Officers disciplined over response to Stoneyford intimidation

The Police Ombudsman has confirmed it examined how the officers conducted investigations into a series of attacks in the village.

A letter from an ombudsman investigator to a Catholic family intimidated from the village said a number of mistakes had been made by police.

“As a result of what you and others have complained about, police officers have been disciplined, police processes have been evaluated and more rigorous procedures have been implemented," the letter said.

“Unfortunately, the further back one goes the more disjointed and unfocused the police response to the problems faced by residents in the village becomes.

The police have confirmed that in relation to complaints made about policing in Stoneyford in 2005/6 officers were given "advice and guidance in relation to their actions". However, it said no officers have been disciplined in relation to a complaint made in 2008.

That complaint related to an incident in which Sinn Fein assembly member Paul Butler was forced out of Stoneyford while being interviewed by a UTV film crew about previous incidents in the village.

Prosecutors had to drop charges after police sent the file to the wrong place.

Mr Butler welcomed the ombudsman's findings.

“It confirms what we have been saying for many years, that the police failed to protect the Catholic community in that village,”he said.

“This sectarian campaign has resulted in 10 families being driven from their homes. On foot of this report the PSNI need to ensure that Catholics in the village are protected and can live free from sectarian intimidation.”

However, Mr Butler said he believed more than four officers should be disciplined over the investigations.

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