Latest news with #PoliceOmbudsman
Belfast Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Police Ombudsman won't investigate incident in Bangor where PSNI fired shots after man seen with imitation gun
Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton told the Policing Board yesterday that the watchdog is 'not opening an investigation' after shots were fired by police. The incident occurred on the evening of May 18 in High Street in Bangor, where a man was seen in a business with a firearm. Belfast Magistrates Court was later told the RAF veteran pointed a 'realistic looking' imitation gun at armed police demanding to be shot. It was stated he put officers in such a state of fear they fired several rounds at the 45-year-old during a near two hour stand-off. During the incident, to which an armed response unit was called, the unnamed individual identified himself as a veteran of both wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The man was later arrested and charged with a range of offences, including 'possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear and violence'. The response of officers was praised by Mr Singleton. 'An individual clearly and significantly in distress, who pointed a fire arm at them (officers) in High Street, Bangor,' he said. 'Having reviewed the circumstances surrounding the discharge of the police firearms, the Police Ombudsman have confirmed that they are not opening an investigation. 'I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the officers, who I think demonstrated exceptional professionalism, courage resilience and restraint.' Also discussed in the meeting was the controversial arrest of pro-Palestinian activists last month. Sue Pentel (72), a member of the group Jews for Palestine, was arrested alongside a fellow activist in her 50s in relation to 'criminal damage' to a Barclay's bank cash machine in Belfast. Stickers had been placed on the ATM. The arrest of the pair sparked criticism from some politicians, including from the First Minister, and the public. Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said an investigation had been launched by the Police Ombudsman in relation to the arrest. 'We are limited to what we can say due to the Ombudsman investigation,' he said. 'I, of course, had the luxury at the time of seeing the body worn video. 'I was satisfied as I said around the professionalism with which the officers dealt with those that were protesting. 'I welcome the Ombudsman's investigation into it. If they find there is organisational learning within that, of course, we will respond to that.' In relation to the recent withdrawal of allegations of sectarianism by a Catholic former police officer, named as 'Sean' to protect his identity, Mr Singleton said he was 'relieved' that the accusations were retracted. 'In recent months public attention has been drawn to the very serious allegations of sectarianism in the police force,' he said. 'Sean's claims understandably caused public concern. The type of behaviour that was alleged was, as I have said at the time, absolutely disgraceful. 'Since the last board meeting, Sean has of course now unequivocally retracted his allegations. 'He has acknowledged that they were unfounded and he has expressed deep regret for the distress that has been caused. 'I am relieved that Sean has done this, and I think it is the best possible outcome for everybody.' It was also revealed in the meeting that four officers had been dismissed by the Chief Constable, John Boutcher, both for inappropriate material being shared on WhatsApp chats and one for 'misusing substances'. 'In the last two months as well, the Chief Constable has personally convened four fast-tracked special case misconduct hearings,' he said. 'Three of these hearings were in respect to inappropriate material in private WhatsApp groups, discovered as part of a Police Ombudsman investigation. 'And a further hearing related to substance misuse. All four officers were dismissed by the Chief Constable,' said Mr Singleton. The Policing Board also discussed an online 'gangs of boys', referred to as 'the Com' by police. They were referred to as 'online misogynists' by the National Economic Crime director general, Graeme Biggar. 'We are living our lives more online. We see that play out in crimes in relation to online fraud, cyber-crimes and child sexual abuse and exploitation,' said Mr Biggar. 'The particular example is in what we highlighted in our March publication was the emergence over the last two years, in particular the last year, of a new-ish phenomenon generally called 'the Com'. 'This is an online grouping of gangs of boys with a nihilistic, misogynistic mindset, who focus on grooming and coercing young girls into abusing themselves, and into self-harm. 'This is in particular an English speaking phenomenon, but it causes significant harm. 'We did an alert out to chief constables in March. We have a number of investigations into it across the UK. 'We have had a number of prosecutions so far. We have not had incidences of this in Northern Ireland, yet. We don't have any investigations here, but it will come.' Two weeks ago, a number of families had been forced out of their homes in north Belfast as a result of a series of sectarian attacks. News Catch Up - Thursday 5 June Mr Henderson told the board a man has been arrested and charged in relation to the attacks. 'On May 21, that night we saw attacks on houses, windows broken. It was clearly a sectarian attempt to intimidate people out of their homes,' he said. 'We will bring all of our investigative powers to bring people to justice. 'We have investigated, and, this week, we have arrested and charged a male in relation to damage caused to one of the properties.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Lisburn: Ombudsman recommends training after autistic woman removed from shop
