Ormeau Road incident: 'No-one wants to investigate top police for caving in to political pressure from Sinn Fein' says former head of PSNI discipline branch Jon Burrows
The ex-head of the PSNI’s disciplinary branch has lamented that “the real issues of concern have been swept under the carpet” in the long-running saga over the 2021 Ormeau Road incident.
Former temporary superintendent Jon Burrows made the comments after the police ombudsman announced it had closed its investigation into it this week.
Its investigation had already been effectively concluded for some time, but it issued a statement on Monday to mark the fact it has now formally closed the book on the case.
The statement from ombudsman Marie Anderson said: “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.
“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.”
Mr Burrows said that, in fact, the officer’s conduct had been “exemplary” and that “no-one seems to want to investigate” the more concerning aspect of the case – namely, the political pressure that was piled on the police by Sinn Fein, and the PSNI top brass’ “capitulation” to that pressure.
During the incident on February 5, 2021, which took place amid tight lockdown rules, two very junior police officers on south Belfast's Ormeau Road came across a gathering of people.
It turned out they were there to commemorate a UDA massacre at that spot 29 years earlier.
A dispute ensured and one man was arrested for disorderly behaviour and resisting arrest. He was cuffed, put in a vehicle, then released after 90 minutes.
In the face of political pressure from Sinn Fein, the PSNI suspended one of the officers involved and moved another – a move that was later found to be unlawful by High Court judge Mr Justice Scoffield.
The ombudsman’s office submitted a file to the PPS in April 2021 concerning the allegation that the use of cuffs by the officers amounted to assault. The PPS declined to prosecute.
The officer who made the arrest was then disciplined in March 2024 – over three years after the event – but this was overturned on appeal two months later.
Mr Burrows told the News Letter: “The release of this report by the police ombudsman has once again caused confusion about the facts of this case.
“It is true there are lessons to be learned from the incident, indeed learning lessons ought to have been the approach from the outset, as I consistently advocated.
“Instead, an innocent officer was scapegoated to placate political demands. The facts are however unchanged.
“The PPS determined there was no case to answer against the officers on December 8, 2021. The High Court ruled the officer’s suspension was unlawful on August 29, 2023.
“Full and final police disciplinary processes exonerated the officers of any and all disciplinary breaches on May 31, 2024.
“The allegations against the officers that were circulated after the incident on February 5, 2021 were untrue. They didn’t interrupt any memorial, the memorial was over by around five minutes and those gathered had left.
“There was a prima facie breach of the Covid health regulations and the officers politely tried to find out who organised it.
“Throughout the ensuing melee, officers were jostled, sworn at, one appeared to be slapped in the face by a female, some people linked arms to obstruct an arrest taking place and sectarian abuse was shouted at the officers.
“The officers remained calm and restrained. They asked the arrested person for his name around 10 times in order to de-arrest him, but he refused.
“I’ve seen all the evidence, watched the footage and gave expert evidence to the court and a police disciplinary hearing. It was no surprise to me that the officer, despite the political clamour, was eventually totally exonerated. His conduct was exemplary.
“Sadly, the real issues of concern have been swept under the carpet. In the disclosure evidence there was found direct political demands on the former chief constable to suspend the officer and threats of political consequences if he wasn’t. These were capitulated to.
“No-one seems to want to investigate the conduct of the politicians or the former senior police officers involved in this. Such is Northern Ireland.
“I am pleased the young officer who was unlawfully suspended and subject to years of persecution is still serving – he is a credit to the PSNI.”
As to why it took four years to conclude its investigations, the ombudsman’s office said that they could not do so until the PSNI’s own processes were complete, and that did not happen until last year (when one officer successfully appealed a disciplinary finding against him).
The ombudsman's office said: “The length of time taken to bring cases to a conclusion is an ongoing issue for the office, PPS, PSNI and the wider criminal justice system.
"This office has consistently sought improved legislation to allow for the speedier resolution of some cases, and this is something which we will shortly be highlighting in another investigation.”
As to why it did not probe the political interference involved in the case, it added the ombudsman's role “is confined to investigating the complaint about police conduct which was made by the man who was arrested”.