A female police officer sustained a suspected fractured skull after being hit with a brick as she attended the scene of a road accident in north Belfast last night.
She was attacked by a crowd at about 8.45pm who threw the brick from behind the wall of a youth club in the Ligoniel area. With two colleagues she had been responding to a road accident near Ligoniel church in which a pedestrian had been knocked down.
PSNI Inspector Gavin Kirkpatrick from Antrim Road police station condemned the attack. "It is disgraceful that police officers should be attacked while carrying out their duties in providing assistance to members of the public," he said.
"This female officer could have been seriously injured and I would appeal to those involved to stop and for parents and members of the community to use their influence to ensure such an attack does not happen again."
It is understood the person knocked down did not sustain life threatening injuries. Police urged anyone with information about the attack on their colleague or the accident to come forward with information.
PA