12 March 1998 Edition
ICPC inquiry into Adams beating
By Ned Kelly
On a cold dark February morning four years ago the RUC attacked 35 year-old Davy Adams with obscene intensity. In a statement to An Phoblacht Adams described how the attacks in Belmont Avenue, in the yard of Castlereagh and inside a holding cell at Castlereagh, left him in hospital for three weeks with a punctured lung, two fractured ribs, a fractured left leg, a badly swollen right leg, a busted head, a closed eye and a body full of bruises, aches and pains.
Last month a High Court judge awarded Adams £30,000 in a civil court action that found RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan responsible for the injuries to Adams while he was in the hands of the RUC. Now the Independent Commission for Police Complaints (ICPC) has recruited Assistant Chief Constable Jim Orr from Strathclyde to head an inquiry. Given the ICPC's record, it would be surprising if their report ends in convictions.
Adams freely admits that he finds it difficult to talk about the beating. He admits that that morning as he was dragged along the ground by members of the RUC's Headquarters Mobile Support Unit (HMSU), he expected the ``inevitable bullet in the head.''
Instead he was put on his knees and his hands were cuffed behind his back. He says, ``then the nightmare began. I've had some bad beatings in my life at the hands of the RUC at Castlereagh and by prison wardens in prison but nothing prepared me for this.''
Adams was battered while he was ``prone, no threat, captive.'' His head was repeatedly smashed on the ground, his face ground and scraped into the concrete; his back, shoulders, sides and head were butted with rifles. All the while the RUC were shouting abuse, all the time Davy felt he could be killed. It didn't stop. Guns were placed against his temple, blows rained down, he was temporarily blinded.
During this first phase of the attack at least four individuals, `Deano', `Adair', `Billy' and an Asian RUC man were involved along with an Inspector who would have been responsible for the actions of his forces. Later in the Castlereagh yard a man attempted to break both of his legs and ran him at full pelt into a brick wall. After he was transferred to a cell, still handcuffed, the beatings became more systematic. For the next hour Adams was beaten about the head and an RUC man jumped repeatedly up and down on his legs. These were the activities of men who had no fear of any retribution, acting beyond the law but within the walls of Castlereagh.
During his detention at Castlereagh Adams saw a doctor, but despite his severe injuries he remained in detention. He was processed, so the custody sergeant must have been aware of the conditions under which he was held. A minimum of seven individuals therefore came into contact with Adams during the time that he received his injuries. Those four hours ``in the hands of the enemy'' left Mr Adams in hospital for three weeks.
On a cold dark February morning four years ago the RUC attacked 35 year-old Davy Adams with obscene intensity. In a statement to An Phoblacht Adams described how the attacks in Belmont Avenue, in the yard of Castlereagh and inside a holding cell at Castlereagh, left him in hospital for three weeks with a punctured lung, two fractured ribs, a fractured left leg, a badly swollen right leg, a busted head, a closed eye and a body full of bruises, aches and pains.
Last month a High Court judge awarded Adams £30,000 in a civil court action that found RUC Chief Constable Ronnie Flanagan responsible for the injuries to Adams while he was in the hands of the RUC. Now the Independent Commission for Police Complaints (ICPC) has recruited Assistant Chief Constable Jim Orr from Strathclyde to head an inquiry. Given the ICPC's record, it would be surprising if their report ends in convictions.
Adams freely admits that he finds it difficult to talk about the beating. He admits that that morning as he was dragged along the ground by members of the RUC's Headquarters Mobile Support Unit (HMSU), he expected the ``inevitable bullet in the head.''
Instead he was put on his knees and his hands were cuffed behind his back. He says, ``then the nightmare began. I've had some bad beatings in my life at the hands of the RUC at Castlereagh and by prison wardens in prison but nothing prepared me for this.''
Adams was battered while he was ``prone, no threat, captive.'' His head was repeatedly smashed on the ground, his face ground and scraped into the concrete; his back, shoulders, sides and head were butted with rifles. All the while the RUC were shouting abuse, all the time Davy felt he could be killed. It didn't stop. Guns were placed against his temple, blows rained down, he was temporarily blinded.
During this first phase of the attack at least four individuals, `Deano', `Adair', `Billy' and an Asian RUC man were involved along with an Inspector who would have been responsible for the actions of his forces. Later in the Castlereagh yard a man attempted to break both of his legs and ran him at full pelt into a brick wall. After he was transferred to a cell, still handcuffed, the beatings became more systematic. For the next hour Adams was beaten about the head and an RUC man jumped repeatedly up and down on his legs. These were the activities of men who had no fear of any retribution, acting beyond the law but within the walls of Castlereagh.
During his detention at Castlereagh Adams saw a doctor, but despite his severe injuries he remained in detention. He was processed, so the custody sergeant must have been aware of the conditions under which he was held. A minimum of seven individuals therefore came into contact with Adams during the time that he received his injuries. Those four hours ``in the hands of the enemy'' left Mr Adams in hospital for three weeks.