POLICE failed to protect Orange Order members who were attacked during a July 12 parade as they marched past a nationalist area, a damning watchdog probe has found.
Ballymacarrett lodge in east Belfast complained to the Police Ombudsman two years ago after they came under attack from stones and paint bombs thrown from the Short Strand.
The Orangemen demanded a formal apology from the PSNI, claiming officers "stood by and did nothing" while members came under a "sustained and pre-planned attack" as they marched past St Matthew’s Catholic church on the Newtownards Road.
PSNI officers were interviewed as part of the investigation, which also examined radio transmissions and CCTV footage.
Ombudsman Dr Michael Maguire concluded that police had "failed to protect those taking part on the parade".
"Overall there is no dispute that the parade did come under attack from the Short Strand," he said.
"While I have found no evidence to suggest any individual officer was guilty of misconduct, it is clear that, for a number of reasons, police had not prepared for such an eventuality.
"My investigators have spoken to senior police officers who acknowledged some of the concerns raised and accept there are a number of lessons to be learned for the policing of future parades in the area.
"Members of the lodge have said they wanted a formal apology from the police. I have forwarded a report of my findings and this request to the PSNI."
Dr Maguire noted, however, that his team did not uphold all the allegations.
Orange Order members claimed a police driver deliberately stopped his Land Rover and blocked the road - which brought the parade to a halt and "thereby facilitated the attack".
The watchdog concluded the PSNI officer who stopped his Land Rover did so for two minutes and had "no option but to stop" due to large crowds who had gathered to watch the return Orange Order parade.
"Despite instructions from his senior officer to move as quickly as possible, the officer had to drive very slowly due to the crowd in front of him, some of whom were children," Dr Maguire said.
"The fact the Land Rover had stopped did allow an opportunity for missiles to be thrown, but we found no evidence this was a deliberate tactic."
The CCTV footage showed missiles being thrown from the chapel grounds, which were being hurled back by members of the crowd on the Lower Newtownards Road.
The ombudsman's team concluded there was a deliberate police decision not to place officers in St Matthew’s as it was "sacred ground" and "may have created unwelcome community perceptions".
"They based their decision not to have officers in the wider area on the experiences of previous years and on agreements within each of the local communities," Dr Maguire added.
"When trouble broke out the officers then tried to get into the church grounds, but the gates were locked. The police too were coming under attack and were trying to deploy resources to the area.
"Having examined all the evidence I would not agree that police officers stood by and did nothing to protect the marchers."
During a Policing Board meeting on Thursday, PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton apologised for how the parade was policed.
"Clearly on this occasion, we were unable to fulfil that responsibility because of failure in planning and deployments into the Short Strand - for that shortcoming I am sorry," he said.
