Nine PSNI officers injured in Derry and Strabane over weekend

Nine police officers were injured over the weekend in a series of incidents across the Derry and Strabane area, the PSNI has said.

Officers were punched in the face, kicked in the head, head-butted, spat at with blood and one officer was left with a sprained wrist.

During one incident, a woman ran towards an officer with a knife.

Some officers also received racial and sectarian abuse in addition to their physical injuries, which occurred over a 48-hour period between Friday and Sunday.

Area Chief Inspector Luke Moyne said that all injured officers remained on duty, which is “testimony to their resilience during difficult challenges they face on a daily basis, while working to keep people safe”.

“On Friday evening while apprehending and arresting a man who was wanted for driving-related offences, an officer was punched to his face,” he said.

“Four officers were also assaulted while responding to two separate disturbances at house parties in Derry City and Strabane yesterday evening.

“During these reports, officers were faced with high levels of aggression – during one of which, a woman ran towards an officer with a knife.”

Chief Inspector Moyne continued: “Assaults ranged from officers being head-butted and kicked to the leg – blood was also spat at them.

“Two more officers were also assaulted when they responded to a report of a large fight in Derry City involving a number of people.

“When officers attended, they were met with a large crowd of people, some of whom became aggressive towards them.

“An officer sprained her wrist during the restraint of a man, and another officer was kicked to the head.

“Due to the level of aggression, officers drew their batons and shouted warnings to the crowd to disperse.

He added that one officer was kicked to the head while transporting a woman to custody in Strabane, while another officer in the town was head-butted while placing a man into custody.

“All of these shameful attacks on our officers will be investigated rigorously - and we have a number of people in custody today who are facing a potential court appearance as a result of their disgraceful actions,” he said.

“Officers put themselves on the front line to help keep people safe – they do not deserve to be assaulted for simply doing their job.

“We are supporting these officers following a very difficult weekend. They are receiving the appropriate care and our welfare support has been set up.

“However, assaults across this weekend from just one policing district in Northern Ireland, shows the often grim reality of what our officers on the ground are facing each and every day, and the courage and professionalism with which they serve our communities.”