Northern Ireland

Police Ombudsman appeal for information about Lurgan Park incident

The Police Ombudsman has appealed for information about an incident in July during which a woman - believed to be a wheelchair user - was apparently dragged out of Lurgan Park by the arms by two PSNI officers
The Police Ombudsman has appealed for information about an incident in July during which a woman - believed to be a wheelchair user - was apparently dragged out of Lurgan Park by the arms by two PSNI officers The Police Ombudsman has appealed for information about an incident in July during which a woman - believed to be a wheelchair user - was apparently dragged out of Lurgan Park by the arms by two PSNI officers

The Police Ombudsman has appealed for information about an incident during which a woman - believed to be a wheelchair user - was apparently dragged out of a Co Armagh park by two PSNI officers.

Concerns were raised in July when the footage emerged on social media of the officers appearing to pull the young woman behind them by the arms.

Policing Board member Dolores Kelly, who is an assembly member for the area, said she contacted senior officers, including the deputy chief constable, "to express my serious concern of the treatment of this young woman".

Now, the Police Ombudsman has said it wants to speak to a man who may have witnessed what took place.

The incident happened at Lurgan Park on Monday July 26, some time between 9.15pm and 10.05pm.

A Police Ombudsman spokesman said: "We are appealing for witnesses who may have observed a female wheelchair user being removed from the park by police and placed into their vehicle.

"Police have reported to our investigation that there was a male witness at the scene who spoke with police when they attended.

"We would be particularly keen to speak with this man or any other witnesses to the incident who saw what happened or recorded video footage of the incident on their mobile phone".