1 April A man dies during the G20 protests in central London. A police statement released three hours afterwards reads: “The officers took the decision to move him as during this time a number of missiles – believed to be bottles – were being thrown at them.” The Independent Police Complaints Commission is notified.
2 April Police name Ian Tomlinson as the dead man. Police tell reporters that he had pre-existing health problems and that his family were “not surprised” by his death.
3-6 April Witnesses begin to come forward saying they saw Tomlinson, 47, assaulted by police.
7 April Video footage obtained by the Guardian shows Tomlinson was attacked from behind and thrown to the ground by a baton–wielding police officer in riot gear. The paper prepares a dossier of evidence for the police complaints watchdog.
8 April After watching the footage, Tomlinson family members break their silence and call for justice. Tomlinson’s son, Paul, tells the Guardian: “I think what we’ve seen has answered a lot of questions.” Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson says the video images “raise obvious concerns” and should be investigated fully. The IPCC reverses its decision to allow police to investigate the death, taking over the inquiry and ordering a second postmortem.
9 April The Metropolitan police suspend the officer who hit Tomlinson.
15 April More videos showing police aggression at the G20 protests are posted on the Guardian website.
17 April A second postmortem reveals Tomlinson did not die of a heart attack but of an abdominal haemorrhage. The suspended officer is questioned on suspicion of manslaughter.
8 May Tomlinson family reveal that the IPCC has been asked to investigate the “content and timing” of press communications put out by Scotland Yard in the aftermath of the death.
15 May IPCC launches separate investigation into media handling of Ian Tomlinson’s death by police amid claims of a cover-up.
19 May
Sir Paul Stephenson tells the Commons home affairs select committee that he is extremely concerned about some aspects of the policing of the G20 demonstrations.
2 July
Freddy Patel, the pathologist whose initial examination suggested that Tomlinson died of a heart attack, is removed from the Home Office register of accredited forensic pathologists pending an inquiry.
4 August
The IPCC completes its investigation and asks the Crown Prosecution Service to consider whether the police officer who attacked Tomlinson should be charged with manslaughter.
7 August
Police memos emerge revealing that IPCC investigators decided there was no evidence of police wrongdoing in Tomlinson’s death within three days of the incident.
25 November
An inquiry into the policing of the G20 protests demands wide-ranging reforms and a return to an ideal of policing based on “approachability, impartiality, accountability and … minimum force”.
1 April 2010
Tomlinson’s family join 50 supporters in central London for a vigil to mark the first anniversary of his death on the spot where he died.
12 July
Freddy Patel appears before a disciplinary panel of the General Medical Council, accused of conducting four other autopsies incompetently.
22 July
The Crown Prosecution Service announces that no officer will face charges over Tomlinson’s death as there is “no realistic prospect of a conviction”.
26 July: The attorney general, Dominic Grieve, says it is “profoundly unsatisfactory” that there has been no charge over Tomlinson’s death.
27 July: The Metropolitan police say PC Simon Harwood is to face disciplinary action for gross misconduct.
3 September: Patel, the pathologist who carried out the initial postmortem examination of Tomlinson, is suspended for three months after a disciplinary panel found him guilty of misconduct in two earlier postmortems. This meant his fitness to practise had been impaired in Tomlinson’s case.
14 October: The director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer, says he is sticking by his decision despite Patel’s suspension.
10 November: A senior judge, Peter Thornton QC, is appointed to oversee the inquest into the death of Tomlinson.
2011
28 March: The inquest into the death of Tomlinson begins and continues until 21 April.
3 May: The inquest rules that Tomlinson was unlawfully killed by Harwood.
24 May: After reviewing evidence, Starmer decides Harwood will face trial for manslaughter. Harwood will face criminal charges for striking Tomlinson with a baton and pushing him to the ground in the G20 protests.
17 October: Harwood pleads not guilty to charges of manslaughter at Southwark crown court.
2012
18 June: The trial begins and witnesses say they believe Tomlinson was “not posing any threat” when he was struck down by the police officer. Harwood tells the court he believed Tomlinson was being deliberately obstructive.
19 July: Harwood is found not guilty of the death of Tomlinson after four days of jury deliberations. He told the court he “got it wrong” but he saw Tomlinson as a potential threat.
17 September: Harwood is found guilty of gross misconduct and dismissed from the police force. The disciplinary panel says Harwood’s actions towards Tomlinson were “disproportionate and unreasonable”. The Tomlinson family say they were disappointed with the panel’s decision not to investigate whether the police officer’s actions led to Tomlinson’s death. The family’s lawyers say they want a judgment in the civil court.
2013
5 August: The Metropolitan police issue an apology to Tomlinson’s family and admit for the first time that he was unlawfully killed by Harwood.
