40 Police Injured During Protestant Riot
Staff and agencies
05 August, 2005
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK, 2 hours, 1 minute ago
BELFAST, Northern Ireland - About 40 police officers were injured trying to break up a five-hour riot by Protestant militants who burned 10 cars and a double-decker bus in Belfast, officials said Friday.
Officers fired 11 baton rounds, or "plastic bullets," in response. No civilians were reported injured, although it is typical for people lightly injured while rioting to avoid hospitals for fear of being arrested.
A spokeswoman for the Police Service of Northern Ireland, who declined to be named because she is a civil servant, said 40 police officers were injured.
Wilson said the rioters appeared to have been influenced by members of an outlawed Protestant gang, the Ulster Volunteer Force, which is waging a deadly feud with another gang, the Loyalist Volunteer Force. The UVF has been blamed for killing three Protestant men in the past month in north Belfast. Police have raided more than a dozen homes of UVF members in the area.
Wilson rejected allegations that police have been heavy-handed during searches. He said his officers had been verbally and physically attacked while searching militants homes, including one officer who was hit in the head with a brick.
LeadingtheCharge.com - News that matters