Carshalton PC Simon Harwood cleared of manslaughter
3:00pm Thursday 19th July 2012 in Where I Live By Matt Watts
PC Simon Harwood, from Carshalton
A police officer has been cleared of the manslaughter of a newspaper seller at a central London protest.
PC Simon Harwood, from Carshalton, hit Ian Tomlinson with a baton and pushed him to the ground ashe prepared to walk away from a line of officers in the City of London in April 2009.
Within minutes the 47-year-old - who had been trying to walk home but found his usual route blocked due to G20 protests that day - collapsed and later died .
Prosecutors had claimed the assault upon Ian Tomlinson was an unnecessary and unreasonable use of force by the defendant that led to his death.
PC Harwood maintained he had used reasonable force and denied manslaughter throughout his trial at Southwark Crown Court.
Harwood told the court that while in retrospect he "got it wrong" in seeing Mr Tomlinson as a potentially threatening obstruction as police cleared a pedestrian passageway, his actions were justifiable within the context of the widespread disorder of that day.
Today a jury returned a verdict of not guilty.
The charges against PC Harwood, a member of the Metropolitan Police's territorial support group, followed an inquest last year which found Mr Tomlinson had been unlawfully killed.
Comments(21)
Crease2000
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3:58pm Thu 19 Jul 12
puzzled
says...
4:29pm Thu 19 Jul 12
Crease2000
says...
5:18pm Thu 19 Jul 12
edstar
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5:26pm Thu 19 Jul 12
I didn't know the daily mail forums linked to the local guardian
justbeinghonest
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5:46pm Thu 19 Jul 12
manslaughter in my eyes.
kerry wright
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6:05pm Thu 19 Jul 12
IF IT HAD BEEN A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC THEY WOULD BE DOING TIME NOW
I hope not
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6:57pm Thu 19 Jul 12
edstar
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7:37pm Thu 19 Jul 12
I hope not wrote:why would i look at the daily mails website any more then I would look at the BNPs website but with added cancer?
Actually if you look at the Daily Mail web site, they are on the family's side, not the Police. They cannot stand the Police in case you haven't noticed. Funny how the family are suddenly seeking compensation, what a shame they couldn't have looked after their own when HE needed it. As for the Police "beating" someone up, since when did a push and a smack on the leg mean beaten up ? This has been sensationalized beyond belief. This was a near on riot, the Police did their job and a sick man, with existing health problems who was drunk and beligerent got in the middle of it all and paid the ultimate price. Perhaps the family would like to sue the protesters too for causing it all in the first place ? No ? Didn't think so.
ok then a few questions for you.
1. would Mr Tomlinson be alive if he hadnt met "PC" Harwood ?
2 What did he do that was so "Belligerent" that need Mr Tomlinson to be struck by "PC" Harwood with such force that it caused his death?
3. Do you know that in 2000, five years after he joined the Met, PC Harwood was involved in what was described at Mr Tomlinson's inquest as a "road rage" incident but his employment record was kept from the jury. He was off-duty and the other driver complained of unlawful arrest and abuse of authority. "PC" Harwood denied the accusation but retired on medical grounds in 2001 before a disciplinary hearing took place. Coward!
4. Did you know that "PC" Harwood had over 10 complaints of recorded against him 12 years.
Nice!
Mr Tomlinson may have had his problems but he didnt do anything that deserved to be beaten by a police office causing injuries which caused his death. Do you disagree?
puzzled
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10:45pm Thu 19 Jul 12
Shrimpers }
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7:04am Fri 20 Jul 12
surrey-L
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10:01am Fri 20 Jul 12
Readign this story makes me feel sorry for Mr Tomlinson. But when youve seen footage etc then its a complete different story.!!!
Where were the family when he needed them at his lowest? then they claim compensation- decribes the kind of people these are!
BB1971
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11:32am Fri 20 Jul 12
John Terry did something illegal on camera & got away with it, as did Ian Tomlinson's killer. He must have pushed him in a sarcastic way.
BB1971
says...
11:32am Fri 20 Jul 12
John Terry did something illegal on camera & got away with it, as did Ian Tomlinson's killer. He must have pushed him in a sarcastic way.
BB1971
says...
11:32am Fri 20 Jul 12
John Terry did something illegal on camera & got away with it, as did Ian Tomlinson's killer. He must have pushed him in a sarcastic way.
BB1971
says...
11:33am Fri 20 Jul 12
John Terry did something illegal on camera & got away with it, as did Ian Tomlinson's killer. He must have pushed him in a sarcastic way.
BB1971
says...
11:34am Fri 20 Jul 12
John Terry did something illegal on camera & got away with it, as did Ian Tomlinson's killer. He must have pushed him in a sarcastic way.
I hope not
says...
12:47pm Fri 20 Jul 12
1. would Mr Tomlinson be alive if he hadnt met "PC" Harwood ?
Perhaps, or perhaps not, he had pre-existing health conditions, including those bought on by his chronic alcohol misuse, so who could say ?
2 What did he do that was so "Belligerent" that need Mr Tomlinson to be struck by "PC" Harwood with such force that it caused his death?
