An independent British police watchdog said today it was taking over the inquiry into the death of a man during anti-G20 protests in London last week, and had requested a second post mortem examination.
The inquiry had been in the hands of the City of London police but the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) stepped in after footage emerged showing a policeman from the City of London police push the man to the ground.
The man, 47-year-old newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson, was on his way home from work when he was caught up in a confrontation between police and anti-capitalist protesters in a street near the Bank of England on April 1.
He collapsed and died soon after an incident shown in video footage on the Guardianwebsite. An initial post mortem found that he died from a heart attack.
The investigation will look into whether contact with officers contributed to his death, the IPCC said.
"People are rightly concerned about this tragic death and this footage is clearly disturbing," said IPCC deputy chair Deborah Glass.
"People have been calling for a criminal investigation. I want to stress that, from the outset of all our investigations, we consider whether criminal offences have been committed."
Glass said the probe was currently focused on identifying the officers in the footage.
"Several have already come forward and all efforts are being made to trace those who haven't," she said.
The video, filmed by a New York fund manager who was in London on business, shows Tomlinson walking alone with his hands in his pockets in front of a line of police officers, some with dogs and others equipped with riot helmets, shields and batons.
One officer appears to lunge at Tomlinson from behind, pushing him with enough force to send him sprawling on the ground. Tomlinson is then shown sitting up and apparently remonstrating with the officers, before bystanders help him up.
Minutes later he collapsed in a nearby road.
Police attempted to resuscitate him before he was taken by ambulance to hospital. where he was pronounced dead.
Reuters