A survivor of the Sean Graham’s bookmakers massacre arrested during a commemoration has accused the PSNI of ‘rubbing salt into his wounds’ after the Police Ombudsman found a PSNI officer did not act with “sensitivity”.
Mark Sykes, who was shot several times, was speaking after the Police Ombudsman revealed details of an investigation after police intervened during Covid restrictions in 2021.
Mr Sykes’ brother-in-law Peter Magee (18) was one of five people killed a UDA raked the Ormeau Road bookmakers with gunfire on February 5, 1992.
Others who lost their lives included James Kennedy (15), Christy Doherty (51), William McManus (54) and Jack Duffin (66).
There was anger after footage emerged of Mr Sykes holding a bag containing floral tributes as the PSNI moved in.
He was later held in handcuffs for around 90 minutes in the back of a PSNI car before being released.
In 2023 a High Court judge found two officers were unlawfully disciplined in the aftermath of the arrest, while the officer who arrested Mr Sykes faced disciplinary proceedings last year and later won on appeal.
In 2021 the Public Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute the two police officers.
Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson said on Monday: “Given the restrictions on gatherings which were in place under the Covid regulations at the time, I am satisfied that there was reasonable justification for PSNI to have attended the scene.
“However, after examination of all relevant evidence, including radio transmissions, body worn video and other video footage of the incident, I was of the view that the arresting police officer had not responded to the unfolding events in line with an order to treat the gathering with sensitivity.”
The ombudsman said an examination of radio transmissions show that when police first encountered the bookmakers commemoration, they thought it was a “pop-up protest” and were “not aware of the significance of the gathering”.
The two probationary officers were told by a supervising sergeant to turn on their body worn cameras and “back off if they met resistance”.
They were later told to “still get footage, but treat with sensitivity”.
The ombudsman investigation has resulted in three recommendations being made, including developing a system whereby police are “aware of Troubles-related anniversaries or commemorations”.
The other recommendations relate to resourcing of local policing teams and the need for improvements in public order training for new officers.
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: “As an organisation we are committed to learning from this case and have accepted the recommendations made by the Ombudsman.
“We have already commenced updating our training, policy and procedures to ensure that incidents of a similar nature do not occur again.”
Mr Sykes, who received an apology from police, said relatives of the dead still suffer from the impact of the arrest operation.
“Police actions during their arrest of me, literally aggravated and metaphorically rubbed salt into my wounds from the bookies attack 29 years prior,” he said.
His solicitor, Niall Murphy solicitor KRW Law, said the “outcomes to this investigation are not commensurate to the recklessness of police actions on the day”.
DUP Policing Board member, Trevor Clarke said the officers were “simply trying to do their job in very challenging circumstances.”
And he added: “Their reward, of course, was to be thrown to the wolves by their superiors to pander to political pressure. Indeed, little in the way of sensitivity or compassion was shown to those individual officers.”
