John Hemsworth (13 November 1958 – 1 January 1998) was an Irish-American plumber who was beaten by members of the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

, a beating that caused him to die from a

hemorrhagic stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

in January 1998.

Personal life

John Hemsworth was born on 13 November 1958, in Kearny, New Jersey, but a few years later his family immigrated to Belfast. Hemsworth would have three daughters, two in a previous relationship and one with his wife Colette Hemsworth.

Beating

On 7 July 1997, Hemsworth was walking to his home on Conway Street from a night out at the St. Gall's GAA club; he would have usually gotten a taxi but they were unavailable due to the

1997 Northern Ireland riots From 6 to 11 July 1997 there were mass protests, fierce riots and gun battles in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland. Irish nationalists/ republicans, in some cases supported by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), attacked ...

. At around 1:45am while he was walking along Malcolmson Street, several members of the RUC assaulted him with batons and kicked him while he was on the ground, the assault left him with a broken jaw, a injured neck and severe bruising to his body. When Hemsworth got home, he told his wife Colette what had happened, and she advised him to seek medical treatment; he was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital at 2:21am.

Death

In November 1997 Hemsworth was diagnosed with a panic attack by a at home doctor, after he complained of severe pain. On 27 December Hemsworth was admitted to the Belfast City Hospital after he had fallen ill, and five days later on 1 January 1998 he would die from a major hemorrhagic stroke. From 2009 to 2011 a inquest was held surrounding Hemsworth's death, and on 16 May 2011 it was found that his injuries he sustained was one of if not the main reason for his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemsworth, John 1958 births 1998 deaths American people of Irish descent People from Kearny, New Jersey American emigrants to Ireland Immigrants to Ireland Police brutality in the United Kingdom Deaths by beating in the United Kingdom