The Police Ombudsman has made three recommendations in relation to the arrest of a victim of the Sean Graham bookmakers attack, saying the arresting officer involved did not act “with sensitivity”.
The arrest of Mark Sykes in February 2021 caused a political fallout that led to the resignation of then-Chief Constable Simon Byrne.
Mr Sykes was shot numerous times in the 1992 loyalist attack on the Lower Ormeau area of Belfast, five people, including a 15-year-old child, died in the gun attack.
He made a complaint to the Police Ombudsman following the incident in which he was arrested, handcuffed and placed in a police car for 1.5 hours, before being released.
The investigation centred on allegations concerning the sensitivity of police attending the area during the commemoration, his alleged wrongful arrest and the prolonged, unnecessary use of handcuffs.
Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson, has made three recommendations in relation to the incident.
“Given the restrictions on gatherings which were in place under the Covid Regulations at the time, I am satisfied that there was reasonable justification for PSNI to have attended the scene”, she said.
“However, after examination of all relevant evidence, including radio transmissions, body-worn video and other video footage of the incident, I 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.”
A file was submitted to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) for a decision on whether two officers should be prosecuted for assault. The PPS directed no prosecution in respect of these officers.
In December, the prosecution announced a decision to prosecute one officer after an investigation by the PSNI’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU).
The ACU investigation was concerning an allegation that an officer was involved in a false threat report intended to support an application for an anonymity order related to the original incident.
In total, the ombudsman assessed the conduct of seven police officers, including those who were at the scene, in the control room and the senior officers involved in the decision-making. Their actions were assessed against the standards set out in the PSNI Code of Ethics.
Mrs 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 in relation to the man’s arrest and handcuffing.
The recommendations were accepted by the PSD and disciplinary proceedings were held. However, the officer subsequently appealed the decision of the disciplinary panel, and the appeal was upheld.
On the day of the commemoration, radio transmissions showed that police officers first thought it was a ‘pop-up protest’ and were not aware of the significance of the gathering.
The officers, who were both probationary officers with less than 12 months’ service, were given orders to establish what was happening and were instructed by their supervising sergeant to put their body-worn video on and to ‘back off’ if they met resistance.
Approximately 12 minutes after the initial radio exchange, the supervising sergeant advised the attending officers that the gathering was to commemorate the anniversary of the Sean Graham Bookmakers shootings.
The officers were told to “still get footage, but treat with sensitivity”.
Initial engagement, captured by the officers’ body-worn video cameras, involved a verbal exchange with the man during which he commented about the way in which an incident had been policed at Pitt Park in east Belfast a number of days earlier on February 2, 2021.
Loyalists had an alleged show of strength in the area with police officers watching on, three people were later charged, with two remaining before the courts.
Radio transmissions, heard by ombudsman investigators suggested that the officers were not aware of the significance of the commemoration.
Body worn video subsequently showed that the man became more unsettled with police and swore at them, prompting one police officer to ask for his personal details, which he did not provide. The officer attempted to detain the man, who walked away.
The man was then handcuffed and informed that he was under arrest for disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest. He was placed in a police car where he remained with his hands cuffed behind him for almost 1.5 hours, before being released at Musgrave PSNI station.
“The evidence demonstrated that the attending police officers had no advance knowledge of the event or an in-depth understanding of the atrocity which was being commemorated”, the Ombudsman said.
The report states: “The actions of two senior police officers, a Chief Inspector and Assistant Chief Constable, were therefore also investigated by the Police Ombudsman.
“The Assistant Chief Constable, having become aware of the incident and the arrest of the man, advised the Chief Inspector to assess police actions, review the necessity for the man’s arrest and continued detention, and to consider whether it was appropriate to release him.
“In giving his advice he was mindful of the requirement that ‘all persons in custody must be dealt with expeditiously and released as soon as the need for their detention no longer applies.’
“The Chief Inspector made an assessment and subsequently decided to release the man.”
The Police Ombudsman identified no evidence of a breach of the PSNI Code of Ethics by senior police officers. However, she did make three recommendations to PSNI.
She recommended that police develop a system to ensure that they are aware of Troubles-related anniversaries or commemorations.
Prior to making this policy recommendation, the PSNI had already taken steps to increase knowledge in local policing teams of possible commemorations for Troubles-related incidents.
However, this recommendation was accepted by PSNI. A section has now been incorporated into the PSNI’s Strategic Community Impact Assessment which covers some of the key events during the Troubles and highlights these to District Command Teams.
The second recommendation related to the then resourcing of local policing teams, at the time a large percentage of supervisors were in temporary positions.
This recommendation was partially accepted by the PSNI.
The final recommendation related to the need for improvements in public order training for new officers and, in particular, case law relevant to arrests.
This recommendation was also accepted by PSNI.