Dear [MP's name],

I am sure by now you have seen the footage of Ian Tomlinson being attacked by a
police officer on April 1st. Mr Tomlinson was making his way home from work and
was uninvolved with the G20 protests that day. The video shows him walking away
from the police officers with his hands in his pockets, before being struck in
the legs with a baton and pushed hard from behind by a police officer. Mr
Tomlinson died of a heart attack later that evening. 

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police Federation have described this as "one
small incident" and "maintaining order". Having seen the video I find this
disgusting; there is no provocation for this act, and it was not taken in the
course of an arrest - the police can be seen standing around after the assault
and not arresting or restraining Mr Tomlinson. 

I understand that policing protests is a difficult and potentially dangerous
job for our police officers, but they are supposed to be properly trained,
psychologically suited, and have the proper discipline to do the job. The video
makes clear this was not a split-second decision in a high-tension moment.
Instead, it was an unprovoked assault on a member of the public that possibly
contributed to his later death. 

I would urge you to raise this matter in the House of Commons and ask the
following questions: 
1. Has the officer been identified? Has he been arrested for assault? If not,
   is he still on duty?  
2. Why do police accounts of the circumstances regarding their contact with Mr
   Tomlinson differ so dramatically from what the video shows?  
3. Will there be an inquiry into the policing of the protests, including what
   orders were given to officers on the street, the practice of kettling¹, and 
   the atmosphere created through the press beforehand?


Yours sincerely,

¹ Penning protesters into a small area for extended periods of time and not 
  allowing them to leave.