G20 officer to face assault charge after confrontation at Ian Tomlinson vigil (London Assembly Liberal Democrats)

London Assembly Liberal Democrats <info@glalibdems.org.uk>

G20 officer to face assault charge after confrontation at Ian Tomlinson vigil

September 29, 2009 12:00 AM
In http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6852445.ece

From The Times September 29, 2009

G20 officer to face assault charge after confrontation at Ian Tomlinson vigil

Sergeant Delroy "Tony" Smellie, who is suspended from duty with the Metropolitan Police Territorial Support Group, is accused of the "assault by beating" of Nicola Fisher in the City of London on April 2.

The incident, which occurred the day after a man died following police operations, was captured on a camera phone and the video placed on the internet.

Mr Smellie is seen on the film remonstrating with Ms Fisher, 35, and pushing her back with a gloved hand before hitting her on the legs with his extendable baton.

Mr Smellie has been summonsed to appear before Westminister Magistrates' Court on November 16.

The CPS also decided that there was insufficient evidence to charge Mr Smellie in connection with another incident involving a different complainant. A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "We are aware that the IPCC has summonsed an officer to court on suspicion of assault. It would be completely inappropriate to comment further on this specific case. The only place for the facts to be heard now is a court of law."

The spokesman added: "Every officer is accountable under law and fully aware of the scrutiny that their actions can be held open to. The decision to use force is made by the individual police officer, and they must account for that.

"The MPS takes any suggestion that officers or staff have not met the professional standards expected of them very seriously."

Prosecutors are continuing to review evidence relating to the death of Ian Tomlinson, a newspaper vendor, who died inside the police cordon in the City on April 1.

Mr Tomlinson, who was not a protester, was filmed being pushed to the ground by a TSG officer, who was also suspended from duty pending the outcome of legal proceedings.

Sources said that no decision on whether the officer would be charged was expected for several months.

The IPCC has investigated and decided against referring to the CPS a case involving a woman who suffered a miscarriage. An inquiry into media handling of the death of Mr Tomlinson is also the subject of an inquiry.

The Met was widely criticised this month when it decided to discipline most officers who discarded their identity numbers during the protests by giving them "words of advice".

Senior officers said that a tiny number of personnel had transgressed the identity regulations and the best way forward was to ensure more intrusive supervision. The force has also spent £40,000 on identification numbers for specialist public order officers.

Members of the Metropolitan Police Authority described the sanction as "a slap on the wrist".

Dee Doocey, a member of the authority, said: "I think it is really important that everyone can identify an officer. If someone is bashing you with a shield, it is quite nice to know who they are."

The IPCC received more than 282 complaints about police behaviour on the two days of the G20 protests. Five led to independent investigations with more than 60 being inquired into by the Met's professional standards department.

A large number related to police tactics and were passed to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary. The inspectorate has produced one report on public order policing and is expected to publish a second paper soon which will compare British police tactics with those in Europe.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6852445.ece