Police to be involved in, and they come under incredible intimidation and threat, and to me if anyone is acting aggressively at a protest they deserve everything they get.

Student protests, climate protests, economical protests, poll tax riots. You see images from these protests and you can see that there is an element of trouble makers involved in the protests who are out for a spot of Police bashing whilst they are conveniently flanked by thousands of genuine protesters who are unhappy with something, and these protesters are easily led into throwing stones and anything else that comes to hand, but Ian Tomlinson wasn't a trouble-maker or protester and never looked like one. PC Harwood abused his position to have a crack at someone who wasn't going to be any danger to him, no chance he would fight back.

I don't care how much Harwood had gone through that day, he is a Police officer and should've kept his head. If he can't then he shouldn't be in that position. Just like he shouldn't have used the PNC to track down someone who was involved in an accident with his wife. What do you think he was going to do with the info once he got it? Pop round and show him who's boss? Lie in wait one morning and pull him over?

Harwood may well lose his job over this, but he should have long ago, and then Ian Tomlinson would still be alive.

Not only is PC Harwood guilty, but the Police system that have covered up for him in the past, gave him a civilian job to avoid a disciplinary hearing. Like the system that allows Police officers to drink drive because they just flash their warrant and it's all ok mate.

PC Harwood will probably lose his job this time, but not his freedom, which should've been the least that happened to him. He'll probably end up with a nice pension and become a football steward.

I was at that G20 demonstration the day after and it had a dark atmosphere about it. It wasn't created by the demonstrators, it was created by the police to the point of where I felt I had to intervene when a policeman was pushing and shoving a woman very aggressively who I didn't think was even involved in the demonstration. I didn't know about Ian Tomlinson's death at the time but when I heard about it the next day I can't say I was that surprised. The police were very intimidating, that's not what a state like Britain should be about!