Disorder between Loyalist and Nationalist youths broke out in the Alliance Avenue/Ardoyne Road "interface" area of North Belfast on the afternoon of 21 April 2002.
Police patrols in the area responded initially, but as the violence escalated military units were deployed, along with police Tactical Support Group units (abbreviated to TSG Units, these officers are specially trained to deal with public order situations).
By 4pm around 50 to 100 Loyalists and 50 Nationalists were involved in the disturbances, during which police and military vehicles came under heavy attack with stones and at least one petrol bomb. Three Land Rovers had their tyres slashed by Loyalist rioters, forcing police at one stage to withdraw due to the risk of their vehicles becoming immobilised.
Permission to use baton guns was granted at 4.35pm given the ongoing risk, particularly posed by a man armed with a hatchet who was seen to be approaching police lines. A blast bomb was also thrown at police in Hesketh Park.
Meanwhile, a large crowd of Nationalists was observed moving down the Ardoyne Road towards another area of frequent inter-community violence at the Ardoyne shop fronts. The crowd then crossed into Twaddell Avenue, a mainly Unionist area. Immediate assistance was requested by police in the area as rival crowds clashed.
A number of police Land Rovers were redeployed from Hesketh Park to the Ardoyne shop fronts, where they joined military units in attempting to contain the disorder. Police also requested that a helicopter be sent to the scene to monitor crowd movement.
The security forces at the shop fronts managed to separate the rival factions, pushing the Loyalist crowd back down Twaddell Avenue and the Nationalist crowd back into Brompton Park, coming under heavy attack with bricks and bottles as they did so.
At 4.50pm, permission was granted to use baton rounds at Brompton Park, where military units on foot were coming under heavy attack. Two minutes later police issued a public order warning, urging the crowd to disperse or baton rounds would be fired. The warning had no effect.
A police officer in a stationary Land Rover then deployed his baton gun through a porthole, aimed at a man who he stated had been throwing a large piece of masonry at army lines, and discharged a single baton round. The round struck the man on the right thigh from an estimated range of between 25 and 30 metres.
Five minutes later the military discharged two baton rounds, claiming one hit. It is beyond the remit of the Police Ombudsman's Office to investigate the discharge of baton rounds by the military.
At around this time reports came in of a suspect unexploded device at the Ardoyne roundabout, which further necessitated the maintenance of a sterile area so that the device could be dealt with safely.
Sporadic rioting continued at Twaddell Avenue and at one point a member of the Loyalist crowd attempted to pull a baton gun out of the porthole of a Land Rover. Police were also attacked with bricks, bottles and golf balls.
The unexploded device was subsequently declared safe at 5.36pm.
Meanwhile, Nationalist residents had expressed concern about being able to attend Mass at the nearby Holy Cross Chapel at 7pm. Through negotiations, the police were able to get both sides to pull back, thus making it safe for police and military units to withdraw. Military units were still subject to sporadic bombardment with masonry at Brompton Park, but as police moved vehicles to de-escalate the situation and facilitate attendance at Mass, a relative calm returned to the area.
The area remained relatively quiet throughout the rest of the evening, notwithstanding minor stone throwing incidents. No further authorisation to use baton guns was granted.
Subsequent press reports claimed that two juveniles, aged eight and 12, had been struck by ricochets from baton rounds. A complaint on behalf of the 12-year-old juvenile was later received by the Police Ombudsman’s Office, but the other juvenile has not been identified and no one has come forward to make a complaint on his or her behalf.
In all, one soldier and four police officers were injured during the disorder, including a policewoman who was injured as rioters attempted to drag her from her vehicle. Several police vehicles were also damaged.
Outcome of investigation:
The Police Ombudsman, Mrs Nuala O'Loan, concluded that given the level and extent of violence directed at the police and the large scale of disorder, they had shown restraint in their use of baton guns.
"The use of baton rounds during this incident appears to have been justified and proportionate, and in compliance with legislation and guidelines," she commented.
However, Mrs O'Loan expressed concern that the officer who discharged the baton round was not, at the time of the incident, authorised in the use of the weapon. He was, instead, classified to use a different type of baton round which was no longer being used by the PSNI on 21 April 2002. While he had also successfully passed training in the newer round, his authorisation to use the weapon had expired in January 2002.
The Police Ombudsman said it was possible to understand how the issue had become confused, given that a delay in the introduction of the new baton round had led to emergency training in the old round so that authorisation would not lapse. Nevertheless, it was unacceptable that an unauthorised officer had been supplied with a baton gun.
"The circumstances in which an unclassified officer was issued with a baton gun need to be addressed force-wide," said Mrs O'Loan. "This is not the first time that unauthorised officers have been found to have discharged baton guns."
In relation to the 12-year-old who was struck by the baton round, the Police Ombudsman concluded that his injuries were likely to have been caused by a ricochet from a baton round discharged by the army. She concluded that as the injured party was some 60 to 70 metres away from the police baton gunner at the time of the discharge, and as that baton round had struck a rioter, it was unlikely to have had the kinetic energy to travel the distance necessary to strike the youth.
Recommendations for police as a result of the Police Ombudsman's investigation:
- The Police Ombudsman recommended that the baton gunner should be informally disciplined for carrying and using the weapon when not authorised to do so. She also recommended that the gunner's superior officer and the armoury officer who issued the weapon should also be informally disciplined for issuing a weapon to an unauthorised officer. All three officers stated during interview that they believed the gunner was authorised to use the weapon.
- Mrs O’Loan also recommended that all baton gunners be issued with authorisation cards, which should be presented before baton guns or rounds are issued.
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In addition, she noted that while baton gunners deployed on foot are required to be accompanied by another officer acting as an observer/evidence gatherer, Force Orders did not require that that should be the case regarding discharges from vehicles. She recommended that the issue should be addressed so that officers discharging baton guns from vehicles are always accompanied by another officer fulfilling that role.