Sorry, if PC Harwood used "such force to cause his death" would Mr. Tomlinson not have had worse injuries than he had ? Stop sensationalising. The bloke was very ill, got into a demonstration, was drunk and would not do as he was told - he was treated the same as others, the Police in those situations do not have the capacity to say "sorry to bother you sir, but do you have any pre-existing health conditions that may affect you if I shove you and hit you with my baton " Get a grip. PC Harwood did not cause Ian Tomlinson's death. Did his actions contribute towards it, I do not doubt that. Should he be prosecuted for doing his job ? No he should not.
3. Do you know that in 2000, five years after he joined the Met, PC Harwood was involved in what was described at Mr Tomlinson's inquest as a "road rage" incident but his employment record was kept from the jury. He was off-duty and the other driver complained of unlawful arrest and abuse of authority. "PC" Harwood denied the accusation but retired on medical grounds in 2001 before a disciplinary hearing took place.
Yes and what is your point ? HOW is that relevant to his reactions in the front line of a riot situation ? It was not before the jury, because it has NO relevance.
4. Did you know that "PC" Harwood had over 10 complaints of recorded against him 12 years.
Again, what is your point ? How many criminals complain about the Police for no reason ? Let me tell you, thousands. Were any of the ten complaints upheld ?
Mr Tomlinson may have had his problems but he didnt do anything that deserved to be beaten by a police office causing injuries which caused his death. Do you disagree?
Tell me where I said that he deserved to be beaten and tell me where it says that the injuries - i.e. a push and a smack on the leg, caused injuries to his liver - that would already have been enlarged and infected due to his chronic alcoholic state ?
You do not get it. Stop bashing the Police for doing their job. Mr. Tomlinson has other issues which greatly contributed towards his death. PC Harwood, was just a small part of it and is the scapegoat for other's guilt at not looking after their own. Problem with this country is that too many people are too quick to blame others for stuff that just simply is not their fault.
Am I sorry Ian Tomlinson is dead ? Yes I am, but I am more sorry that he was let down by so many people leading up to it.
edstar
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5:57pm Fri 20 Jul 12
I hope not wrote:Actually I agree with you on your last couple of paragraphs. Where we differer is that I do think that PC harwood was, at least, in part responsible for Mr Tomlinsons death and for that he should be punished.
Edstar, because YOU bought the Daily Mail into this discussion, not me.
1. would Mr Tomlinson be alive if he hadnt met "PC" Harwood ?
Perhaps, or perhaps not, he had pre-existing health conditions, including those bought on by his chronic alcohol misuse, so who could say ?
2 What did he do that was so "Belligerent" that need Mr Tomlinson to be struck by "PC" Harwood with such force that it caused his death?
Sorry, if PC Harwood used "such force to cause his death" would Mr. Tomlinson not have had worse injuries than he had ? Stop sensationalising. The bloke was very ill, got into a demonstration, was drunk and would not do as he was told - he was treated the same as others, the Police in those situations do not have the capacity to say "sorry to bother you sir, but do you have any pre-existing health conditions that may affect you if I shove you and hit you with my baton " Get a grip. PC Harwood did not cause Ian Tomlinson's death. Did his actions contribute towards it, I do not doubt that. Should he be prosecuted for doing his job ? No he should not.
3. Do you know that in 2000, five years after he joined the Met, PC Harwood was involved in what was described at Mr Tomlinson's inquest as a "road rage" incident but his employment record was kept from the jury. He was off-duty and the other driver complained of unlawful arrest and abuse of authority. "PC" Harwood denied the accusation but retired on medical grounds in 2001 before a disciplinary hearing took place.
Yes and what is your point ? HOW is that relevant to his reactions in the front line of a riot situation ? It was not before the jury, because it has NO relevance.
4. Did you know that "PC" Harwood had over 10 complaints of recorded against him 12 years.
Again, what is your point ? How many criminals complain about the Police for no reason ? Let me tell you, thousands. Were any of the ten complaints upheld ?
Mr Tomlinson may have had his problems but he didnt do anything that deserved to be beaten by a police office causing injuries which caused his death. Do you disagree?
Tell me where I said that he deserved to be beaten and tell me where it says that the injuries - i.e. a push and a smack on the leg, caused injuries to his liver - that would already have been enlarged and infected due to his chronic alcoholic state ?
You do not get it. Stop bashing the Police for doing their job. Mr. Tomlinson has other issues which greatly contributed towards his death. PC Harwood, was just a small part of it and is the scapegoat for other's guilt at not looking after their own. Problem with this country is that too many people are too quick to blame others for stuff that just simply is not their fault.
Am I sorry Ian Tomlinson is dead ? Yes I am, but I am more sorry that he was let down by so many people leading up to it.
Surreydon
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10:16pm Fri 20 Jul 12
PeterM
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10:43pm Fri 20 Jul 12
But I believe it is imperative that he leaves the force, either by being dismissed or given the opportunity to resign. If he remains a serving Officer this will send out the wrong message to the Public, i.e. the Police can do what they want and nothing will happen.
The second Postmortem clearly showed that Mr Tomlinson died as a result of the injuries that he received as a result of being hit by a baton and being pushed to the ground, both of which were caught on camera.
I hope not says...
3:19pm Thu 19 Jul 12