London: A British police officer, captured on video hitting and pushing a man who died at the G20 protest here last week, has been suspended, a report said on Thursday.
The move follows the ordering of an inquest into the death of a 47-year-old newspaper seller after a video of the officer in riot gear, striking him with a baton and then pushing him to the ground, surfaced on Wednesday.
Soon after the incident on the eve of last week's group of G-20 summit, Ian Tomlinson died from what a postmortem concluded was a heart attack.
The police officer is at the centre of a criminal investigation into whether his attack on Tomlinson, who was not taking part in the protests but on his way home, contributed to his death.
The move to suspend the officer followed a recommendation by the IPCC to Scotland Yard, which agreed with the decision and implemented it on Thursday, The Guardian reported. The IPCC, which has been criticised for its handling of the case, said in a statement, “The IPCC has called for the officer to be suspended. The MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) has now informed us that the officer has suspended with immediate effect.”
The officer in the video identified himself to his manager and the IPCC on Wednesday as fresh pictures suggested he had removed his shoulder number and covered his face with a balaclava before hitting Tomlinson with a baton and then pushing him to the ground last Wednesday.
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