Grenade thrown at PSNI officers in Derry

Wolfe Tone

Police officers attending the scene of a security alert in Londonderry have been the target of a suspected hand grenade attack.
PSNI officers and the army bomb squad were dealing with a suspicious device in the Southway area of the Creggan when they came under attack by a man who threw a suspected hand grenade in their direction on Monday evening.

The man is believed to have made off in the direction of Kildrun Gardens, a police spokesperson said.

Army bomb experts are now examining the suspected hand grenade at the scene.

Police said more homes in the area of Rathlin Drive and Rathowen Park may need to be evacuated as the current alert is extended.

The PSNI spokesperson said: "Police thank the local community for their patience so far and regret that this second device will cause further disruption. However we will do our best to bring the alerts to as swift and as safe a conclusion as possible."

"Anyone with information regarding the original device and the throwing of the second item is asked to contact police at Strand Road on 0845 600 8000. Or, if someone would prefer to provide information without giving their details, they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111."

Police were called to the scene after the discovery of a suspect object on Monday afternoon.

© UTV News

More idiocy by physical force republicans it seems. Report a device, and when they show up chuck a grenade at them.


Attacks like this can only be prevented in the current framework by establishing more support for the PSNI and by building confidence in them. Militant republicans are doing everything in their power to prevent this.

The best way to do this imo is to recruit more officers who have a nationalist background who will be accepted in nationalist areas. The ending of the 50-50 recruitment policy is a very regressive move and further delays the building of a "proper" cross community police force which everyone trusts.

Bottle_of_Smoke

I think 50/50 has worked as well as it can - look at the public response to Ronan Kerr's death.

There's also a recruitment freeze on anyway so it wouldnt matter if they kept 50/50

pablomakaveli

Wolfe Tone wrote: »

More idiocy by physical force republicans it seems. Report a device, and when they show up chuck a grenade at them.


Attacks like this can only be prevented in the current framework by establishing more support for the PSNI and by building confidence in them. Militant republicans are doing everything in their power to prevent this.

The best way to do this imo is to recruit more officers who have a nationalist background who will be accepted in nationalist areas. The ending of the 50-50 recruitment policy is a very regressive move and further delays the building of a "proper" cross community police force which everyone trusts.

I was chatting to a few lads from NI last year who told me in some nationalist areas joining the PSNI is a dangerous move. One of them said he knew a lad who joined who now has to visit his hometown in secret. With this fear of reprecussions if they join and the recent attacks on the PSNI its going to be harder to recruit officers from a nationalist background.

KeithAFC

Police officers should come about from merit and not who they pray to. It was right to scrap 50/50 and you can't be serious about just focusing on recruiting nationalists either. That is descrimination.

dreamer_ire

Personally I think they should be recruited locally so those serving in a Protestant area are more likely to be Protestant and those serving in a Catholic area are more likely to be Catholic. Same also goes for communities who have high numbers of Eastern Europeans. But as posted earlier recruitment is frozen so it's little odds really.

I disagree somewhat Wolfe, I think the best way to reduce the threat is to increase community confidence. Increased confidence results in increased intelligence, which results in increased performance which results in increased confidence and so on. But to do this everyone needs to take a step into the middle, not stand back and ensure the "other side" moves first.

Oasis_Dublin

KeithAFC wrote: »

Police officers should come about from merit and not who they pray to. It was right to scrap 50/50 and you can't be serious about just focusing on recruiting nationalists either. That is descrimination.

A police force in the illegally occupied six counties being discriminatory? You should be ashamed of yourself!

Oasis_Dublin

Wolfe Tone wrote: »

The best way to do this imo is to recruit more officers who have a nationalist background who will be accepted in nationalist areas. The ending of the 50-50 recruitment policy is a very regressive move and further delays the building of a "proper" cross community police force which everyone trusts.

"Oglaigh na hEireann (the IRA) call on any young nationalist who may have been sold the lie that the RUC/PSNI (Royal Ulster Constabulary/Police Service of Northern Ireland) is somehow an reformed, non-political police service to think again, those who think they are serving their community are in fact serving the occupation and will be treated as such,' it said"

That is the mentality of these idiots.

KeithAFC

Oasis_Dublin wrote: »

A police force in the illegally occupied six counties being discriminatory? You should be ashamed of yourself!

Oh my goodness me. :rolleyes:

Oasis_Dublin

KeithAFC wrote: »

Oh my goodness me. :rolleyes:

I just can't believe you would suggest such an idea. The north has always had a universally accepted police force. Why change that now?

KeithAFC

Oasis_Dublin wrote: »

I just can't believe you would suggest such an idea. The north has always had a universally accepted police force. Why change that now?

Change what? Thats my point. I don't want to change it. 50/50 was a nonsense though.

Oasis_Dublin

KeithAFC wrote: »

Change what? Thats my point. I don't want to change it. 50/50 was a nonsense though.

Yeah, especially now that it's reached a 50/50. Or 30% nationalist, whatever. As long as nationalists are afforded the same protection as the RUC offered them, this 50/50 fair police service nonsense should be forgotten about.

Liam Byrne

Oasis_Dublin wrote: »

A police force in the illegally occupied six counties being discriminatory? You should be ashamed of yourself!

Define "illegally"

We voted in a referendum and the last time I looked the facts reflected the result.

If you dispute that then you obviously view divorce as illegal ?

The civil rights movement was about representation and equal rights for nationalist communities, and the Oglaigh na hEireann IRA statement above wants people to not take the opportunity to represent their communities, while then complaining that the PSNI isn't representative.

