Police Ombudsman issues report on PSNI conduct

The organization said there was no evidence that police leaked information about the whereabouts of a former Sinn Fein member who had been wearing an informant’s mask before the murder.

Dennis Donaldson was shot dead in a remote country house in Donegal in April 2006 in a murder claimed by the Real IRA.

Police Ombudsman Marie Anderson found that PSNI did not attempt to involve family members of Mr. Donaldson in his killing and said that in addition to obstructing the investigation into his murder, PSNI provided “a high level of cooperation and assistance”.

However, he said PSNI should have made an additional risk assessment after the publication of a media article about any potential threat to Mr Donaldson’s life, which included photos of him outside the hut two weeks before his assassination.

Ms. Anderson’s report examines police actions before and after her murder.

On March 17, 2002, sensitive information was stolen during a robbery at Castlereagh Police Station and the police received information responsible for the Provisional IRA.

After the documents were removed from Mr. Donaldson’s home, he and three others were charged with possession of materials used by terrorists.

One of the four was acquitted in December 2003, while the prosecution dismissed the case against the others in November 2005.

The report notes that police conducted a risk assessment, concluding that PIRA likely conducted an internal investigation to determine why the case failed.

On December 10, 2005, the police sent a threatening letter to Mr. Donaldson stating that “members of the media believe that Dennis Donaldson is an informant”.

The report said PSNI held an emergency “golden command” meeting on December 14 to prepare police resources so they could respond quickly if needed, out of concern it might be in danger. .

The next day, the report stated that the officer, called “Police 3”, called Mr. Donaldson twice on the phone and in the second case spoke to him briefly and gave him a contact number.

At about 9.20pm they called the number previously given to Mr. Donaldson, but the third police officer did not recognize the number as Mr. Donaldson and did not answer the call.

The next day, Sinn Fein chief Gary Adams held a press conference in Dublin announcing the expulsion of Donaldson from the party after admitting he was an informant.

Mr Donaldson released the statement later that day, saying he had “worked for British intelligence and the RUC/PSNI Special Branch” since the 1980s.

He later moved to a cottage near Glentis in County Donegal, where he was killed.

Mr. Donaldson’s family has expressed numerous concerns about the police’s actions, including allegations that the threatening letter sent to Mr. Donaldson on 10 December 2005 was “fake” and “artificially fabricated” because it was not true that the media removed him from office. The Road. Target. Detective.

The family expressed concern about the “misuse of the letter” and said the police had not conducted a risk assessment before delivering the letter.

However, Ms Anderson said the threat message was based on “credible information from a reliable source”.

He said his investigators looked at a clear audit trail, including risk assessments and contingency plans, and outlined the rationale for the police’s decision to send a threat.

“I believe that the police would not have been able to fulfill their obligations under Article 2 if they had not informed him of the relevant information,” he said.

The family also said that Mr. Donald’s December 15 phone call was intended to “intimidate” and “burn him” as an informant.

But Ms Anderson said it was “part of a carefully considered threat management plan in response to information that Mr. Donaldson told colleagues at Sinn Fein that he was an informant.”

He added: “The purpose of these phone calls was to identify, assess and manage identified risks, as well as to address welfare issues with Mr. Donaldson. I have not raised any concerns about these phone calls.”

He said the police’s decision not to make a call to the third police officer on the evening of 15 December was “reasonable and reasonable” because it was not received on Mr Donaldson’s phone.

Another concern expressed by mr. Donaldson was that after he moved to Donegal, the police provided information about his whereabouts to a number of people, including reporters.

On March 19, 2006, the newspaper published a story describing the hut he was living in as “rotten,” without water and electricity, and with other cottages along the way.

Anderson said her investigation found no evidence that police leaked information about Mr. Donaldson’s whereabouts.

However, he said, disclosing information about where he lives should prompt police to carry out further risk assessments to identify any risks he might be exposed to.

He said: “PSNI AGS (An Garda Siochana) has recommended an informational article on the potential increase in Donaldson’s risk.

However, the investigators found no evidence that additional risk assessments had been performed or considered by PSNI.

He added that he had not been able to find any evidence that PSNI had been monitoring Mr Donaldson’s movements or conversations since he moved to Donegal, his family alleged.

An investigation by the Police Ombudsman has revealed concerns that PSNI was trying to implicate members of Mr. Donaldson’s family in his murder.

The family also said that PSNI obstructed the investigation into the AGS murder by concealing, suppressing or altering contact information during the last months of his life.

However, Ms Anderson said her investigation found “no evidence that a PSNI member was attempting to interfere with the investigation into the murder of the AGS”.

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