The Police Ombudsman has found that a police constable was justified in using his police Land Rover to knock down a man armed with a machete and a knife, to provide other officers with an opportunity to disarm and arrest him.
The incident happened in the Alliance Road area of north Belfast shortly after 1000 hours on 29 January 2006. Police arrived to find a bare-chested and bloodstained man armed with a two-foot long machete and a knife.
He was in the front garden of a property, shouting obscenities through the front window to those inside. A crowd had gathered about 70 yards away to watch what was happening.
A police officer decided to move a police Land Rover between the man and the crowd of onlookers. Another officer drew his gun and shouted a warning as the man again ran towards officers shouting threats.
When another officer moved forward to try and reason with him, the man threatened to cut the officer's head off.
Meanwhile, a police officer was using her Land Rover to slowly edge the man away from the property he had been threatening. As she did so the man attacked the Land Rover, using his machete to break its wing mirrors.
Members of the public were trying to reason with the man, including his uncle, who on a number of occasions had to back off for his own safety.
Officers considering how to deal with the situation decided against using live fire given the risk of missing a moving target with so many bystanders about. Instead it was decided that an officer would use his Land Rover to knock the man down and provide officers with an opportunity to apprehend him.
By this stage the man was jumping up and down on the spot and "pumping" his shoulders in a fashion similar to a boxer. He then ran towards two police officers, and as he did so an officer drove towards him in a Land Rover. The officer was, however, unable to gain sufficient speed and the man went back into the garden of a nearby property.
A short time later he again ran out of the garden towards officers brandishing his weapons. At this stage the driver of the Land Rover tried again, driving towards the man in what the officer described as "a controlled manner."
The officer did not accelerate the full distance and braked immediately upon the impact so that he would hit him with no more force than necessary.
The man had his back to the Land Rover and was knocked to the ground face first, dropping the machete. Officers then rushed forward to arrest him, and he was then taken to the Mater Hospital for treatment.
Having reviewed the evidence of the case, the Police Ombudsman Al Hutchinson said the use of force was justified in the circumstances. He said officers had been faced with a violent and aggressive individual who did not comply with police instructions and who posed a danger to officers and members of the public.
Mr Hutchinson said: "Some officers had their handguns drawn and prepared for use if required. The officer's decision to use his Land Rover in the way he did represented a lesser use of force and was the best option available to him at the time."
Mr Hutchinson noted that Police Ombudsman investigators had received the full co-operation of PSNI officers during their investigation. No disciplinary or criminal charges were recommended against any officer.