Police watchdog "serious concerns" on G20 policing

By Kate Kelland

LONDON (Reuters) - The head of the police watchdog said on Sunday he had serious concerns about the policing of demonstrations after a series of allegations about police violence during protests at the G20 summit this month.

Nick Hardwick, chairman of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), told The Observer there should be a national debate over how police maintain public order.

"It's got to be a democratic political question about how do we want to be policed," he said.

"I think that needs a proper parliamentary discussion. The choices we make as a society about that aren't consequence-free. There are tricky balances to be struck."

The IPCC is investigating three cases of alleged police violence at the April 1-2 protests over the G20 summit in London -- including one against a woman and one against a man who later collapsed and died.

The IPCC said on Friday a Metropolitan police officer had been questioned on suspicion of manslaughter over the death of newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson during G20 protests on April 1.

A police sergeant was suspended last Wednesday after video footage came to light of a female protester, Nicola Fisher, being hit across the face and beaten by a baton-wielding policeman during protests on April 2.

Hardwick said the allegations of excessive force by police, and claims that some officers failed to display identification numbers correctly, raised questions about whether police were crossing the line between being public servants or masters.

"I think that raises serious concerns about the frontline supervision. Why was that happening, why did the supervisor not stop them?" he told the Observer.

"I think that is unacceptable. It is about being servants, not masters: the police are there as public servants."

The IPCC said it had received almost 90 complaints about police behaviour during the protests, which saw confrontations between anti-capitalist demonstrators, environmental campaigners and riot officers.

Some of the allegations stemmed from amateur video footage or mobile phone images of the clashes.

The capital's police chief, Commissioner Paul Stephenson, has expressed his concern about the video images and has ordered a review of public order tactics, in particular the use of "kettling" where officers herd protesters into a confined space and hold them there for long periods of time.

(Editing by Tim Pearce)