A PSNI officer today (Thursday) told a murder bid trial of the moment his armour-plated patrol car was hit with a “massive bang”.
The constable, known only as ‘Officer A’, gave his sworn evidence from the witness stand at Belfast Crown Court from behind a blue curtain to conceal his identity.
He was giving evidence at the trial of Charlie Love, 30, of Bridge Street, Strabane, who is accused of the attempted murder of two police officers in the town. He is further charged with one count of causing an explosion likely to endanger life and one count of possessing explosives with intent to endanger life. All the charges are dated November 17, 2022.
His 28-year-old partner Symone Murphy, from the same address, has been charged with withholding information which might assist terrorists.
On the opening day of the trial earlier this week, a senior prosecutor told trial judge Mr Justice Fowler that the defendant’s DNA was “all over the device” used in a “pre-planned attack” on police.
Counsel said that just before 11pm on Thursday, November 17, 2022 officers ‘A’ and ‘B’ were in the Mount Carmel Heights area in an unmarked and armoured black Skoda Superb.
During his evidence today (Thursday), ‘Officer A’ said he and his colleague had gone to Mount Carmel Heights to follow up on an earlier complaint about anti-social behaviour between two neighbours.
After finding no one at home, the response officers, who were operating under the call sign of ‘HS72’, decided to get back into the Skoda patrol car and leave the area.
‘Officer A’, who was the driver of the Skoda while ‘Officer B’ was his observer, said he started the engine and proceeded to leave Mount Carmel Heights. After driving a short distance, he said he noticed a “large ball of light in the front passenger window”.
“Then there was a bang, a very loud bang. I felt something hit the side of the car. The car rocked a bit,” the officer told the court.
“The large ball of light came from bushes at a disused school. Then there was a large explosion. It was a pure white light, like a circle of light. I honestly thought it was someone in the bushes with a torch.”
Asked by counsel to describe the sound he heard, the constable said: “It was a massive bang. I hadn’t heard anything like it before. It was quite substantial.”
Following the impact of the device, ‘Officer A’ said the “car rocked to the side and I started pulling on the steering wheel a bit”.
He told the court that while driving away from the attack he was unaware of any damage to the passenger side of the car. The officer said they heard over their radio of an attack in Mount Carmel Heights. He added he had responded to the transmission by saying: “We have been hit.”
The officers then returned to Strabane PSNI station where they checked the vehicle for damage to the passenger side of the vehicle.
“The light wasn’t very good so I used my torch. There was a smell on the passenger side of the car, like a burning smell of a chemical. I didn’t see any obvious damage.”
After returning the car to a garage belonging to the PSNI’s Motor Transport department, the officer said he then briefed his sergeant and identified the location of the attack on a computer map. He confirmed to the court the only persons who knew about their visit to Mount Carmel Heights that night was himself and ‘Officer B’.
The court previously heard that in the aftermath of the incident, the area including waste ground was searched and several items were removed for forensic examination. Included was a cordless drill which the Crown say was a “trigger mechanism for the device” and it was found lying in grass.
Love’s DNA was found on the drill and on a galvanised post, whilst the presence of the explosive RDX was also located at the scene, the court heard.
A senior prosecutor said this type of explosive has been used by terrorists in the past and more recently linked to “dissident Republican groups”.
Love was arrested on the Derry Road in Strabane the day after the bomb attack and over the course of four interviews, he gave a ‘no comment’ response.
He was released on November 20 but was further arrested on December 13 when the DNA results were confirmed. During the course of further interviews, Love again refused to answer any questions.
When the DNA results were put to him, he provided a prepared statement in which he claimed that he was approached by a male involved with Saoradh - the political wing of the New IRA - on November 17, 2022.
The Crown lawyer told Mr Justice Fowler it was “only through good fortune that deaths were averted”.
The judge, who is sitting along on the non-jury Diplock-style trial, has already heard that no traces of the explosive RDX were present in Love’s home nor on the targeted police vehicle.
When he was called to give evidence, a crime forensic advisor confirmed that in the aftermath of the bomb attack, police attended Love’s home. Swabs from various areas in the premises - including door handles - were taken and when these were forensically examined for the presence of explosives, none were found.
Swabs were also taken from the armoured Skoda Superb, and when he was asked by a defence barrister if there was any presence of “explosive matter” located in the vehicle, the forensic expert confirmed there was not.
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