A man was beaten to death just yards from a west Belfast police station, but officers on duty inside were unaware of it happening, a report has revealed.
The attack below an unmanned sangar lasted 26 seconds and was captured on two security cameras at Woodbourne.
But a Police Ombudsman’s Office investigation into the death of father of eight Seamus Fox, 58, said the blame rested with the man who murdered him.
Dr Michael Maguire said: “There is no evidence any police officer on duty that morning should share this responsibility.”
Mr Fox died from his injuries on waste ground about 10 metres from the station’s perimeter fence in the early hours of April 22, 2010. He had been on his way to his home on Horn Road after playing darts at Donegal Celtic FC when he was attacked.
During a hearing at Belfast Crown Court where Gerard Connors, then aged 19, later pleaded guilty to the murder, the judge heard that Connors had been present at a fire reported earlier to the police.
According to a report released today Mr Fox’s family told Ombudsman investigators they were concerned the attack was seen from inside the police station and officers failed to respond.
They also feared that had police attended the fire, then there was a strong likelihood the subsequent attack would never have happened.
Ombudsman staff spoke to officers on duty that night in the station, to members of the public who reported finding Mr Fox, a grandfather, and to those who reported the fire.
They also viewed all the available video footage and examined relevant police documentation.
Dr Maguire concluded that no police officer saw or was aware of the attack taking place.
He said: “There were two security cameras relaying pictures of the attack on Mr Fox as it happened on to two of more than a dozen screens in a security sangar. No one had the sole task of monitoring those screens.”
Given the position of the dozen plus monitors in the security sangar and the poor picture quality, it would not have been clear what was happening outside, according to Dr Maguire.
No one was on duty in the sangar which overlooked the scene of the attack as it was normal practice in 2010 for it not to be staffed.
The report said the Ombudsman had established that an ‘out of bounds’ order - an order whereby police restrict the movement of their officers in a given area - was in place that night near the fire and this was one of the factors which influenced the police decision not to attend the scene.
However, Dr Maguire said he was of the view that even if police had gone to the fire, this may have reduced but would not have eliminated the opportunity for Connors to attack Mr Fox.
He said: “Had police attended the scene and arrested Gerard Connors or engaged with him for sufficient time to allow Mr Fox to reach home safely, events may have unfolded differently. Alternatively, however, on the approach of the police, Connors may have fled the scene, in which case he may still have encountered Mr Fox. These and other possibilities remain imponderable.
“The police decision not to attend the fire but to use CCTV to monitor it in case matters deteriorated was an understandable course of action. They could not have foreseen that one of those people at the fire would viciously attack someone a short time later.
“The responsibility for Mr Fox’s death rests with Gerard Connors, who beat him in a vicious attack. There is no evidence any police officer on duty that morning should share this responsibility.”
Sinn Fein MLA Sue Ramsey claimed the PSNI had failed the Fox family and the wider community.
The West Belfast MLA said: “While the blame lies squarely with Gerard Connors for the vicious attack on Mr Fox, this attack was preventable.
“Despite the assertion in the report that, had the PSNI intervened in the anti-social behaviour, Gerard Connors may still have carried out this attack, I believe this is highly unlikely.
“In their failure to act, the PSNI have tragically let down Mr Fox, his family and the wider community. In doing so there are questions that remain to be answered by the PSNI as to what action they are to take in relation to this matter and those who failed in their duty towards this community.”