Claire McCleave and Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Mr Simpson KC sitting as HCJ |
| Judgment Date | 13 October 2023 |
| Neutral Citation | [2023] NIKB 106 |
| Court | King's Bench Division (Northern Ireland) |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2023] NIKB 106
Judgment: approved by the court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: SIM12292
ICOS No: 14/64982
Delivered: 13/10/2023
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
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KING’S BENCH DIVISION
___________
BETWEEN:
CLAIRE McCLEAVE
Plaintiff
-and-
CHIEF CONSTABLE OF THE POLICE SERVICE
OF NORTHERN IRELAND
Defendant
___________
Paul Bacon (instructed by Reavey & Co. Solicitors) for the Plaintiff
Fiona Fee (instructed by the Crown Solicitor’s Office) for the Defendant
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SIMPSON J
Introduction
[1] The plaintiff, who was born on 14 April 1982, was injured on 12 July 2013
while standing on the Woodvale Road in Belfast. She states that she was struck by a
plastic baton round discharged by a servant or agent of the defendant Chief
Constable. The writ alleges negligence, assault, battery, trespass to the person and
breach of statutory duty on the part of the defendant. No breach of statutory duty is
pleaded or particularised in the statement of claim. At the conclusion of the oral
evidence, I allowed the parties a total of three weeks to provide closing written
submissions, which were duly received.
[2] On 12 July 2013, as a result of a determination by the Parades Commission, a
parade by the Orange Order, with accompanying band, was prohibited from passing
the Ardoyne shopfronts. This parade was returning from the city centre direction
and would, but for the decision of the Parades Commission, have traversed the
length of the Woodvale Road to its junction with Crumlin Road/Twaddell Avenue
ie the vicinity of the Ardoyne shopfronts. In order to enforce this prohibition, a line
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of police armoured land rovers was parked across the Woodvale Road, blocking the
parade’s further passage towards the Ardoyne shopfronts. Police officers were in
riot gear as public disorder was feared.
[3] The evidence to the court was that approximately 6, or it may have been 7,
armoured police land rovers were parked side by side across, and blocking,
Woodvale Road. Police officers were stationed to the rear of the land rovers, their
backs towards the Ardoyne area, and some officers were positioned in the gaps
between the land rovers. The vehicles were deliberately placed on the Ardoyne side
of Woodvale Parade so as to allow an unobstructed route for the public to disperse
from the Woodvale Road and along Woodvale Parade if the public order situation
worsened, as it did.
[4] The extreme right hand vehicle (as the police looked southwards along the
Woodvale Road) was placed on the pavement outside number 138 Woodvale Road
and close to that house’s front garden wall and fence. There was probably room for
only one officer, with riot shield, in the space between the wall and the land rover.
The extreme left hand vehicle was parked up against a high wall which ran for some
distance along Woodvale Road.
[5] The court was shown approximately 20 minutes of video footage recorded by
police from 1940 hours to 2000 hours on the evening of 12 July. This shows that a
very large crowd — estimates, at different times, put the crowd at anywhere from
1,000 to 5,000 — had gathered in the vicinity of the police land rovers. The video
shows the crowd stretching from the immediate front of the vehicles as far back
nearly as the eye can see. The crowd was hostile, many seem to be under the
influence of alcohol. Some are seen drinking from cans. Many of the crowd can be
seen shouting abuse at police. Stones, cans, bottles and larger items, which may
have been pieces of masonry, are shown being thrown by some members of the
crowd. Some others are hiding their faces either with masks or items of clothing.
Some members of the crowd are shown damaging the police vehicles, trying to rip
off a wing mirror. Some are shown standing on the bonnet or roof of the vehicles.
One man is seen to be brandishing a sword and thrusting it at a police officer
carrying a riot shield, who can just be seen standing between two land rovers. One
or two members of the crowd appear to be holding batons. There is a clear and
determined attempt to breach the police lines. The obvious animosity of the crowd
is, at times, fueled by the music played by the band members who can be seen in the
video close to the police lines, and on at least one occasion a loyalist banner is
marched right up to the police land rovers, further inciting the crowd.
[6] I record here that it would be hard to understand the seriousness of the public
disorder without viewing the video.
[7] At about 1948 hours the video shows police water cannon start to fire water at
the crowd in an effort to disperse them. Initially one water cannon was deployed,
firing intermittently. At about 1952 hours several water cannon were deployed,
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