THE use of fines and enforcement on Black Lives Matter protesters may have been "unlawful", the Policing Board has said.
In a report released today, the watchdog questioned whether the PSNI's reaction to the protests was a "missed opportunity" for officers to show a positive approach to the right to assembly.
However, it acknowledged it was for the courts to assess the lawfulness of actions, with many of those fined and prosecuted currently mounting challenges.
There are at least five pending applications for judicial review from those involved in protests.
In assessing the reaction of police, the board considered CCTV and body-worn videos provided by the PSNI from events in Belfast and Derry in June of this year.
John Wadham, human rights adviser to the Policing Board, said in the report: "The approach sent the wrong message to protesters and damaged the reputation of the PSNI and the confidence of some members of the public.
"Whatever the rights and wrongs of going ahead with the protests and the difficulty of social distancing given the transmission rates for the virus at the time, this approach was not lawful."
The report added: "None of the police officers in the clips viewed appeared to consider the delicate balance required by the European Convention on Human Rights or the attempts by the protesters to obey the social distancing guidance, and instead seemed to follow the approach dictated by senior officers in advance."
The review questioned the issuing of fixed penalty notices to those social distancing during the protest and the decision to prosecute organisers who took genuine steps in planning the event with social distancing in place.
It also noted that a different approach to demonstrations, sparked by the death of George Floyd in America, was adopted by the Metropolitan Police in London.
"A court is likely to take into account the urgent nature of the protests and any possible alternative ways of assembling that do not involve large crowds or the possibilities of using media to get the message out," it said.
"On the other hand a court will also want to see evidence that this difficult balancing exercise was carried out by the PSNI and was regularly reviewed during the run up to June 6 and during the event.
"In the absence of this evidence a court might rule that the actions of PSNI were unlawful."
New regulations brought into law since June include "important exemptions and now ban gatherings of more than 30 people", the board added.
Amnesty International's Northern Ireland director Patrick Corrigan said: "The police's potentially discriminatory approach to policing BLM protests and other public gatherings seriously damaged community relations - damage which must now be repaired.
"No-one should be left with a criminal record for taking a peaceful, socially-distanced stand against racism."
The report acknowledged that some experts have pointed to a significant erosion of civil liberties during the pandemic, including the controversial introduction of spit guards during the pandemic.
Chief Constable Simon Byrne said: "We welcome the report and the scrutiny into the police response.
"We will now take time to consider its findings and recommendations."
