The PSNI has again refused to address enquiries into the dawn raid arrest of a member of the Council, days after he and his family were subjected to a home-invasion attack.
Councillor Sheamus Greene (Sinn Féin) and his wife, son and daughter were recovering from the terrifying home invasion on March 12, at which police attended, arresting one alleged perpetrator a short time later, who denied being in the house, even though CCTV footage contradicted this.
But just days later Councillor Greene was contacted by police who wished to arrest him and his son to put him under bail conditions.
The arrested man had subsequently made a series of allegations which Councillor Greene’s solicitor advised are “denied in the strongest possible terms”.
He advised police the imposition of bail was an insufficient basis for arrest, and neither proportionate nor necessary, to which an officer allegedly agreed, claiming he was “just following his sergeant’s instructions”.
The solicitor offered to bring Councillor Greene and his son to police straight away as voluntary attendees, but the officer said he was going off duty.
“Moreover, he gave a verbal undertaking that no arrests would be effected, and he would speak to me in advance and arrange same, if required,” said the solicitor.
Despite this, a 6.30am ‘dawn raid’ was actioned on March 16, with three carloads of police arriving at Councillor Greene’s home, arresting him and his son.
It emerged the man arrested for the alleged home invasion claimed Councillor Greene assaulted him during the incident, and posted a Facebook message threatening to kill him.
He also alleged Fermanagh Sinn Féin separately threatened him via Facebook.
Councillor Greene told police the Facebook accounts are neither his nor Fermanagh Sinn Féin’s, and as they appeared to be false, he requested officers verify where the posts originated.
Ahead of release, Councillor Greene’s phone, which is supplied by the Council, was seized, leaving him uncontactable by constituents.
The Police Ombudsman was informed and an investigation is under way.
At the time, the PSNI were asked on the appropriateness of arresting both men and why a verbal undertaking of no arrests was broken?
In a brief response a PSNI spokesperson said: “Following an altercation in Brookeborough on March 12, police arrested a 33-year-old man.
“A number of counter-allegations were made and on March 17, police arrested two men, aged 58 and 22.
“All three men were subsequently released on bail following interview, to allow for further enquiries. The investigation is ongoing.”
With four months now passed, Councillor Greene and his son remain on bail and he has not been provided with any updates or information on their arrests, nor the incident of which he and his family are victims.
It was asked why has Councillor Greene’s Council-supplied phone not yet been analysed and returned, and why the alleged social media posts have not been looked into?
Why are the family not receiving regular updates both as victims and on the counter-allegations, and if it is found these were spurious, will the PSNI seek to charge the individual with perverting the course of justice and/or wasting police time?
To read more.. Subscribe to current edition
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere