Severe rioting broke out in the Tiger's Bay/Limestone Road area of North Belfast on 3 April 2002. The rioters were among a crowd of between 400 and 500 Loyalists, and used a variety of weapons to attack security forces - including petrol bombs, pipe bombs and large fireworks. Five shooting incidents involving low velocity rounds were also recorded.
In response, police fired 18 baton rounds, 11 of which were said by police to have hit their intended targets. An additional baton round was fired by the Army, but that discharge was not within the remit of the Police Ombudsman to investigate. Thirteen police officers, one soldier and a member of the public were injured in the rioting.
Outcome of investigation:
The Police Ombudsman's Executive Director, Mr David Wood, concluded that the use of baton rounds was justifiable and proportionate in the circumstances, and along with other public order tactics resulted in the eventual dispersal of the hostile crowd.
"The authorisation and directions given were appropriate and proportionate and consistent with all legal requirements," said Mr Wood.
He added that police had considered and used other options, including an initial low profile approach, consultation with community leaders, and the deployment of officers without baton guns.
Baton round reports were found to have been completed correctly and they, along with officers' notes and statements, were supplied promptly to the Ombudsman's office.
Investigators also established that the police had failed to issue a warning before discharging the baton rounds, but recognised that this had been due to the imminent threat to officers and the intensity of the rioting throughout the short period in which the rounds were discharged.
Resulting recommendation for police:
Police were reminded of the need to follow the correct procedure when informing the Police Ombudsman's office about the discharge of baton rounds. The police are required to contact the Police Ombudsman's On Duty Senior Investigating Officer by mobile phone immediately after the discharge of a firearm. In this case contact had been delayed by almost two hours as the police had initially called the Police Ombudsman's office number rather than the designated emergency number.