Police officers should get improved training on how to deal with autistic people following an incident involving a woman in Lisburn, a Police Ombudsman investigation has of the incident, posted on social media last year, showed Katie Mitchell, 19, being removed from a shop by four officers and her is non-verbal and has learning ombudsman found while there was no misconduct by officers who responded, there should be enhanced training to "improve how they respond to members of the public who are autistic and may have individual communication needs". At the time, Katie's family said she had been left traumatised and that police had shown no "understanding" or "empathy".Her sister, Dr Eileen Mitchell, said her sister tried to buy a DVD that cost £2 in the store in Lisburn, but tills had closed for the family said Katie's mother called the police in an effort to de-escalate the situation but later lodged a complaint with the ombudsman which focused on the officers' training. Director of investigations Nikki Davis said the incident was "undoubtedly distressing" and emphasised the need for enhanced incident developed after the young women entered the CeX shop through half-closed tills were closed, and when she was unable to buy a DVD, she and her mother were asked to police were called after the situation investigation reviewed police body-worn video footage, and it showed when they arrived "their preference was for her parents to remove her".Her father "tried to move her physically", but was unable to do became involved "only after the young woman's father continued to experience difficulties managing on his own".One officer was hurt. Police action 'the last resort' Mrs Davis said footage of Katie being taken out of the shop was the subject of "significant public commentary".After a review of the footage and audio, including body-cams and CCTV, Mrs Davis said officers who attended understood the "best approach" was for her parents to encourage her to leave."The police officers recognised from the outset that there was no simple solution and their action was a last resort in an incident which lasted for around 18 minutes from police entering the shop to leaving," it added. The Ombudsman report added while there were no breaches of the PSNI's code of ethics, it did expose a gap in current training, leading directly to the recommendation that officers receive enhanced continued: "[This] equips them to engage with, and respond to, any autistic person, but especially a person who speaks few or no words and may communicate in other ways."The PSNI has been contacted for comment.
RTÉ News
28-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Police Ombudsman in contact with Shane O'Farrell's family
The Police Ombudsman has said that it has been in direct contact with the family of Shane O'Farrell today. The family yesterday received a public apology from the Government, who admitted there had been "failures" on the part of the State in relation to Mr O'Farrell's death. The 23-year-old law graduate was knocked off his bicycle and killed in a hit-and-run incident near his home in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan in August 2011. The car that hit Mr O'Farrell was driven by Zigimantas Gridziuska. The Lithuanian national was a repeat offender on bail. A court ruling meant that he should have been in jail at the time of the collision due to his re-offending. Despite receiving the public apology from the Government yesterday, Shane's mother, Lucia said there are still questions to be answered in terms of how such circumstances could transpire that Gridziuska was on the road that day almost 14 years ago. Speaking outside the Dáil yesterday, Ms O'Farrell said: "Did you hear the litany of times he [Gridziuska] should have been brought back and wasn't, and why did that happen? Nobody is asking why. "I think those answers need to be given to us. "It doesn't have to be in the public inquiry, it can be in the GSOC [now Fiosrú - The Office of the Police Ombudsman] reports that have been refused to us. "There is a file on him [Gridziuska] in the Garda National Crime and Security Intelligence Service, what is in that file? "Our child lies in a grave. We should be given the answers and, apologies, yes, if it goes so far but we do need answers to our questions," Ms O'Farrell said. In a brief statement this evening, a spokesperson for Fiosrú said: "The Police Ombudsman has been in direct contact with O'Farrell family this afternoon and for now is not making any statement on the matter." The Office of the Police Ombudsman, Fiosrú, took over the responsibilities of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) from the beginning of last month. It is now the independent body that deals with complaints by the members of the public concerning members of An Garda Síochána.
