A district judge in Derry has summoned the city’s top police officer to explain why court directives are not being complied with.
Barney McElholm was speaking in the case of Michael Coyle, 26, of Ballymoney Road in Ballymena, who faces charges including criminal damage and resisting police, according to BBC News NI.
The judge said he had directed police to supply the defence with body-worn footage, but that had not happened.
Mr Coyle has not yet entered pleas.
Judge McElholm said it was a “repeating problem” sometimes with the Public Prosecution Service and sometimes with the PSNI.
He told Derry Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday that by not having submitted the body-worn footage, the PSNI was in “complete contravention of my directive”.
The judge said he had directed that the body-worn footage be given to the defence on 15 September but this had not happened.
He said the footage had been in existence since the date of the alleged incident on March 2.
“Something is going to have to change,” Judge McElholm told the court on Wednesday.
He said he wanted the PSNI district commander to be in his chambers at 9.30 am on Tuesday, October 5.
Tags: