But what else could they return? Lawful killing?
nonsense...
it was an accident....not at all intentional.... the shove was assertive... the kind of shove you'd see a copper make on a football crowd, or angry demonstrators... in this instance, Harwood didn't know Tomlinson was homeless, or that he'd tried to get to his hostel many times, Harwood knew none of that.... he took it on face value... and an assertive push would make the guy realise he should walk in the other direction.... instead of ignoring police commands...
Ahh now the push was "assertive" . Slightly different from the "Simple shove" or "Gentle push" proffered, earlier in the thread.
You say it was the sort of shove you'd see a copper make against a football crowd or angry demonstrators.
Did Ian Tomlinson, look like he'd just been to a football match? Did he look like an "Angry demonstrator?",,,,, No he most clearly did not.. Obviously Harwood knew none of that, but as a police officer,
should have made an informed decision.
Personally , I believe Harwood, did make an informed decision that day. An informed decision to pick the easiest target (bullies often do pick the easiest targets)
He certainly didn't perceive Tomlinson as a threat. Threats don't generally walk away from you slowly, with their hands in their pockets.
He may well have mistaken Tomlinson for a football fan,,,, but then you have to surmise that Harwood equates football fans with violence and mayhem. You then have to ask yourself the question,, Are all football fans violent, or hell bent on causing mayhem?.
Simple answer ,,, NO they are not.
Nah ,, Harwood was out that day to see how many people he could hurt/hit. Why else did his superiors set him the task of looking after a police van? Was it because they knew of his past? I dare bet it was. (but that is never going to come out in open court) His superiors have closed ranks now, to cover their own backs. I dare bet there are a few a****s twitching in the Met over this case.
There are numerous questions in this case that are always going to go unanswered, but at the end of it (whatever the verdict) I bet Harwood will be summarily dismissed from serving in any police force in the country. He'll be lucky to even get a job as a security guard on a run down building site in the bloody Outer Hebrides...... And that will serve him bloody well right.