Belfast Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
PSNI defends arresting pro-Palestine pensioner in Belfast: ‘Lawful and proportionate'
Sue Pentel (72) was one of two women detained on suspicion of criminal damage following the incident outside a Barclays Bank branch in Castle Place on Saturday. The arrest of the Jewish grandmother – who is a high-profile campaigner against Israel's military action in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack – is now the subject of a Police Ombudsman investigation. After reviewing footage of the incident, PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the action of officers involved have been deemed "lawful and proportionate." "There has been considerable public interest in the arrest of two people following a reported criminal damage in Belfast City Centre on 24th May. Both individuals were released from custody on the same day and have been reported to the Public Prosecution Service for criminal damage,' he added. "I am limited in what I can say about this incident as the matter is now subject to investigation by the Police Ombudsman. "However, due to the degree of interest in this case, I want to reassure the public that, having reviewed footage of the incident (including from body worn camera,) I am satisfied that our officers acted with courtesy and professionalism. They were reacting to an emergency call from a City Centre business and their actions were lawful and proportionate to the situation they discovered.' According to reports, the two suspects were arrested after stickers promoting a boycott of the bank were allegedly placed on an ATM. Police have been criticised following the incident with Ms Pentel stating through her solicitor that she will 'robustly contest' any charges that are brought. ACC Henderson acknowledged the right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly as fundamental human rights. "They allow individuals to engage in peaceful protest and are protected in law – we will continue to uphold these rights,' he continued. "However, they must be balanced with the need to uphold the rights of others, protect public health and safety, minimise disruption to normal life and by the need to prevent and detect crime." There has been criticism of Barclay's financial ties with arms companies that sell weapons to Israel with several other branches across the UK previously targeted. Videos circulating online show Ms Pentel being spoken to at length by PSNI officers as she says 'children are dying in Gaza' before being led away to the back of a police vehicle. News Catch Up - Monday 26 May Both suspects were released on Saturday evening and reported to the Public Prosecution Service. Pádraig O Muirigh, who represents Mrs Pentel said: 'Our client has refused to remain silent whilst thousands of innocent children have been killed, and many more thousands are starving as food and medicine is refused entry into Palestine. "She has committed no offence and should not be criminalised for exercising her right to peaceful protest against these ongoing atrocities. 'Our client will robustly contest any attempt to criminalise her if a decision is made to prosecute. We will also be advising her in relation to the lawfulness of her arrest today.'
Belfast Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
PSNI defend arresting pro-Palestine pensioner in Belfast: ‘Lawful and proportionate'
Sue Pentel (72) was one of two women detained on suspicion of criminal damage following the incident outside a Barclays Bank branch in Castle Place on Saturday. The arrest of the Jewish grandmother – who is a high-profile campaigner against Israel's military action in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack – is now the subject of a Police Ombudsman investigation. After reviewing footage of the incident, PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the action of officers involved have been deemed "lawful and proportionate." "There has been considerable public interest in the arrest of two people following a reported criminal damage in Belfast City Centre on 24th May. Both individuals were released from custody on the same day and have been reported to the Public Prosecution Service for criminal damage,' he added. "I am limited in what I can say about this incident as the matter is now subject to investigation by the Police Ombudsman. "However, due to the degree of interest in this case, I want to reassure the public that, having reviewed footage of the incident (including from body worn camera,) I am satisfied that our officers acted with courtesy and professionalism. They were reacting to an emergency call from a City Centre business and their actions were lawful and proportionate to the situation they discovered.' According to reports, the two suspects were arrested after stickers promoting a boycott of the bank were allegedly placed on an ATM. Police have been criticised following the incident with Ms Pentel stating through her solicitor that she will 'robustly contest' any charges that are brought. ACC Henderson acknowledged the right to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly as fundamental human rights. "They allow individuals to engage in peaceful protest and are protected in law – we will continue to uphold these rights,' he continued. "However, they must be balanced with the need to uphold the rights of others, protect public health and safety, minimise disruption to normal life and by the need to prevent and detect crime." There has been criticism of Barclay's financial ties with arms companies that sell weapons to Israel with several other branches across the UK previously targeted. Videos circulating online show Ms Pentel being spoken to at length by PSNI officers as she says 'children are dying in Gaza' before being led away to the back of a police vehicle. News Catch Up - Monday 26 May Both suspects were released on Saturday evening and reported to the Public Prosecution Service. Pádraig O Muirigh, who represents Mrs Pentel said: 'Our client has refused to remain silent whilst thousands of innocent children have been killed, and many more thousands are starving as food and medicine is refused entry into Palestine. "She has committed no offence and should not be criminalised for exercising her right to peaceful protest against these ongoing atrocities. 'Our client will robustly contest any attempt to criminalise her if a decision is made to prosecute. We will also be advising her in relation to the lawfulness of her arrest today.'
