STORY: "Ian Tomlinson was victim of 'thuggish' attack, court told: Police officer Simon Harwood's use of force was a gratuitous act of aggression, prosecutors say," published by the Guardian on June 18, 2012.
GIST: "Opening the case against Harwood at London's Southwark crown court, Mark Dennis QC said: "The assault upon Ian Tomlinson had been an unnecessary and unreasonable use of force by the defendant. Ian Tomlinson was not posing any threat to the defendant or any other police officer. He was displaying no aggression towards anyone nor even making any provocative comments." Harwood's reaction was "wholly disproportionate" in the circumstances, the court heard. Dennis said: "There had been no need to use any force upon Tomlinson, let alone a forceful baton strike followed by a powerful push to the back that sent Ian Tomlinson flying to the ground. "The display of force has all the hallmarks of a gratuitous act of aggression by a lone officer whose blood was up, having lost the self-control to be expected of a police officer in such circumstances, and who was going to stand no truck from anyone who appeared to be a protester and to be getting in his way."
The entire story can be found at:http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/18/ian-tomlinson-simon-harwood-court?newsfeed=true
PUBLISHER'S NOTE:
I am monitoring this case. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments.
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html
Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog.