The Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has won an appeal in the High Court, overturning an earlier County Court ruling and successfully defending the lawfulness of the arrest of a police officer carried out during an Ombudsman investigation.
In a judgment delivered this week, The Honourable Mr Justice Colton ruled that the arrest in question was lawful and that the Ombudsman’s appeal should be allowed in full. As a result, the civil claim against the Police Ombudsman has been dismissed.
The case arose from a Police Ombudsman investigation into PSNI actions following a fatal road traffic incident on the Moneynick Road in County Antrim in January 2018, where a young woman was killed and a young man sustained serious life changing injuries following contact with police officers.
The Police Ombudsman called herself in to investigation under Sect 55 (6) of the Police Northern Ireland Act 1998, during which a police officer was arrested by Ombudsman investigators.
The High Court examined whether the statutory requirements for arrest had been met and concluded that investigators had reasonable grounds for suspicion.
In his judgment, Mr Justice Colton emphasised the careful and structured approach taken during the investigation. He highlighted that concerns about the evidential basis for criminal suspicion were openly examined, independently reviewed and resolved before any arrest decision was made.
The Court described the approach taken as exceptionally thorough, stating that “it is difficult to contemplate a more conscientious approach to the exercise of a coercive power” by the arresting Ombudsman officers in this case.
Mr Justice Colton further found that the arrest was necessary to allow the prompt and effective continuation of the investigation, particularly in circumstances where voluntary cooperation had been withdrawn.
The ruling affirms the independence of the Police Ombudsman and confirms that its investigators acted lawfully, proportionately and within the powers provided by law.
The case relates to this investigation, previously pubished on the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland website: News | Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland