The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson

Subject: RE: The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson
From: Owen Woodson
Date: 29 Jul 12 - 04:28 PM

That's incredible. How the hell do you steal a police uniform when they're either being worn or locked up under the vigilant eyes of our watchful police?

And how convenient if the impersonator had just happened to nick a uniform of the right size? And why would anyone bother anyway?

Hang on, it's beginning to make sense. According to certain far right quarters, our police forces are the victims of creeping Cultural Marxism.

According to this theory, or rather to right wing mis-interpretations of it, the far left have given up trying to arouse the masses by revolutionary rhetoric. Instead, they have infiltrated the system, so that they can attack it from within.

In other words, they think that Britain is now in the hands of a cartel of creeping Marxists, who batten down on all right thinking people, whilst turning a blind eye to EG., Muslim immigration, paedophilia, unwashed benefit scroungers, and all the other enemies of everything that is noble about the British character. (Honest to God. I am not making this up. Clock the website of any British party to the right of UKIP and that is pretty much what they will say.)

So, following this logic, what could be more more natural for these bizzaros than to think that the cultural Marxist Metropolitan Police Commissioner himself must have authorised the stealing of a size whatever uniform, complete with boots, helmet and all other visible paraphenalia, to fit one of the demonstrators, so that said demonstrator could then kill an innocent passer by and blame it on the non-politically correct PC Harwood?

And to think they used to talk about the loony left!!!

Subject: RE: The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 29 Jul 12 - 01:32 PM

Surreal indeed!

When the IPCC took over the investigation, a meeting was convened with the family and City of London police. When the video was replayed at the meeting, the family were deeply upset when Crampton remarked that the man shown attacking Tomlinson could have been a member of the public dressed in a stolen police uniform.

The family were astonished by the intervention, believing it showed the senior officer who until then had led the inquiry was "either unable to accept the obvious truth or determined to hold on to a falsehood at all costs".

Mahaffey disagreed with the family, saying "the possibility of a police impersonator needed to be explored".

Thanks for the link, henryp -- good article.

Subject: RE: The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson
From: GUEST,henryp
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 01:22 PM

Each of the police authorities involved - the City of London Police, the Metropolitan Police and the watchdog the IPCC - has been found at fault in its conduct.

The City of London police were told just 48 hours after the newspaper seller's death about witness testimony from three Metropolitan police officers, all of whom were standing beside the 47-year-old when he was struck by PC Simon Harwood. The officers were adamant they had seen a colleague attack him before his collapse.

Nevertheless, in a surreal exchange with Ian Tomlinson's family, the City of London Police, with the support of the IPCC, suggested that the assailant might have been a member of the public dressed in a stolen police uniform!

Guardian report

Subject: RE: The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson
From: The Sandman
Date: 26 Jul 12 - 03:51 PM

well done

Subject: RE: The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 26 Jul 12 - 01:35 PM

Thanks, eanjay! Very cool...

Subject: RE: The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson
From: Jean(eanjay)
Date: 25 Jul 12 - 01:49 PM

I have tweeted both songs.

Subject: RE: The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 25 Jul 12 - 08:43 AM

Matthew & Mr H,

Thanks for the encouragement. Perhaps I should update this and start singing it again... and/or learn Vinnie's song.

Subject: RE: The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson
From: GUEST,Henryp
Date: 24 Jul 12 - 04:18 AM

The case made front page news. On 20 July 2012, the headline of The Independent read; NOT GUILTY. BUT NO INNOCENT. Inside, a two page report was accompanied by a leading article; The police cannot police themselves.

At the Inquest in May 2011, the jury delivered a verdict of unlawful killing. It found that Ian Tomlinson was unlawfully killed by a police officer. It said both the baton strike and the push were unreasonable; "As a result, Mr Tomlinson suffered internal bleeding which led to his collapse within a few minutes and his subsequent death." It also found that at the time of the strike and push Ian Tomlinson was walking away from the officer and "posed no threat".

The jury was not permitted to name the police officer, but he has been identified as PC Simon Harwood, a member of the Metropolitan Police's Territorial Support Group. Complaints against him include punching, throttling, kneeing and racially abusing people.

Of the ten complaints, the Metropolitan Police upheld only one. In this, the very first, a Police Commander found his behaviour had fallen well below that expected of a police officer when he rushed another driver after a collision and forced him over a car door.

PC Harwood avoided disciplinary action by retiring from the Metropolitan Police on medical grounds. He left on Friday 14 September 2001 but rejoined after the weekend in a civilian role. In April 2003, he successfully applied to join the Surrey Police before transferring back to the Metropolitan Police.

