[ad_1]
The Northern Ireland police chief vowed not to resign after apologizing for a police operation in which a survivor of the riots was arrested at a memorial event.
A PSNI officer was suspended following the controversial arrest of a survivor of the riots at a commemorative event.
PSNI Police Chief Simon Byrne said that one officer was suspended and another was relocated, and he apologized to everyone who was present or affected by what they had seen on social media.
Mark Sykes, who was shot multiple times in the 1992 Belfast gambling shop massacre of the Loyalists, was later released after Friday’s incident on Ormeau Road.
The angry exchanges unfolded at the anniversary event of the crown-laying of the five people killed in the attack by bookmakers Sean Graham, when police intervened amid suspicions the gathering violated lockdown rules.
At a press conference last night, Mr. Byrne told reporters: “Following yesterday’s events on Ormeau Road and the start of the Ombudsman’s investigation, we were able to establish a number of things today.
“First of all, that the police did not try to stop the memorial on Ormeau Road.
“With that said, today we have carefully had the opportunity to review the entirety of the incident, which led to the events that we have seen on social media.
“Having seen the totality of what we have seen in the police body video, which records things that have not yet been seen in the public domain, we acknowledge that the events that occurred do not reflect the values of the Police. Northern Ireland Service “.
Statement from Police Chief Simon Byrne on the Ormeau Road events, Friday, February 5 (2/2). pic.twitter.com/hL7llT4mJR
– NI Police Service (@PoliceServiceNI) February 6, 2021
Mr. Sykes has condemned your arrest.
“All I had in my hands were flowers, which my three-year-old granddaughter had left at her uncle’s memorial,” he said in a statement released by the Relatives for Justice campaign group.
Five people, including a 15-year-old boy, were killed and several more were injured in February 1992 when the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) opened fire on the bookmakers.
Images of angry exchanges between officials and attendees at Friday’s event have been posted online.
Police said officers took action after witnessing a crowd of “between 30 and 40” attending an event.
Public gatherings of more than six people are currently prevented by the Covid-19 shutdown regulations in Northern Ireland.
The Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman launched an investigation into how the police operation was handled.
Sykes contrasted the scenes on Ormeau Road with the lack of arrests made by police earlier in the week when a gang of masked men gathered in Pitt Park in east Belfast in an apparent show of loyal paramilitary force.
[ad_2]