I’m going to be crushed alive

In April a motion was passed at Stormont condemning those responsible for ramming incidents, which have led to 77 officers being injured in 2023 alone.

The motion also sought to find solutions to tackle the problem.

It was originally brought forward by DUP assembly member Keith Buchanan, but was passed after a Sinn Fein amendment which removed a line that read – “highlights that the spate of such attacks in south Armagh, external[1] has coincided with far-reaching and politically-motivated policing reforms in the area”.

According to PSNI statistics, 32 of the 154 ramming incidents since 2020 were in the Newry, Mourne and Down region.

Other ramming incidents happened in Belfast, Omagh, Randalstown, Strabane and Fivemiletown.

The officer said every member of her team has had first-hand experience of being rammed.

“There’s one sergeant in my team, which is myself and there’s eight constables beneath me and every single one of the constables has been involved in a ramming incident in south Armagh,” she said.

The type of incidents can vary, according to the officer.

She said it might be a “drink driver trying to evade capture and detection”, but that her team were also rammed during a domestic incident in November.

References

1. ^ spate of such attacks in south Armagh, external (data.niassembly.gov.uk)