Wayne
08-06-2009, 06:31 PM
A young woman suffered a suspected miscarriage after being kicked and pushed by police at April's G20 protests in central London, it has been revealed.
The police watchdog for England and Wales has called for an "immediate change to policing of protests" in light of the seriousness of the 23-year-old's allegations.
The unnamed woman claims she was left with bruising on her arms and legs after being kicked and being pushed by officers armed with shields and batons, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said.
The IPCC report said:
The complainant was forcibly pushed by an officer using their short shield in an attempt to move the crowd backwards – a tactic which, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary stated recently, has been developed locally, has not been medically assessed and does not form part of any national training or the current ACPO public order manual.
The complainant was not allowed to leave the area of Bishopsgate for some four to five hours in order to make herself more comfortable with regard to her bleeding.
According to the IPCC the woman later suffered from heavy vaginal bleeding, which her GP said could have been a miscarriage.
"Following consultation with her GP, the complainant was informed that the bleeding could have been a miscarriage, although the likelihood she had miscarried was low," a statement said.
"She was not aware when she attended the demonstration that she might have been pregnant and this was never confirmed."
A Metropolitan police spokesperson told inthenews.co.uk: "It is only right and proper that public complaints are investigated thoroughly, and where appropriate, independently. Though we note that the medical opinion was that there was a low probability of the complainant being pregnant, there is a real opportunity for lessons to be learnt here."
The woman's allegations date to the Climate Camp protest at Bishopsgate on April 1st.
Her complaint did not implicate any individual officers and instead focused on general police tactics employed at protests.
"She did not want individual officers to be singled out by this investigation but did want action to be taken to ensure her experience feeds into the policing of future protests," the IPCC said.
IPCC commissioner for London Deborah Glass commented: "While this young woman's alleged injuries were more serious than most, her experience appears to have been typical of many peaceful protestors on April 1st. She was caught up in what appears to have been a frightening experience over which she had little or no control.
"Like many others that day, she says she had no prior warning of the police intention to use force in containing the crowd, and no prior warning of a containment tactic that prevented her leaving."
The watchdog has subsequently made the following recommendations:
No surprises – Protestors and public should be made aware of likely police action in order to make informed decisions.
A release plan to allow vulnerable or distressed persons or those inadvertently caught up in the police containment to exit.
A review of current public order training.
On Tuesday the IPCC submitted its file to prosecutors over the death of Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests.
Four other investigations following complaints by police tactics at the protests have also been completed. More than 250 complaints were received relating to the policing.
Scotland Yard added that a senior officer had offered to meet the complainant in today's report to "discuss the potential learning from this incident and apologise for distress caused".
One female protestor told inthenews.co.uk that she found "the actions of the police on the day aggressive and very over the top".
"I had to seek medical attention for an injured wrist after being flung to the ground by a police officer.
Our correspondent, who was at the neighbouring protest at Bank, said she saw a number of injured protestors stopped from leaving the crowds to receive treatment.
"I saw one woman being carried out of the crowds with blood pouring from her head, but it was not clear whether she had been hit by police or by something thrown from within the crowd," she said.
"One person I spoke to had said his girlfriend had been hit by an officer as she turned to walk away from the police line because she was scared. He told me he tried to protect her and was struck three times on the head. There was certainly a consistent approach from the police, who failed to distinguish those who may be vulnerable in the crowd. There was also an apparent lack of medical attention given to those injured, with those in need of treatment being turned away from the police line and kept within the lock down for a number of hours."
Source (http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/news/crime/crime/g20-police-gave-woman-miscarriage--$1316927.htm)
The police watchdog for England and Wales has called for an "immediate change to policing of protests" in light of the seriousness of the 23-year-old's allegations.
The unnamed woman claims she was left with bruising on her arms and legs after being kicked and being pushed by officers armed with shields and batons, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said.
The IPCC report said:
The complainant was forcibly pushed by an officer using their short shield in an attempt to move the crowd backwards – a tactic which, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary stated recently, has been developed locally, has not been medically assessed and does not form part of any national training or the current ACPO public order manual.
The complainant was not allowed to leave the area of Bishopsgate for some four to five hours in order to make herself more comfortable with regard to her bleeding.
According to the IPCC the woman later suffered from heavy vaginal bleeding, which her GP said could have been a miscarriage.
"Following consultation with her GP, the complainant was informed that the bleeding could have been a miscarriage, although the likelihood she had miscarried was low," a statement said.
"She was not aware when she attended the demonstration that she might have been pregnant and this was never confirmed."
A Metropolitan police spokesperson told inthenews.co.uk: "It is only right and proper that public complaints are investigated thoroughly, and where appropriate, independently. Though we note that the medical opinion was that there was a low probability of the complainant being pregnant, there is a real opportunity for lessons to be learnt here."
The woman's allegations date to the Climate Camp protest at Bishopsgate on April 1st.
Her complaint did not implicate any individual officers and instead focused on general police tactics employed at protests.
"She did not want individual officers to be singled out by this investigation but did want action to be taken to ensure her experience feeds into the policing of future protests," the IPCC said.
IPCC commissioner for London Deborah Glass commented: "While this young woman's alleged injuries were more serious than most, her experience appears to have been typical of many peaceful protestors on April 1st. She was caught up in what appears to have been a frightening experience over which she had little or no control.
"Like many others that day, she says she had no prior warning of the police intention to use force in containing the crowd, and no prior warning of a containment tactic that prevented her leaving."
The watchdog has subsequently made the following recommendations:
No surprises – Protestors and public should be made aware of likely police action in order to make informed decisions.
A release plan to allow vulnerable or distressed persons or those inadvertently caught up in the police containment to exit.
A review of current public order training.
On Tuesday the IPCC submitted its file to prosecutors over the death of Ian Tomlinson during the G20 protests.
Four other investigations following complaints by police tactics at the protests have also been completed. More than 250 complaints were received relating to the policing.
Scotland Yard added that a senior officer had offered to meet the complainant in today's report to "discuss the potential learning from this incident and apologise for distress caused".
One female protestor told inthenews.co.uk that she found "the actions of the police on the day aggressive and very over the top".
"I had to seek medical attention for an injured wrist after being flung to the ground by a police officer.
Our correspondent, who was at the neighbouring protest at Bank, said she saw a number of injured protestors stopped from leaving the crowds to receive treatment.
"I saw one woman being carried out of the crowds with blood pouring from her head, but it was not clear whether she had been hit by police or by something thrown from within the crowd," she said.
"One person I spoke to had said his girlfriend had been hit by an officer as she turned to walk away from the police line because she was scared. He told me he tried to protect her and was struck three times on the head. There was certainly a consistent approach from the police, who failed to distinguish those who may be vulnerable in the crowd. There was also an apparent lack of medical attention given to those injured, with those in need of treatment being turned away from the police line and kept within the lock down for a number of hours."
Source (http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/news/crime/crime/g20-police-gave-woman-miscarriage--$1316927.htm)