Exoneration of Ormeau Road officers leads to calls for the actions of others to be investigated

The final exoneration of two PSNI officers involved in an incident on the Ormeau Road in 2021 has led to calls for the actions of others to be investigated.

The two junior officers sparked controversy when they investigated a potential breach of the Covid regulations, when bereaved relatives and survivors of the 1992 Sean Graham bookmaker’s atrocity gathered on the Ormeau Road for a memorial service.

One of the officers was suspended and the other re-positioned following a fierce backlash from nationalists – with senior Sinn Fein figures making direct contact with PSNI bosses to vent their anger.

Belfast High Court would later rule that the treatment of both officers was unlawful.

The fallout from that court ruling was a significant factor in the resignation of the then chief constable Simon Byrne, who quit in September last year.

However, the PSNI pressed ahead with a misconduct charge against the suspended officer – in line with recommendations made by the police ombudsman. The officer then appealed the decision to issue him with a written warning and that appeal was upheld on Friday.

In a statement on Friday, the police federation welcomed the end to all disciplinary action against the pair, but said the “inaccurate conjecture” around the case has been appalling.

Federation chair Liam Kelly said: “The PFNI had every confidence from the outset that this would be the final outcome to what was a protracted process.

“It was clear early on that there were no criminal actions by either officer and now we have the final validation that there was no misconduct behaviour either.

“The internal disciplinary processes have at last concluded with no misconduct findings or sanctions being imposed. Any ancillary matters relating to learning and performance are also now concluded.”

Mr Kelly added: “The PFNI provided legal representation and support for both officers, convinced that the actual evidence would verify that they’d carried out their duties in a professional manner in what were difficult and testing circumstances.

“We collectively have been appalled by the amount of misinformation, baseless rumours and irrational conjecture around this incident.”

Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie said that as the initial incident was Covid-related, vital evidence may have been lost when a phone used by Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill was wiped ahead of the Covid Inquiry.

“This should not be the end of the matter,” Mr Beattie said.

"It is clear that there were messages and notes between the chief constable and the then deputy First Minister in regard to this incident.

"Some of these notes and messages may well have been on the now First Minister's phone in the form of WhatsApp messages which were wiped before the Covid enquiry was able to recover them.”

Mr Beattie added: “I know my colleague Councillor Diana Armstrong wrote to the chief constable some weeks ago raising concerns about messages that have been wiped and highlighted this very issue of the Ormeau Road incident.

“It is now time for the current chief constable to take this issue by the scruff of the neck, apologise to the police officers involved and look to see if any offences have been committed by those who wiped their phones of potentially vital evidence which they were told to keep.”

Police discipline expert Jon Burrows said: "It also raises questions about the Ombudsman, because despite it being clear that the officers conducted themselves lawfully – dealing with what was a prima facie breach of Covid regulations – the Ombudsman recommended ludicrous misconduct charges against one of the officers, and refused to investigate subsequent complaints about the conduct of senior officers.

"I said at the outset, having seen all of the material in this case, in my role as an expert witness for the court, the officers actions were exemplary, and they were completely law-abiding.

"This is too big to be swept under the carpet”.