The interim PSNI chief has said he is working on resolving the issue of the conduct of two junior police officers at a Troubles memorial event in Belfast.
In his first meeting with the Northern Ireland Policing Board, PSNI Interim Chief Constable Jon Boutcher also said that he agreed with a High Court ruling that found action against the officers was unlawful.
The two PSNI officers faced action in 2021 after the arrest of Mark Sykes during a service marking the anniversary of the 1992 Sean Graham bookmakers attack in which five people were murdered.
Officers challenged those attending the event on the grounds of suspicion they were violating coronavirus regulations.
Earlier this year a High Court judge found that actions taken against the junior police officers following this event were unlawful.
In August former chief constable Simon Byrne initially said he accepted the judgment, but later indicated he was considering launching an appeal.
That issue, in combination with a major data leak that saw the publication of information pertaining to all PSNI officers and staff, plagued the final days of Mr Byrne before he resigned in September.
Mr Boutcher told the NI Policing Board on Thursday that he accepts the High Court ruling but that he was still in the process of dealing with the “conduct of the officers at the time”.
“The judicial review 168, the Ormeau Road issue, many of you will be aware, if not all, of my decision and has been widely reported, with regards to not taking any further action with regards to that matter, as regards any appeal to the suspension or relocation of the officers and the determination made by Judge Schofield, which I read in forensic detail along with other documents, and I agreed with the court’s position,” he said.
“I’m now working towards resolving the second element of that issue, which is the conduct of the officers at the time.
“I won’t say anything more about that at the moment because I intend to resolve that in the coming weeks, and I’ll report fully to the board at the next meeting.
“But fair to say I think there was lessons learned for everybody in that particular instance, not least of which, the broader organisation and that’s what I think we need to focus on.”
Shortly after stepping into the interim chief role, Mr Boutcher said in a statement that he accepted the judgment and did not intend to appeal.
