Police ‘conspiracy of silence’ in death of US citizen injured after being stopped by RUC patrol

POLICE OFFICERS accused of being involved in a “conspiracy of silence” about the death of a US citizen after he was assaulted by a Royal Ulster Constabulary patrol in 1997 are still serving in the new Police Service of Northern Ireland and may never be held accountable, according new investigations.

39-year-old John Hemsworth (pictured) was assaulted in the early hours of 7 July 1997 in west Belfast. Later that year he became ill, was admitted to hospital and died on 1 January 1998.

An investigation by the Police Ombudsman’s Office has found new evidence about the attack.

Before his death, John Hemsworth alleged police officers had carried out the assault.

Two subsequent police investigations were unable to establish if police officers were responsible for the attack.

The Police Ombudsman in the North, Dr Michael Maguire, however, said new evidence has confirmed the conclusions of an inquest which found it was highly probable that police officers were responsible for the injuries which contributed to John Hemsworth’s death. He said it also raises additional concerns.

Campaign group Relatives for Justice said that John Hemsworth, a US citizen, lived in Belfast and was married to Colette. They had a daughter, Danielle, who was three years old at the time.

On Sunday evening, 6 July 1997, John went to St Gall’s GAA Club for the evening. At approximately 1:45am on Monday, 7 July 1997, John was attacked by the RUC as he walked home.

There had been some disturbances between the RUC and nationalist youths following the forcing of an Orange Order march by the RUC through the nationalist Garvaghy Road area of Portadown. As a result, there were no taxis available.

As John made his way home to Conway Street, in the lower Falls area, he encountered an RUC riot squad in nearby Malcolmson Street, off the Springfield Road, who immediately set upon him with their batons including (“as noted at the inquest”, Relatives for Justice pointed out), kicking him as he lay defenceless on the ground.

John eventually managed to get home and then onto the Royal Victoria Hospital where he was treated for a broken jaw, neck injuries and severe bruising to his body.

The injuries were such that Colette Hemsworth photographed them at the time.

John began developing severe headaches and was also unable to eat because of the injuries to his jaw. A self-employed plumber and heating engineer, John was unable to work for a number of months.

John sought legal advice and support following the assault from Brendan Blaney of Flynn & McGettrick Solicitors.

On 27 December 1997, John was admitted to hospital with continued head, neck and jaw ache.

On 1 January 1998, John passed away from a major blood clot to the brain.

The family later approached Relatives for Justice who appealed for eyewitnesses to the initial assault as the family was firmly of the view that this attack was connected to John’s death. Relatives for Justice documented the case and took some statements.

The RFJ, through Dr Kathleen Cavanaugh of Amnesty International, were also able to access an independent forensic pathologist and founder of Physicians for Human Rights, Professor Derek Pounder, who was willing to examine the case.

Instructed by Brendan Blaney on behalf of Colette Hemsworth, Professor Pounder stated that John’s death was as a result of the RUC assault.

An application was made to the Attorney General in London who reopened the inquest and an investigation by the RUC, overseen by the then Independent Commission for Police Complaints (ICPC), was also ordered (previously, the ICPC exonerated the RUC of any involvement and wrongdoing).

In May 2011, an inquest established that John had died as a result of the attack by the RUC. However, none of the RUC officers present in Malcolmson Street, where the attack occurred, could recall anyone being assaulted by the RUC.

The Police Ombudsman in the North noted this week that the 2011 inquest heard expert evidence which described John’s injuries as being consistent with having been struck by a cylindrical object similar to a police baton.

The Coroner concluded “it was highly probable that one or more officers of the RUC Operational Support Unit Blue Section was responsible for the injuries to Mr Hemsworth” which were likely to have played a part in his death.

The PSNI then referred the matter to the Police Ombudsman’s Office.

Police Ombudsman investigators carried out door-to-door inquiries in the area, issued media appeals, held a public meeting and sought footage from military helicopters, “none of which provided new evidence”, the Police Ombudsman reported.

Police Ombudsman investigators did, however, find new witnesses who had been with John Hemsworth before his death and prior to the attack.

It appears that confusion over the timeline involved affected earlier investigations.

“They relied on the evidence available then that Mr Hemsworth had arrived home not any later than 1:15am, before the RUC Blue Section was in Malcolmson Street,” said Dr Maguire.

Police Ombudsman investigators then interviewed 16 police officers from a number of units of the RUC’s Blue Section, some of whom were in Malcolmson Street that night. Most have retired from policing; others remain within the PSNI.

“None admitted assaulting Mr Hemsworth, nor did they implicate any of their colleagues in the attack,” the Police Ombudsman’s office reported.

It added:

“The findings of Dr Maguire’s investigation have added weight to the conclusions of the Coroner but have not identified the particular police officer/s involved.”

Dr Maguire said:

“The medical evidence is that the injuries sustained by Mr Hemsworth were the sole underlying cause of his death in 1998. Further, the available evidence leads me to conclude that those injuries were sustained as a consequence of Mr Hemsworth being assaulted by police officers.

“I am concerned that, throughout the course of three investigations and an inquest, no officer who was present has been able to recall the incident.”

PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris said the force accepted the Police Ombudsman’s findings.

“It is a matter of deep regret that individual culpability for the assault on Mr Hemsworth has not been identified and that police officers who may have committed offences have not been held to account,” he said.

“I would take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who may have information in relation to this to come forward and contact the office of the Police Ombudsman.”