Ardmore man given Last Rites in
Ardmore man given Last Rites in arrest
operation
A disabled Ardmore man says he's "lucky to be alive" after a PSNI search
and arrest operation on Monday. He accused the arresting officers of
"heavy-handed tactics and police brutality" in the operation during which
he was given the Last Rites.
Brian Donnelly also accused the PSNI of assaulting John McGlynn's wife and
brother and denying himself his walking stick as, during the arrest
operation, he collapsed from a pre-existing heart complaint.
Both Mr. McGlynn and Mr. Donnelly were arrested and detained for several
hours on Monday after the former had declined to discuss a threat to kill
investigation with police at his Ardkill Road home. Police stated they
were investigating complaints received from a member of the public.
A spokesperson said; "The PSNI were responding to an emergency call from
people living in the Ardmore area reporting they had been threatened. A
claim was made that the threat involved firearms and that the callers were
concerned for their safety.
"Police went to the scene and spoke to a distressed woman. As a result of
information provided, officers arrested two men on suspicion of making
threats to kill and harassment."
However, Mr. McGlynn's version of events differs. He claimed: "Minutes
after sending them away the first time the police returned speeding up the
road with lights and sirens blazing, two officers had only just spoken to
me and I was still in the garden when they stormed in, heavy handed and
arrested me."
Mr. McGlynn then claimed that four police vehicles containing 12 officers
came to his home at 12.30 in the afternoon and, after he was placed in
custody, he said the officers turned their attention to his friend.
"I was asking why they had arrested John," said Mr. Donnelly, "two
officers put their hands on my shoulder and started marching me toward the
car. I said you can't do this only to be told, 'we can do what the **** we
like!'
"I asked for my walking stick as I was feeling weak but they barked back,
'your getting no ****ing stick.
"The only thing I remember after that was waking up in the back of an
ambulance with Fr. McQuillan (Ardmore Parish Priest) administering the
last rites to me."
Father McQuillan confirmed he was called to administer the last rites to
Mr. Donnelly in a waiting ambulance.
Mr. Donnelly was then taken to hospital and two police officers were
stationed at his bedside as he officially remained in police custody.
After being released from hospital and taken to the Waterside PSNI station
he again suffered a seizure and was returned to Altnagelvin for further
medical treatment.
John McGlynn was detained in police custody until midnight.
Both men had their homes searched while in custody, the search warrants
listed firearms and documents as the sought after items.
The PSNI confirmed that one of the men collapsed at the scene and police
called an ambulance to take him to hospital, where he was treated and
later discharged. He was returned to hospital later in the evening.
"Both men were later interviewed. One was released on police bail pending
further enquiries. The other was released pending the preparation of
reports to the Public Prosecution Service."
John McGlynn accused the PSNI of, "being no better than the RUC,"
continuing: "They punched my wife in the fracas at the house and then told
her at the hospital she had 15 minutes to return home before they kicked
the door in. We had to have someone else collect our two sons from school.
It was the old RUC order we were dealing with, they are no better than the
police in 1969."
Both men have begun legal proceedings against the PSNI who said they were
aware of a series of long-running incidents involving individuals in the
area and the police were appealing for calm and for commonsense to
prevail.
"Given the nature of the emergency call, police acted quickly and, we
believe, appropriately. If anyone has complaints about the actions of a
police officer they should contact the Police Ombudsman's office."
