Woman arrested during Portadown riots is given bail
A woman charged with obstructing police after she was arrested during rioting in Portadown last week was granted bail yesterday.
Ordering that Janice Wilson could be freed on her own bail of £500 with “strict conditions,” District Judge Michael Ranaghan told the 56-year-old “hopefully your time in Hydebank has made you see your folly”.
He told her, after having heard Portadown had been quiet for the last two nights, “I will grant you bail under tight conditions”.
Wilson, from Deramore Drive in Portadown, first appeared in court on Friday when she was charged with obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty on June 12.
At that stage, the court heard that on Thursday evening at around 7.30pm, police from the Tactical Support Group were tasked to the Portadown area “in relation to an immigration protest”.
By the time the TSG unit arrived “there was already a large crowd of over 100 people who were involved in rioting and disorder,” a constable told the court, adding that “the TSG unit put in a shield line and the defendant approached the line”.
“She was asked to move back and leave the area as the road had now been closed,” the officer said, explaining that Wilson was warned that “if she failed to do so she would be liable to arrest”.
When she continued to push towards police lines, Wilson “was struck with an officer’s baton” and after failing to heed a final warning, the defendant was arrested and had to be handcuffed as she struggled.
Having heard that “between 40-70” police officers have been hurt, the judge said, “there was also a lot of damage caused and I am not saying Ms Wilson was part of that, but I am very concerned about what has been happening and the risk of public disorder.”
In court yesterday, a police officer gave evidence that while there was trouble in the town in Thursday and Friday night, it had been “quiet” on Saturday and Sunday.
Mr Monteith emphasised that Wilson’s partner and employer had both attended court in support of the 56-year-old.
Adjourning the case for two weeks, Judge Ranaghan granted bail but he also imposed conditions that Wilson will be tagged and subject to a curfew and barred from attending public gatherings or protests.