Ombudsman report due on 2006 killing

Ombudsman report due on 2006 killing

14 December 2011

A LONG-awaited report into a fatal shooting by police officers in Ballynahinch over five years ago is to be published tomorrow.

The Police Ombudsman’s report into the death of 23 year-old Steven Colwell on Easter Sunday, 2006, will be published in Belfast after an exhaustive examination of the circumstances of the killing.

Mr. Colwell was the driver of a stolen BMW who was shot twice in the chest by a police officer outside Ballynahinch police station. It was claimed the victim was trying to evade a checkpoint which had been set up to stop the car.

The car had been stolen from a house in Ballyhornan and driven through Down District to Ballynahinch.

Eyewitnesses at the time claimed two police officers tried to smash the windows of the car when it stopped at the checkpoint. But Mr. Colwell tried to do a U-turn away from the checkpoint.

“The police officers carried on shouting for the driver to stop and I could see two of them running along side the car, one on either side, and they seemed to be trying to smash the driver and front passenger windows with their batons,” said one eyewitness who spoke to the Recorder.

He said Mr. Colwell was boxed in but continued to try to drive away.

“The policeman was about three of four feet away when he shot through the window and the car immediately came to a halt,” added the eyewitness.