The PSNI could face an investigation after a Derry woman who was injured when officers released CS spray in the city centre on Sunday night - took her complaint to the Ombudsman's Office.
By Darinagh Boyle, Derry News, 15.07.2004
The woman, in her early twenties, said she suffered a black eye when she intervened as police sprayed the vapour at a detained young man whose hands were cuffed behind his back.
The woman insisted the police were "under no threat at all" and their use of force was completely unjustified.
She sustained the injury when another woman collided with her after she was "forcefully pushed away" by police near the corner of Rosville Street.
"My eyes were stinging and streaming with water, my nose and throat were burning and I was coughing," she told the Derry News.
"Two of the officers were also choked up - one was bent double coughing.
"The man they were lifting had already been cuffed and I couldn't see what possible threat there was. There certainly wasn't a crowd. At that point people started to come round the corner to see what was happening and a small crowd did gather but that was only after the CS had been sprayed.
"I went up and asked the police why there was any need for the spray."
The witness then claimed that when one of the officers "pushed away" another woman and her head struck the victim's eye socket.
"I went up to one of the officers to report what had happened and he just shrugged his shoulders. I then approached another who shook his head."
PFC
Last night the Pat Finucane Centre made an urgent appeal to anyone against whom the spray was turned or who witnessed the attack to contact them on 71 268 846.
The PFC has vowed to raise the matter with the Policing Board and the Police Ombudsman's Office.
Meanwhile, a man who was exposed to CS spray during the same incident was treated in Altnagelvin's A&E unit two days later for a sudden outbreak of blisters on his face and neck.
The victim, who is an asthmatic, suffered burning eyes and skin almost immediately after police used the spray - but was alarmed when "greenish swellings" appeared on his skin on Tuesday.
A relative speaking on behalf of the victim called on those who "support and justify" the use of CS spray to "take a good look at the young people who have been burned by it".
"These symptoms only began to appear after two days - no one can know the lasting longterm effects it will have."
"The police themselves couldn't possibly have seen what was happening because their eyes were streaming too."
He also claimed the spray was intentionally released out of range of CCTV coverage.
However, a PSNI spokesperson insisted that if relevant CCTV footage exists - it should be examined by the police and the Police Ombudsman.
But he declined to comment on whether the spray was used out of range of city centre surveillance.
CS 'widely used'
The spokesman continued: "CS spray is widely used across the UK. It was introduced after thorough research and consultation with among others - the Commission for Human Rights. But this is new for us and if anyone has suffered ill-effects they should refer their complaints to the Ombudsman's Office."
He also advised anyone who believes officers "acted wrongly" to raise their concerns with the Ombudsman.
"I can't rule out that this is what happened," he added. "But if people feel officers behaved in a heavy handed way they should make their complaint to the Ombudsman's Office. But people should remember these situations are volatile and in a public order situation officers don't always have the opportunity to take note of complaints."
Opinion, Derry News, 15.07.2004
Over 30 years since it first made its first infamous appearance on Derry's streets, CS Gas made an unwelcome return at the weekend.
In 1969, the inhabitants of this city were used as guinea pigs by the RUC as they deployed vast quantities of this vile, indiscriminate and sometimes lethal weapon to test its effects.
And those effects soon became clear as many hundreds of people suffered severe respiratory problems and were left literally gasping for their lives. Many are still suffering to this day and there have been suggestions that the high rate of Cancer in Derry is directly attributable to those early days of the Troubles.
Given that backdrop, it's hardly surprising that people here are furious that Derry seems to have, once again, been chosen as a testing ground for CS Gas.
When these weapons were deployed at the weekend, it was the first time they had ever been used anywhere in the North.
And by doing so, the PSNI have caused untold damage to those arguing that we have witnessed a genuine new beginning to policing here.
The RUC may have become the PSNI and CS Gas may have become CS spray - but how do we convince anyone that anything has really changed?