A PSNI officer who made an arrest at a Troubles commemoration event during the Covid-19 restrictions did not respond “with sensitivity”, a police watchdog report has found.
The Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman released the findings of an investigation on Monday into a complaint made by a man, Mark Sykes, who was arrested in Belfast on February 5th, 2021, at an event marking the anniversary of the Sean Graham Bookmakers massacre.
Mr Sykes, who is not named in the report, was a survivor of the 1992 loyalist attack on the Ormeau Road, in which five people were killed and seven seriously injured.
His arrest sparked a huge political row, with the PSNI accused of heavy-handed policing in nationalist areas.
Solving the tragic mystery of the lost boys of Skellig Michael
Forget the gym: Here’s four fitness lessons from around the world
A week without power: 94-year-old woman who requires electric hoist is stuck in her bed in Artane
Mother whose son attended school nine times this year says expecting him in bed before midnight is ridiculous, court hears
The watchdog inquiry centred on the conduct of police and “prolonged, unnecessary use of handcuffs” on Mr Sykes, who was handcuffed with his hands behind him for 90 minutes.
In a detailed statement, Ombudsman Marie Anderson said she was satisfied there was “reasonable justification” for the PSNI to have attended the scene given restrictions on gatherings under the Covid-19 regulations.
Two PSNI officers, who were probationary officers with less than a year’s service, were given orders to establish what was happening at the commemoration and instructed by their supervising sergeant to “back off” if they “met resistance”.
After examining evidence of the incident, including radio transmissions and body-worn video, Ms Anderson concluded she was “of the view that the arresting police officer had not responded to the unfolding events in line with an order to treat the gathering with sensitivity”.
“I also considered whether the man’s arrest for disorderly behaviour and his handcuffing should be the subject of criminal and disciplinary proceedings,” she said.
A file was submitted to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) for a decision on whether two officers should be prosecuted for assault, but the PPS found that no charges should be brought.
The actions of seven officers, including those at the scene, in the control room and senior officers involved in decision making was also examined by the watchdog and assessed against the standards set out in the PSNI Code of Ethics.
Ms Anderson said the evidence had been sufficient to support her recommendations to the PSNI’s Professional Standards Department (PSD) for disciplinary proceedings regarding one officer’s conduct regarding the man’s arrest and handcuffing. The recommendations were accepted by PSD and disciplinary proceedings were held. However, the officer subsequently appealed the decision of the disciplinary panel and won his case.
Reacting to the findings, PSNI chief constable Jon Boucher said he recognised the “continuing distress” felt by bereaved families and victims of the 1992 gun attack.
He added that the force is “committed to learning from this case and have accepted the recommendations made by the Ombudsman”.
“We have already commenced updating our training, policy and procedures to ensure that incidents of a similar nature do not occur again,” Mr Boucher said.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
