A police officer has admitted attending a “secret meeting” regarding the alleged identification of a suspect involved in the riot in Derry during which Lyra McKee was killed.
The PSNI sergeant was called to give evidence at a trial concerning the 29-year old’s murder at Belfast Crown Court.
Ms McKee was struck by a bullet during the riot in the Creggan area of Derry on April 18 2019.
Three Derry men have been charged with murdering Ms McKee, possessing a firearm and ammunition and other linked offences including rioting and both possessing and throwing petrol bombs.
The trio are Paul McIntyre (57) from Kells Walk, 24-year old Jordan Devine from Bishop Street and Peter Cavanagh (36) from Mary Street.
Seven co-accused face charges including rioting and throwing petrol bombs.
During Monday’s hearing, the police sergeant said he identified Cavanagh from footage he viewed during a controlled viewing at a PSNI station in Derry in July 2019.
He also admitted that prior to this controlled viewing, he attended what Cavanagh’s barrister described as a “secret meeting” which the officer accepted was in breach of normal police policy.
Questioned by a Crown barrister, he told the court he viewed a brief video which captured several masked men in the Central Drive/Fanad Drive area of Creggan pelting police vehicles with petrol bombs.
The officer said he identified one as Peter Cavanagh due to numerous prior dealings.
The Crown barrister then asked the officer about viewing the same footage on or around June 26 2019 - prior to the controlled viewing.
He confirmed he was shown the footage by a detective sergeant and replied “I said that’s Pete Cavanagh”.
“My recognition of Mr Cavanagh was based on how he moved, how he walked, how he stands. I found it very distinct and recognisable,” the court heard.
The officer was then questioned by Cavanagh’s barrister who branded the June 2019 viewing as a “secret meeting”.
Asked if he found this “very concerning”, the officer said “not at the time...in hindsight I should have”. He said his “first concern” came in August 2021 when asked by a senior investigating officer to make a statement about whether he had seen the footage prior to the controlled viewing.
When the defence barrister asked if he was aware at that stage that there was a “big problem about that secret meeting”, the sergeant said he was “aware it’s not how it should happen, as per policy”.
He agreed with the defence that such a viewing was “highly, highly irregular...completely wrong for any such secret meeting to have taken place”.
He also accepted there was no record of the viewing in June 2019 in his police notebook.