Members of a police oversight body in Northern Ireland have stated a joint commitment to work with the region’s chief constable to address challenges arising from policing the pandemic.
The agreed statement from members of the Policing Board came after Simon Byrne fielded their questions for more than two hours on a controversial incident in Belfast when a Troubles survivor was arrested after an atrocity commemoration.
The Police Ombudsman watchdog has initiated an investigation into how police handled the event on the Ormeau Road last Friday.
One officer has been suspended from duty and another repositioned after angry scenes unfolded when they approached some of the attendees to highlight potential coronavirus breaches in relation to the size of the gathering.
Members of a police oversight body in Northern Ireland have stated a joint commitment to work with the region’s chief constable to address challenges arising from policing the pandemic.
The agreed statement from members of the Policing Board came after Simon Byrne fielded their questions for more than two hours on a controversial incident in Belfast when a Troubles survivor was arrested after an atrocity commemoration.
The Police Ombudsman watchdog has initiated an investigation into how police handled the event on the Ormeau Road last Friday.
One officer has been suspended from duty and another repositioned after angry scenes unfolded when they approached some of the attendees to highlight potential coronavirus breaches in relation to the size of the gathering.
Deputy First Minister Michelle O Neill will lead a party delegation to meet Chief Constable Simon Byrne on Monday to discuss what she describes as a “crisis of confidence in policing”.
Ms O Neill said she is not calling for Mr Byrne to stand down after he issued an apology to the families present at a memorial service for those killed in the Sean Graham bookmakers massacre on Friday.
Speaking during a press conference on Saturday night, Mr Byrne also said one of the officers present has been suspended over the incident, which saw the arrest of a man wounded in the atrocity as he attended an event on the anniversary of the attack.
BBC News
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media captionChief Constable apologises over memorial arrest
One police officer has been suspended and a second officer re-positioned following an arrest at a memorial event in Belfast on Friday.
People had gathered to mark the 29th anniversary of a gun attack on the Ormeau Road, in which five people were murdered by loyalists in February 1992.
Mark Sykes, who was shot and injured in the attack on Sean Graham bookmakers shop, was arrested and later released.
PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne has apologised for what happened.
In a statement on Saturday night he said: Having reviewed the Body Worn Video from yesterday s incident on the Ormeau Road a decision has been taken to suspend once officer and re-position a second officer.