PC Harwood was charged with the manslaughter of Ian Tomlinson. At his trial, the judge rejected an application from the Crown Prosecution Service to reveal his disciplinary record to the jury. The jury subsequently found PC Harwood not guilty of manslaughter.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission says the employment of PC Harwood despite past disciplinary problems raises considerable concerns about the Metropolitan Police's vetting procedures. It has also ordered PC Harwood to face Metropolitan Police disciplinary proceedings in public.

Subject: RE: The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson
From: Mr Happy
Date: 23 Jul 12 - 05:51 AM

Yorkshire Yankee,

Good song, thanks.

It's not very surprising your audience didn't recognise the story, as the mainstream news media seems to have been somewhat muzzled.

Subject: RE: The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson
From: Matthew Edwards
Date: 22 Jul 12 - 04:51 PM

It's a good song, Yorkshire Yankee, so keep on singing it - Vinny Spencer's song is good as well, but the more songs there are about this the better.

Matthew

Subject: RE: The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 20 Jul 12 - 12:03 PM

Hi Owen,

No, I don't mind -- it's a brilliant song, and seems to achieve something my song didn't...

I stopped singing mine out, because there didn't seem to be much reaction to it (other than polite clapping) when I did. Don't know if I just didn't do the song justice when I sang it (it's not an easy song to sing), or if it needed to be simpler (like Vinnie's song) in order for folks to connect with it.

If anyone has any thoughts on the subject, I'd be very interested in hearing them...

BTW, an old BS thread on the subject has revived (not surprisingly); it has some good information and links (as well as discussion).

Subject: RE: The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson
From: Flash Company
Date: 20 Jul 12 - 10:47 AM

Oh man I love it, wish I'd had the inspiration to do that

FC

Subject: RE: The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson
From: Owen Woodson
Date: 20 Jul 12 - 10:45 AM

Yorkshire Yankee. Good song. Hope you don't mind, but I though folks might like to see a clip here of a similar song written by Liverpool singer/songwriter Vinny Spencer .

Subject: The Ballad of Ian Tomlinson
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 20 Jul 12 - 12:19 AM

Based on Bob Dylan's "Who Killed Davey Moore?"
(hear him sing it):

Who Killed the paperman?
Dig the facts out if you can

Can't say, says the pathologist
But I'm sure there's nothing I have missed
It's not surprising that he fell
He was just a drunk, he wasn't well
It's too bad he died that night
But he shouldn't have been there on that site
It must have been a heart attack
There's no excuse for any flak
We just can't say what made him fall
But you can't blame the cops at all

Can't say, says the mighty Met
We tried to save him, don't forget
We sent two men to help him out
While the crowd threw "missiles" all about
Our medics gave him CPR
Sorry we can't tell you more
The witnesses say that's not true
but trust us, they don't have a clue
We just can't say what made him fall
But you can't blame the cops at all

Can't say, says the IPCC
But don't upset the family
With speculation otherwise
Of course the Met would never lie
You must not trust the video
That shows him knocked down by a blow
From a cop who "lost" his shoulder ID
So don't give us the 3rd degree
We just can't say what made him fall
But you can't blame the cops at all

Can't say, says the Coroner
Though Freddie Patel's been wrong before
And screwed up several other cases
When he didn't notice cuts & bruises
Though I didn't let the IPCC attend
The 1st post mortem and I didn't send
A message to let the family know
Although it's their legal right to go
We just can't say what made him fall
But you can't blame the cops at all

Can't say, said the court decison
Yes it is a sad omission
Not to charge the cop who hit him
(After the police dog bit him)
And even though this officer's
Been charged with violence before
It's too bad, but we don't know how
It took so long; we can't charge him now
We just can't say what made him fall
But you can't blame the cops at all

Who Killed the paperman?
Dig the facts out if you can...

==============

For more info about the case (the officer in question was found "not guilty" by a jury yesterday (19 July 2012)):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Ian_Tomlinson

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/apr/09/g20-police-assault-ian-tomlinson-g20

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2175957/G20-death-trial-PC-Simon-Harwood-guilty-manslaughter-Ian-Tomlinson.html?ICO=most_read_module
(shortest summary; also most recent article, but it is the Daily Mail...)

For more info on Davey Moore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davey_Moore_%28boxer,_born_1933%29

In the interests of fairness, I should admit that I wrote this song before PC Harwood was charged with manslaughter, so I should really do some re-writing...