Police in Northern Ireland are investigating images of a marked police car appearing to join in celebrations of Armagh’s All-Ireland win yesterday.
Footage widely shared on social media shows PSNI patrol cars appearing to lap a street in celebration of the county’s second-ever All-Ireland win.
The clips, understood to have been filmed in the Armagh town of Camlough, show the cars driving up and down a road with sirens and blue lights flashing.
The driver of one of the cars appears to be waving an Armagh flag from the window.
Questionable use of resources by the PSNI - Or was the police car stolen? 👀
1️⃣ Blue lights on for a none emergency
2️⃣ Multiple laps around a roundabout
3️⃣ Not in complete control of the vehicle (Waving a Armagh Flag while driving)
4️⃣ Almost crashing the police vehicle— Richard Mckee (@mckee1690) July 28, 2024
Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister has labelled the scenes ‘disgraceful’ and said he plans to contact Northern Ireland’s Police Ombudsman and the PSNI Chief Constable.
“They can be seen driving through the village waving GAA flags in a fashion which could best be described as joyriding while using the siren improperly,” he said.
“Loyalists are often challenged about why we talk about two-tier policing. Tonight, we see evidence of this in bright lights.
“Independent policing has gone out the window and the PSNI has destroyed any pretence of being a balanced force.”
He called for ‘urgent action” to be taken against any officer found to be involved.
The unionist leader also accused the GAA of being a “deeply sectarian” organisation.
If you want to celebrate your team winning a competition, then that’s your right to do so.
What you do not have a right to do is desecrate a memorial to OUR war dead, or climb unchallenged onto a police station.
I also expect the police to act with neutrality @PSNIABC pic.twitter.com/Lh9L4att0M
— Carla Lockhart MP (@carlalockhart) July 28, 2024
The PSNI has said it is aware of the footage and has opened an internal investigation.
Separately, there are also calls for an investigation into footage appearing to show an Armagh fan climbing onto part of Lurgan PSNI station unchallenged.
