Pc Simon Harwood who shoved Ian Tomlinson at G20 riots moments is finally sacked but keeps police pension

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Pc Simon Harwood who shoved Ian Tomlinson at G20 riots moments is finally sacked but keeps police pension

September 17th, 2012

FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda

Scotland Yard holds police disciplinary proceedings in public for first time
Pc Simon Harwood, 45, hit Mr Tomlinson, 47, with his baton and pushed him to the ground during the G20 protests in London in 2009
Metropolitan Police disciplinary panel finds he committed gross misconduct and dismisses him without notice
But panel decides not to consider allegation that Harwood’s actions inadvertently caused or contributed to Mr Tomlinson’s death
Mr Tomlinson’s family dismiss proceedings as a ‘whitewash’ and vow to take civil action
Harwood has already been acquitted of Mr Tomlinson’s manslaughter

By
Rob Preece

PUBLISHED:

06:10 EST, 17 September 2012

|

UPDATED:

12:48 EST, 17 September 2012

Entitled: Simon Harwood (right), pictured leaving the hearing with his wife Helen, will keep his police pension despite being sacked for gross misconduct

The police officer cleared of killing Ian Tomlinson will keep his pension despite being sacked for gross misconduct.

A Metropolitan Police disciplinary panel, sitting in public for the first time, dismissed Pc Simon Harwood, 45, after finding he had breached professional standards.

But the force later confirmed that, because Harwood has not been convicted of a criminal offence, he will be entitled to claim pension payments when he reaches the eligible age.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Maxine de Brunner said: ‘Simon Harwood will retain his pension when he reaches pensionable age.

‘I’m unable to remove his pension because he has not been convicted of a criminal offence.’

Ms de Brunner said it was ‘certainly worth debating’ whether the rules should be changed.

Harwood hit Mr Tomlinson, a newspaper seller, with his baton and shoved him to the ground during the G20 protests near the Royal Exchange Buildings in London in April 2009.

Mr Tomlinson, an alcoholic who had lived
rough for several years, managed to walk 75 yards after he was hit and
pushed, but collapsed and later died from internal injuries.

Ms de Brunner said: ‘We must remember on April 1, 2009 Ian Tomlinson lost his life. I take full responsibility for Simon Harwood and I would like to offer my sincere apologies and condolences to his family.

‘Today’s hearing has resulted in the maximum penalty that was ever available to the panel – dismissal due to gross misconduct.

‘That leaves no ambiguity as to how the Met views the actions of Simon Harwood.’

She said that the force had already offered a sum of damages to the Tomlinson family and was in litigation with them.

Ms de Brunner went on: ‘The detailed evidence in this case has been heard in public at both the inquest and the criminal trial.

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Disciplinary action: Pc Simon Harwood (left) has already been cleared of Ian Tomlinson’s (right) manslaughter

‘The panel’s role today was to decide
whether Simon Harwood had committed gross misconduct and if so what the
appropriate outcome would be.

‘It has taken less than a day to make the decision that he should be dismissed without notice.

‘All police officers are accountable for their actions whatever the situation.

‘Simon
Harwood does not reflect the professionalism of the majority of
officers working in public order in the most difficult circumstances.

‘I
have never seen a case like this in my entire career in the police
service so I think I can be pretty confident that my officers are
professional at all times.’

The force refused to disclose the value of Harwood’s pension, insisting that the figure was ‘personal information’.

He served as an officer with the Met
and Surrey Police for a total of 15 years, and also worked for two years
at Scotland Yard as a civilian member of staff.

The panel, consisting of two police officers and a lay member, found
that Pc Harwood had breached standards over discreditable conduct, use
of force and authority, respect and courtesy, and that this should be
counted as gross misconduct.

But
the disciplinary process was dismissed as a ‘whitewash’ by Mr
Tomlinson’s family after the panel decided not to consider an allegation
that
Harwood’s actions inadvertently caused or contributed to 47-year-old Mr
Tomlinson’s death.

Crucial moment: Mr Tomlinson’s fall to the ground after he was hit with a baton and shoved by Pc Simon Harwood was captured on video

‘Unlawfully killed’: Mr Tomlinson sits on the pavement after being shoved over by Pc Harwood during the G20 protests in 2009. Mr Tomlinson later died from internal bleeding

Lawyers for the police officer had refused to accept the allegation.

Harwood, from Carshalton in Surrey, has
already been acquitted of Mr Tomlinson’s manslaughter, although an
inquest found the father-of-nine was unlawfully killed.

Speaking
outside London’s Empress State Building, in Earl’s Court, where the
hearing took place, Mr Tomlinson’s stepson Paul King dismissed the
procedure as ‘showboating’.

He said: ‘I think it’s pointless, it hasn’t proved anything to us. We still haven’t got any answer from this.

‘After three-and-a-half years, I think its diabolical. It’s like we’re back at day one.

‘We will carry on, it isn’t going to be the last of it.’

He said there was ‘no justice’ in the fact that Harwood now faces the sack.

The family are planning to take civil action over Mr Tomlinson’s death.

The
family’s solicitor, Jules Carey, said the family had been ‘cheated of
an opportunity’ to address the difference between the inquest verdict of
unlawful killing and Harwood’s acquittal for manslaughter.

Sacked: Harwood (right), pictured on his way into the disciplinary hearing, was found to have committed gross misconduct

Mr Carey added: ‘The family want a judgment in the civil court.

‘They
want it to be determined finally whether or not Pc Harwood is guilty as
an employee of the police of killing Ian Tomlinson.’

The
hearing was told that Harwood had twice offered to resign from the Met
in the wake of Mr Tomlinson’s death, because he thought it was ‘the
right thing to do’.

