Police Did Not Use Too Much Force During Youth Arrest - Ombudsman

Police did not use too much force during the arrest of a youth in connection with a suspected petrol bomb incident, an investigation by the Police Ombudsman has concluded.

The youth said his arrest had been unlawful as he had done nothing wrong before "about 16" police officers came running towards him, two of whom grabbed him and threw him against a wall.

He said he was held there while officers radioed his details to a police aircraft overhead, and was then arrested.

As he was being led to a police Land Rover, he said an officer put his hand on his neck and kept nipping it, and that while in the vehicle an officer was verbally abusive towards him.

He was placed in police custody but later released unconditionally.

A Police Ombudsman investigator interviewed officers who had been involved in the incident, which happened in L'Derry in April 2013. She also reviewed relevant police records, including aerial video footage captured from the police aircraft.

The footage showed that the youth's clothing had been similar to that worn by young people suspected of possessing petrol bombs nearby. He was stopped by police as he was walking away from the same area.

The officer who made the arrest said he had done so on the order of a supervising officer, who in turn said he had acted on the basis of information supplied to him by crew in the police aircraft.

Having viewed the aerial footage, the investigator concluded that there had been sufficient grounds for police to arrest the youth.

(CD)