7 Apr 2011

"The Fuckers Got Me"

Ian Tomlinson, the newspaper seller knocked down by a police officer at the G20 protests, muttered "the fuckers got me" moments before he died.

The inquest into his death has already heard how Tomlinson, a father of nine, was struck with a baton and pushed to the ground by police officer Simon Harwood minutes before he died in the City of London. Describing what may have been Tomlinson's last words, a bystander told the jury in the case that he watched Tomlinson collapse about 100 metres from where he had been pushed. The former City worker Kamran Saleem, now a charity manager, said: "He said something along the lines of 'They got me, the fuckers got me.'

the fuckers got me

The jury, which is sitting at a venue in Fleet Street, London, has heard how Tomlinson was repeatedly turned away from police cordons near the Bank of England. The 47-year-old had been attempting to find his way home from work before he finally encountered Harwood, a member of the Metropolitan Police's territorial support group (TSG).

More, including a fascinating video, on The Guardian