The Five Demands

A Derry la polizia ha risposto ad una chiamata al 999 con 12 ore circa di ritardo

Tre uomini mascherati hanno fatto irruzione in una casa in Slievemore Park a Derry, tenendo in ostaggio i tre membri di una famiglia. Un malvivente ha tenuto una pistola puntata contro un bambino di 5 anni, e uno dei complici ha minacciato di uccidere un uomo se non avessa lasciato fuggire i membri della banda.
Il fatto è avvenuto alle 23.30 circa di mercoledì. La PSNI ha risposto alla richiesta di intervento al 999, recandosi presso l’abitazione alle 11 circa del giorno seguente.
In un comunicato del Police Service of Northern Ireland, Stephen Martin ha affermato che gli agenti temevano si trattasse di una trappala per attirarli nell’area.
“Dobbiamo sempre stabilire le circostanze e l’autenticità di ogni chiamata e mi dispiace che la comunità si senta delusa, ma devo prendere in considerazione la sicurezza dei miei ufficiali quando li invio su qualsiasi scena”
SDLP e Sinn Fein hanno ampiamente criticato l’operato della polizia.
Martin Anderson ha presentato un esposto durante un incontro del Policing Board. Matt Baggott, Chief Constable, esaminerà personalmente  il fallimento delle forze di polizia nella risposta alle chiamate.
La famiglia ritiene che l’attacco abbia avuto origine da uno scambio di persona.

PSNI feared Derry gun trap (U TV)
The PSNI has said it did not respond as quickly as it wanted to reports that a family of three was being held at gun point in Derry because officers were concerns it may have been “an attempt to lure them into the area.”
It is understood three masked men forced their way into the property in the Slievemore park area of the city and held a gun to a five-year-old boy.
One of the intruders also pointed his gun at a man in the house and threatened to shoot him before all three left, a police spokesperson confirmed.
The incident happened at around 11.30pm on Wednesday night.
But the family has complained that police failed to visit them until 11am on Thursday.
Both the SDLP and Sinn Fein have criticised the police response to the incident.
SDLP Foyle MLA Mary Bradley, who condemned the “abhorrent attack”, said the PSNI failed to respond to a 999 call.
“Fortunately the family managed to escape uninjured in what must have been a traumatic experience. However, when the victim contacted the police he was told that officers were unable to attend the scene,” she said.
In a statement, District Commander Chief Superintendent Stephen Martin said officers were concerned the call may have been an attempt “to lure police officers into the area to attack them”.
“We always have to establish the circumstances and authenticity of any call and I am sorry that the community feels let down but I have to consider the security of my officers when sending them out to any scene”, he added.
“It is unfortunate these measures have to be considered but that is the reality of policing in Northern Ireland where a small minority of people are determined to bring us back to the dark days of the past.”
Sinn Fein MLA Martina Anderson has raised the issue at a meeting of the Policing Board when she challenged the PSNI’s decision not to attend immediately despite receiving 999 calls about the incident.
She said Chief Constable Matt Baggott will personally examine the failure of police to respond to the calls.
“Here we had an armed gang attacking a family home and the police decided they could not respond for whatever reason. There is a great deal of dissatisfaction as to how this incident was handled and I made that clear to the Chief Constable”, she said.
“I think there is an acceptance from the PSNI that they made a mistake and the Chief Constable has confirmed that he will look into it. Sinn Fein will continue to pursue this issue through the policing structures to ensure that lessons are learned.”
The family believes the attack was a case of mistaken identity.
Local SDLP Councillor Shaun Gallagher said: “They burst into the house and were looking for someone. The gunmen shouted: ‘Where is he? Where is he? The person they were looking for obviously wasn’t that young couple. The family kept saying:’Who you looking for? Who you looking for? You’re in the wrong house”.
Approximately 15 minutes later, the armed gang returned to the house but the young couple and their son had escaped out the back gate and were forced to hide behind a car outside.
Mr Gallagher added: “Quite clearly it is a case of mistaken identity because they went to the wrong house and pointed a gun at a five-year-old as well. As you can imagine the family is traumatised over it”.
Detectives said they were investigating the incident and would appeal to anyone with information to contact them.