Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson is to launch an investigation into the consistency of the PSNI’s approach to a Black Lives Matter protest in Derry last year and its handling of the Bobby Storey funeral.
Fines were issued to 57 people who attended the BLM protest at Guildhall Square in Derry in June 6 last year. The protest was organised in memory of African-American George Floyd who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer who was later convicted of his murder. Police intervened on health grounds during the protest but have been criticised for their lack of direct intervention at Mr Storey’s funeral just weeks later.
Ms Anderson said the investigation was launched into the consistency of police engagement with the BLM protest organisers and the funeral of senior Sinn Féin figure, Bobby Storey weeks later.
“The complaint involves allegations of inconsistencies in the policing approach to engagement and enforcement at the Black Lives Matter protest when compared with the funeral of Bobby Storey. The complainant (who attended the BLM protest) alleges that the inconsistencies amount to race discrimination,” a spokesman for Ms Anderson said.
The spokesman said the Ombudsman had a statutory duty to investigate “qualifying complaints” about police conduct. Ms Anderson was satisfied that the complaint, received in April this year, was one that she was required to investigate.
“The investigation will focus on matters related to the engagement of the PSNI with the organisers of the Black Lives Matter protest in Guildhall Square, Derry/Londonderry in advance of the event.
“The investigation will examine if this engagement was consistent with the PSNI’s approach to the organisers of Bobby Storey’s funeral. The investigation will also examine the PSNI strategy, policies and decision-making around the two events in light of this complaint,” the spokesman said.
