Colum Marks shooting: former RUC officer who fired fatal shots will not face prosecution

On Tuesday, the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) said it had taken a decision not to prosecute the ex-officer, following “careful consideration of all the available evidence”.

The former specialist officer was reported for consideration for prosecution after an investigation by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland into the shooting that took place on April 10, 1991.

The incident came as police officers were deployed to make arrests after a mortar device was placed in the drive of a property which was under police surveillance.

The PPS said Mr Marks ran through a hedge bordering the address and across a field towards a position from which Officer B had been conducting surveillance.

The officer is described as having fired five aimed shots, at least two of which struck Mr Marks.

The PPS said the available evidence was “insufficient to provide a reasonable prospect of conviction”.

Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Michael Agnew said officials appreciate it is a “disappointing outcome” for Mr Marks’ family.

“They key issue in this case was whether the available evidence provided a reasonable prospect of rebutting a defence of self-defence,” he said.

“The officer’s account was that Mr Marks was running towards him and did not stop after warnings. He believed that Mr Marks would have been armed and claimed that he feared for his own life when he made the split second decision to fire.

“The evidence established that Mr Marks was unarmed when he was shot. However, the surrounding circumstances presented significant difficulties in proving to the criminal standard that Officer B did not have a genuine belief that his life was at risk, or that, by firing his weapon in the particular circumstances that pertained, the amount of force used was unreasonable.

“These circumstances included the nature of the terrorist operation that was disrupted, the information available to Officer B as a result of his briefing and direct observations at the scene, and the pace with which the relevant events unfolding.

“I appreciate that this is a disappointing outcome for the family of Colum Marks who have lived for many years with the painful loss of their loved one.

“The prosecution team has reassured the family that this decision was taken only after a most careful examination of all available evidence and information.”

Mr Marks’ mother Roisin said her family is very disappointed by the decision.

“It was our view that new forensic evidence should have justified a prosecution and we will now be considering all legal options available to us, including a review by the PPS,” she said.

Solicitor Gavin Booth of Phoenix Law said the Marks’ family “remain committed to finding out the full facts” of what happened the night he was killed.