They're a joke at this stage! An unfunny one with masks and threats and bombs, but one nonetheless.

Oasis_Dublin

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Define "illegally"

We voted in a referendum and the last time I looked the facts reflected the result.

If you dispute that then you obviously view divorce as illegal ?

The civil rights movement was about representation and equal rights for nationalist communities, and the Oglaigh na hEireann IRA statement above wants people to not take the opportunity to represent their communities, while then complaining that the PSNI isn't representative.

They're a joke at this stage! An unfunny one with masks and threats and bombs, but one nonetheless.

As you may be aware from my other posts on this forum, me calling Northern Ireland the illegally occupied six counties is merely facetious rhetoric! (especially when directed at my fellow Irishman Keith!) I'm Republican and want a united Ireland but I wouldn't deny that the majority of citizens up there want the state of Northern Ireland to remain in existence.

I think it's unfair to previous incarnations of the IRA to even call the present bunch of thugs the IRA. They are an absolute tiny bunch of scumbags who don't speak for natonalists or republicans anywhere on the island of Ireland. Politics and compromise is the way forward, not silly threats to anyone who looks at an English person.

RDM_83 again

It was actually a live military grenade.

http://www.derryjournal.com/news/local/grenade_landed_at_kids_feet_1_2666487

Strangely what I'd take from this is broadly positive, this attack was so half assed that it indicates a real lack of ability and planning on the dissidents when compared to similar Provisional operations , also even if the attack itself had succeeded the fact that it would have probably killed two kids from Creggan no less would lead to them loosing even more support (in an area where they probably actually do have some level).

Its this lack of tactical and strategic thinking that leads me to think that they won't be able to sustain the current levels of activity.

Edit:
In case this post comes across as extremely callous I obviously condemn it and know people from Creggan which I would never want to be in harms way or suggesting that there is majority support for dissidents in the Bog and Creggan

Denerick

The only thing that heartens me is that these people are so idiotic and incompetant that they are unlikely to spark a new conflict. What worries me is that even incompetant idiots can get lucky once. (And they have butchered people over the last couple of years)

We need to realise that an excessive reaction from Westminster could have a nuclear effect; escalation after escalation after escalation. The Troubles all over again. Remember that the Troubles was a conflict between roughly 10% of the population, the other 90% had no truck for violence. These dissidents are merely carrying on the same undemocratic tradition. 'By whatever means', and all that.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Weird if it actually was a military grenade. Obviously IEDs often don't go off but I wouldn't have though military grenades fail to detonate too often. And IRATM groups have used them recently suggesting they have some that work

FTA69

Oasis_Dublin wrote: »

As long as nationalists are afforded the same protection as the RUC offered them,

Protection like killing children with plastic bullets, engaging in torture and colluding with Loyalist paramilitaries?

Great protection there alright.

Liam Byrne

FTA69 wrote: »

Protection like killing children with plastic bullets, engaging in torture and colluding with Loyalist paramilitaries?

Great protection there alright.

So that justifies those children being further under threat from - supposedly - "their own" while walking down a street doing their shopping or sitting in their prams while some coward chucks a grenade or runs away to a phonebox to phone a cryptic "warning" to the PSNI so that they can then blame said PSNI for not getting there in time ?

Scofflaw

Enough already with the verbal hand grenades. Consider this the only warning - the code word is "mod instruction".

moderately,
Scofflaw

FTA69

Liam Byrne wrote: »

So that justifies those children being further under threat from - supposedly - "their own" while walking down a street doing their shopping or sitting in their prams while some coward chucks a grenade or runs away to a phonebox to phone a cryptic "warning" to the PSNI so that they can then blame said PSNI for not getting there in time ?

Nope, nothing I said justified this recent attack. I was simply pointing out the fact the RUC have a woeful record for doing the things I outlined above. Sin é. Chillax the kaks.

Manic Moran

Oasis_Dublin wrote: »

"Oglaigh na hEireann (the IRA)

They still on with that? I thought they had given up after the Army had rather firmly pointed to their cap badges and told the media that the only use of that name would be to the Defence Forces.

Obviously IEDs often don't go off but I wouldn't have though military grenades fail to detonate too often.

Often user error. If I gave you a fully primed and functional M67 hand grenade, current standard issue US Army equipment...



and told you to go blow something up with it, I'll bet you would pull the big round pin out, and throw it at the target. And then wonder why it failed to explode. I've seen supposedly trained soldiers manage to screw it up. (I'm assuming you have not been trained in hand grenade use)

NTM

Wolfe Tone

Thats exactly what I would do... Why wouldnt it go off?

Witcher

There's another safety on the spoon along with the pull ring.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Manic Moran wrote: »

They still on with that? I thought they had given up after the Army had rather firmly pointed to their cap badges and told the media that the only use of that name would be to the Defence Forces.



Often user error. If I gave you a fully primed and functional M67 hand grenade, current standard issue US Army equipment...



and told you to go blow something up with it, I'll bet you would pull the big round pin out, and throw it at the target. And then wonder why it failed to explode. I've seen supposedly trained soldiers manage to screw it up. (I'm assuming you have not been trained in hand grenade use)

NTM

yeah that's what i would do. that's how they work in the cartoons:D

Manic Moran

Blay wrote: »

There's another safety on the spoon along with the pull ring.

What this guy said. (Except I call it a fly-off lever, but that's just old habits)

It's a very small clip, removed with the thumb of the throwing hand before pulling the main pin. In moments of stress, people tend to forget about it.

NTM