Post by Frenchie on Aug 27, 2009 11:11:36 GMT 1
It was dusk as the lead police car approached the crossroads at the centre of Meigh village close to the border in south Armagh.
It was one of four PSNI vehicles in the vicinity, on routine calls in the area on Friday evening.
In the fading light, the constable driving saw three men standing in the middle of the road.
He was 100 yards from the crossroads when it became clear that the men were masked and carrying rifles. The officer stopped.
The dissident republicans mounting the illegal checkpoint may not have realised that the unmarked car was a police vehicle.
The BBC subsequently established that there had been at least seven terrorists, maybe more.
Six were carrying machine guns, the other is said to have had a rocket launcher and they were handing out leaflets warning people against co-operating with the security forces on either side of the border.
As one of the gunmen waved for the police to come on, the officer radioed his colleagues what he had seen, turned and drove out of the area.The four police cars met up a short distance away and returned to their base in Newry.
In the intervening few days there has been much public debate about whether the patrol did the right thing by withdrawing.
Some have suggested that the police should have moved in and arrested the gang.
Others have concluded that that would have led to a gunfight in the middle of the village with potentially disastrous consequences for civilians and police alike.
There had been eight officers in total on the patrol, two women and six men, both full time and reserve, two to each car.
I met one of them on Tuesday after they agreed to give the BBC an account of their experience in south Armagh last Friday night.
'Vulnerable'
The person I spoke to is a police officer with experience of pre and post ceasefire policing.
The patrol was on routine calls and had no advance warning that they might run into a dissident IRA checkpoint.
The officer I spoke to said he feels let down.
"I've never felt as vulnerable. After many years service in some sticky areas, I've never felt as vulnerable and so bereft of support," he said.
"There was a lack of intelligence support, a lack of training. We should have known and been looked after more, but I felt isolated."
When the officer refers to lack of training, they are talking about anti-ambush training, and training in the use of rifles.
There were rifles in the police cars, but not all officers would have had up to date training in how to use them.
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It was one of four PSNI vehicles in the vicinity, on routine calls in the area on Friday evening.
In the fading light, the constable driving saw three men standing in the middle of the road.
He was 100 yards from the crossroads when it became clear that the men were masked and carrying rifles. The officer stopped.
The dissident republicans mounting the illegal checkpoint may not have realised that the unmarked car was a police vehicle.
The BBC subsequently established that there had been at least seven terrorists, maybe more.
Six were carrying machine guns, the other is said to have had a rocket launcher and they were handing out leaflets warning people against co-operating with the security forces on either side of the border.
As one of the gunmen waved for the police to come on, the officer radioed his colleagues what he had seen, turned and drove out of the area.The four police cars met up a short distance away and returned to their base in Newry.
In the intervening few days there has been much public debate about whether the patrol did the right thing by withdrawing.
Some have suggested that the police should have moved in and arrested the gang.
Others have concluded that that would have led to a gunfight in the middle of the village with potentially disastrous consequences for civilians and police alike.
There had been eight officers in total on the patrol, two women and six men, both full time and reserve, two to each car.
I met one of them on Tuesday after they agreed to give the BBC an account of their experience in south Armagh last Friday night.
'Vulnerable'
The person I spoke to is a police officer with experience of pre and post ceasefire policing.
The patrol was on routine calls and had no advance warning that they might run into a dissident IRA checkpoint.
The officer I spoke to said he feels let down.
"I've never felt as vulnerable. After many years service in some sticky areas, I've never felt as vulnerable and so bereft of support," he said.
"There was a lack of intelligence support, a lack of training. We should have known and been looked after more, but I felt isolated."
When the officer refers to lack of training, they are talking about anti-ambush training, and training in the use of rifles.
There were rifles in the police cars, but not all officers would have had up to date training in how to use them.
More >>