PC Harwood took the stand at the inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson. I will give a fuller account tomorrow. He said yesterday that he wanted to “help” the Tomlinson family this led to them walking out. Today it was the second day of his evidence, this afternoon the Tomlinson representative, Matthew Ryder began questioning Harwood (which will continue tomorrow). Harwood was evasive and indulging in obfuscation. His answers weren’t straightforward to straightforward questioning.
But the last 30 minutes were the most dramatic:
Questioned by the assistant deputy coroner, Judge Peter Thornton QC, Harwood has accepted that the account of events he put in his notebook two weeks after the protests was incorrect.
These relate to Harwood’s explanation of the aftermath of his attempt to arrest a protester for daubing graffiti, when he said he came under attack from hundreds of protesters and was in fear for his life. Video cast doubt over that, and Thornton specifically went through the list.
Harwood: At the time I wrote this, I thought I fell to the floor.
Thornton: Do you now accept that this is not correct?
Harwood: Yes
Thornton: That you lost your baton – that is not correct?
Harwood: Yes
Thornton: That you received a blow to the head – that is not correct?
Harwood: Yes
Thornton: And that there were violent and dangerous confrontations – that is not correct?
Harwood: Yes.
Thornton: And you were struck by a missile – that is not correct?
Harwood: Yes.
Thornton then asked how Harwood got all this wrong when he wrote the statement on 16 April, more than two weeks after the protests.
Harwood said: “Because at the time that is what I believed happened, from the information I had, that is what I believed happened to me there.”
This is what Harwood had to say on the level of force he used towards Ian Tomlinson:
PC Simon Harwood has said he was “amazed” and “shocked” when Ian Tomlinson fell to the ground after he struck him with a baton and pushed him at the G20 protests.
“The push I used wasn’t that much force in my mind – to have caused that to happen,” he said of the incident on 1 April 2009. The Territorial Support Group (TSG) officer said he believed the use of force was justified because he was seeking to “encourage” the newspaper seller to move away from police lines.
Harwood accepted that Tomlinson posed “no threat” to him or anybody else.
He said he nonetheless moved forward to strike Tomlinson because believed he was remaining “defiant” in the face of requests to move. He said he saw a dog bite Tomlinson’s leg and another officer push the newspaper seller.
Seconds later, he decided it was justified to take action against Tomlinson, who he perceived to be “encroaching” a police line. Harwood could not recall whether he gave the father of nine a verbal warning before striking him.
Let’s see what tomorrow brings…
Out of interest, is it possible to do someone for perjury for lying to an inquest? Given that the police seem to have found ways around Harwood being charged on some counts, I wondered if making statements that are clearly contradicted by video evidence might constitute lying under oath?
Spot on.
The whole inquest is an offensive waste of time. It gives hope to the family and friends of Ian of justice being served, but all the pain from hearing such details is only going to end up as a whitewash?
Simon surely has a manslaughter charge, perjury, and perverting the course of justice charges against him. I hope they set an example and get him prosecuted.
In the very early days The Plod wanted to cover it all up, nuffink to do wiv us Guv. To that end – witness Harwood’s deceitful “no memory” of what occured hence “no notes at all” in his Notebook. Trouble was half a dozen days later the Guardian splashed the video of Harwood putting the boot in big time so to speak. Funny he’s got spasmodic memories ok now – 2 years later. How come he can remember bits now so he says and yet couldnt remember anything at the time. Maybe he had an early night on 1 April 2009 with Sir Ian Blair who went home early on the day when Jean Charles de Menezes got shot to pieces. Another slimey liar.
back to the ‘beliefs’
1. he ‘believed’ he fell onto the floor but in fact did not fall onto the floor.
2. he ‘believed’ he received a blow to the head but in fact did not receive a blow to the head.
3. he ‘believed’ he was struck by a missile but in fact was not struck by a missile.
i would’ve been so tempted to ask him what he ‘believed’ was happening while he was being asked those questions!
So Harwood made no Notebook of his attacks on Tomlinson ‘cos he had no memory of ‘em. Eventually The Guardian splashed the video of Harwwod doing exactly what he did. If cop memories were so deleted of the attacks syndrome how come days before the Guardian did its splash cops were telling pathologist Fred Patel to rule out baton attacks etc on Tomlinson, and unhelpfully that he collapsed away from the police and that injuries to his left thigh might be from glass and bricks on the ground in the area – obviously not the unstated Harwood violent vicious baton attack. What uniformed scum they are.