A police search of a house in Derry which sparked rioting during which writer Lyra McKee was shot dead has been referred to the Police Ombudsman.
The 29-year-old was killed by the 'New IRA' in the Creggan area of the city in April last year.
Her family yesterday confirmed they had asked the ombudsman to investigate police actions on the night.
“Whilst we hold Lyra’s killer and their associates completely responsible for her murder, we have asked the Police Ombudsman to investigate the aspects of the policing operation on 18 April 2019." they said.
"The Police Ombudsman investigation is completely separate to the ongoing murder investigation."
Up to 15 PSNI Land Rovers, accompanied by Army Technical Officers and their vehicles, moved into the Creggan estate in force on the night of Ms McKee’s murder to search a house at Mulroy Gardens.
At the height of the rioting, a gunman opened fire towards police lines, fatally injuring Ms McKee who had been observing the disturbances.
Nothing was found in the police search of the house.
The PSNI operation has also been questioned by People before Profit councillor Eamonn McCann.
“People find it very difficult to understand why there was such a large force of policemen and armoured vehicles in the area that night,” he said.
Acknowledging the complaint by Ms McKee’s family’s, Detective Chief Superintendent, Raymond Murray said the ombudsman would come to her own conclusion.
“What I will say is that the officers acted in good faith with the information at the time. That is all we can do,” he said.
Mr Murray also revealed that police know the identity of the man who killed Ms McKee but have struggled to gather the evidence necessary to bring him to court.
“We certainly believe we do know who pulled the trigger and who murdered Lyra McKee on that horrendous night in Creggan. I think it would be a failure of policing if we did not do everything in our power to bring people before the courts. We have to find the evidence. We have to try to get the evidence; it is incredibly difficult,” he said.
Mr Murray insisted the investigation has not been completed and defended his officers against criticism by SDLP Policing Board member Dolores Kelly over a failure to catch those responsible for the murders of Ms McKee and Jim Donegan (43), who was shot dead in west Belfast in December 2018.
“I think not only will people be disappointed but they will be angry that no-one has been charged,” she said.
DUP Policing Board member Mervyn Storey said the Police Ombudsman investigation would give the PSNI the opportunity to present evidence that its operation was “lawful, executed in good faith and on the basis of information and intelligence available at the time”.