Patrick
Gibbs, for Harwood, said: ‘He has described again and again the huge
gap between what he understood at the time and thought he was doing at
the time, and what he now realises was the case.

‘He
had no way of knowing at the time what Mr Tomlinson’s level of
intoxication was and all of the medical difficulties before that time.’

Mr Tomlinson’s widow, Julia,
and his two stepsons walked out of the hearing room saying ‘Whitewash’
as Mr Gibbs addressed the panel.

Mr Gibbs told the panel: ‘Pc
Harwood does indeed accept that the discredit which his actions, and
the way in which they have been reported, has brought upon the
Metropolitan Police Service amounts to gross misconduct.

‘He has twice offered his resignation to the Commissioner.’

He said that, with the benefit of
hindsight, Harwood would have used ‘no force at all’ if he had known
about the state of Mr Tomlinson’s health.

Mr Gibbs said: ‘If he had known then
what he now knows about the circumstances, everybody’s movements and Mr
Tomlinson’s health, he would have used no force, let alone the force
that he did use.’

Harwood has a controversial police
disciplinary record, but this was not considered as part of the hearing
because the accusations are more than two years old.

A number of allegations were made
against Harwood over a 12-year period and he was allowed to retire from
the Met on medical grounds in 2001 despite unresolved disciplinary
proceedings.

He was accused of unlawful arrest,
abuse of authority and discreditable conduct over an incident when he
allegedly shouted at another driver and knocked him over his car door,
before announcing that he was a police officer and arresting the
motorist on a common assault charge.

But the proceedings were discontinued when he retired.

Later, Harwood rejoined the force as a civilian worker before becoming a police officer for Surrey.

He was then allowed to rejoin the Met in 2004 as part of its territorial support group (TSG), specialising in public order.

After he was acquitted of manslaughter, police watchdog the Independent Police Complaints

Commission said his case raised ‘grave concerns’ about Met vetting procedures.

The force admitted that proper checks had not been made, but said processes had since changed.

Anger: The family of Ian Tomlinson arrives at the hearing at the Empress State Building in London

Unhappy: Mr Tomlinson’s widow Julia (centre) and his two stepsons walked out of the hearing room saying ‘Whitewash’ as the police officer’s lawyer addressed the panel

VIDEO: IPCC ‘This should never happen again’

VIDEO: Tomlinson stepson: ‘Hearing was a whitewash’

VIDEO: Ian Tomlinson’s family arrive at the hearing of PC Simon Harwood

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

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It is very difficult to be a policeman in these difficult times, particularly when they are restricted by stupid pc rules etc.
Sometimes some will go over the top. We should not condemn the rest because of this one unfortunate circumstance.
If the demonstraters had not been there in the first place causing unessecary mahem to innocent people, then this incident would never have happened.

–

kdutty
,

duras,
17/9/2012 16:51

Most of the police have this terrible attitude and as an organisation should be disbanded. Bring our armies home and have them police us. At least they are worth respecting.

– Neil , LONDON, 17/9/2012 13:59

You cannot ever have been in a squaddie town on a Saturday night Neil.

–

Victor Meldrew
,

London,
17/9/2012 16:50

This “man” is no better than a thug, and anyone who has seen the footage of his attack must surely agree with me. What the jury who let him off the charges were thinking eludes me.

–

Leedsman1954
,

Leeds,
17/9/2012 16:50

Youtube is full of Police brutality. Too little too late.

–

Lee
,

London,
17/9/2012 16:45

Certainly seems to be an overwhelming anti-police feeling going full swing at the moment. Just be sure you know what you want to replace them with before you go howling for change, because truth is this is what you replaced the Police force I served in with, and if we were too rough and now the very watered down replacement is too rough, where to next? The answer is you have no collective idea at all, mainly because most of you so keen on red-arrrowing have never had to confront a thug in your lives.

–

Dutch Ovens
,

Still stuck here…,
17/9/2012 16:45

No change there for him,nice pension and a nice cushy job when the dust settles!

–

paul james
,

connahs quay,
17/9/2012 16:44

As reprehensible as this mans actions were he has NEVER been found guilty of anything before, that means he is INNOCENT of criminal conduct. It also means that he was quite rightly dismissed so he DOES NOT get a big fat police pension. He is entitled to the 11% of his salary he contributed when he reaches retirement age. You CANNOT take that off him no matter how big and fat you think it is, because it is HIS money not yours. The call of whitewash from his concerned family is all a bit of hot air, as had they spent FOUR weeks hearing evidence all at the TAXPAYERS expense, the result would have been the same, he would have been dismissed for gross misconduct. That is the WORST punishment the panel could give. Loath the man for his actions in 2009 but today he did the right thing and pleaded GUILTY to an internal POLICE DISCIPLINE Offence because he knew he had breached regulations. Now you have the FACTS please let the red arrows flow……

–

FUBAR
,

london,
17/9/2012 16:41

Typical off todays police, bully boys and thugs. Theres only one real policeman in any one town left, who you could call a real police officer, the rest are not fit for purpose.

–

D Walmsley
,

Leeds,
17/9/2012 16:40

Hey posters: Put yourself in this guys shoes faced by an angry rioting bunch of misfits. You would react violently too….I know bloody well that I would.

–

Ivor Court
,

Hamburg_Germany, Germany,
17/9/2012 16:38

No doubt this will be red arrowed but in fact today was just about the disciplinary hearing for Harwood . It was never going to be about the Met or the failings of others and the family will have been made aware of that. The civil case they intend to take and will no doubt win, will address these issues. It was never going to be today.

–

David K
,

Buxton UK, United Kingdom,
17/9/2012 16:33

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