When will the IPCC ever learn..??

Interesting article in today’s Guardian written by the Co-directors of Inquest, Helen Shaw and Deborah Coles about the IPCC.

Despite Inquest’s best efforts and those of lawyers with whom we work to contribute and assist the IPCC by sharing our experience and positively contributing to its understanding of the issues arising from our casework, it has not been a fruitful experience. Too many times we have seen a failure by the IPCC to understand or appreciate the historical context from which it came. This has been sometimes exemplified by an over-eagerness to adopt highly defensive positions when faced with any criticism – a reaction which, if made public, only serves to strengthen critical perceptions of the police complaints system. This raises an important question – can an organisation that finds it difficult to hear criticism and learn lessons about its own functioning ensure accountability of the police from the cases it investigates?

G20 death: cop suspended

So Scotland Yard has suspended the cop who attacked Ian Tomlinson.

The officer in the video, who was wearing riot gear and whose face was covered by a balaclava, identified himself to his manager and the IPCC yesterday as fresh pictures suggested he had removed his shoulder number and covered his face with a balaclava before hitting Tomlinson with a baton and then pushing him to the ground on Cornhill, in the City of London, last Wednesday.

And the IPCC has dragged its collective feet over this. You wonder if they woulda just filed this death away as ‘natural causes’ if that video footage hadn’t come to light? Methinks so. Even though witnesses had alleged that Ian Tomlinson had been attacked.

But according to Nick Hardwick from the IPCC on Channel4 News tonight who maintains that there will be a ‘rigorous and impartial investigation’ along with them being ‘open minded and independent’….