Flashpoint in Shantallow
A woman collapsed and had to be taken to hospital yesterday after her home was searched by the PSNI in the Shantallow area.
The woman’s daughter, Mary Coyle, also claimed she was physically and verbally abused by police officers during the search at Drumleck Drive and was left with bruises on her arm.
A crowd of up to 300 people gathered in the area during the search operation and a number of them attacked police Land Rovers with stones and bottles.
Ms Coyle claimed a police officer threatened to put her “through the window with a slap” while her mother’s house was being searched.
“I came home from work and found the police searching my mother’s house. My mother was so upset she collapsed and had to be taken to hospital. I protested and a policeman told me to ***k up or he’d put me through the window with a slap. I was then grabbed and pushed out the front and I have been left with a bruise on my arm,” she said.
The front window of the house was broken when a PSNI Land Rover parked outside came under attack from a group of up to 300 stonethrowers who gathered in the area.
Ms Coyle said she could not understand why the house was searched and said three people who were arrested during the operation were arrested for non-payment of fines.
Sinn Fin councillor for the area Tony Hassan condemned the incident and claimed that some officers called people ‘fenian b*****ds’ at the scene.
“I want to condemn the PSNI for the way they handled the situation. I have had a number of complaints from residents that they were told to ‘***k off’ and were called ‘fenian ******ds.’
“I support the PSNI if they are tackling crime in a responsible manner but from what I can gather and what I have seen myself they completely over-reacted and involved a lot of the community who did not need to be involved. I will be complaining about this to the local District Policing Partnership,” he said.
A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police are carrying out a search of a house in the Drumleck Drive area of the city as part of an ongoing investigation relating to drugs and anti-social behaviour. Three people have been arrested and are currently helping police with their enquiries.”
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Derry
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 26 C
Wind Speed: 29 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
