Ballymena: "we will come after you" Chief Constable warning to rioters

PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher today (Thursday) warned the "bigots and racists" behind three nights of disorder in Ballymena hat his officers will be coming after them.

Mr Boutcher said a young girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault in Ballymena at the weekend - an incident that triggered protests that descended into violence in the Co Antrim town - had been "further traumatised" by the rioting that has been witnessed since Monday.

The PSNI chief, who met with the girl's family on Thursday, delivered a stark message to the rioters as he spoke in Belfast following a meeting with his oversight body, the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

"Stop this violence," he said. "We will come after you. We will arrest you. We will prosecute you successfully. It is not in any way a way for a civilised society to behave and it must stop now.

"I want to specifically mention the 41 police officers who've been injured. Each of those officers have put themselves in harm's way to protect our communities.

"And I want to send a very clear message to all our diverse communities: we stand absolutely shoulder to shoulder with you. We are here to protect you. We are your police service, and these bigots and racists will not win the day. This will be policed properly. We will deal with this - and we all know that in this room - but let's call an end to it now.

"This girl's family and this girl want it to end. Our communities want it to end. We need it to end. So please don't come out on the streets tonight. If you do, we will police you and we will deal with you through the criminal justice system."

A hatchet being thrown at police officers should be "the limit" of violence amid ongoing unrest in Northern Ireland, Mr Boutcher said.

He said he could not sufficiently praise the "courage, fortitude and professionalism" of PSNI officers enough.

"We have seen extreme violence in Northern Ireland in the past. I want what happened last night with that axe to be the limit of it," he added.

"Let's stop this now, it's got completely out of hand."

Mr Boutcher said the initial lawful and legitimate process before unrest broke out was done in a way that was responsible and empathetic to the victim of an alleged sexual assault over the weekend.

"What we've seen since then is simple yobbery and criminality, and it's got to stop," he said..

"And we will we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will prosecute you."

Mr Boutcher went on to describe how his officers helped evacuate foreign national families who were hiding in attics and wardrobes in their homes in Ballymena as rioters went on the rampage on Monday night.

He said the families targeted had done nothing wrong.

"They are not criminals. They contribute positively to society here and are well integrated," he said.

"They are valued members of society in Northern Ireland.

"Fire Service colleagues described how they went to the scenes to stop arson attacks at those addresses, and how they, in all their years in the Fire Service, have not seen levels of violence to that level, and told me specifically and directly of the bravery, the courage of a very thin green line of police officers that without doubt, in my view, saved lives that night."

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