Adams in crash probe witness plea

GERRY ADAMS yesterday appealed to witnesses to a fatal road accident in west Belfast involving a police Land Rover to help Northern Ireland’s Police Ombudsman establish what exactly happened.

The Sinn Féin president urged witnesses to co-operate with an investigation by Nuala O’Loan’s office following concerns in his constituency about the death on Saturday of 29-year-old Jim McMenamin.

Mr McMenamin was struck by a Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Land Rover, responding to an emergency, on the Upper Springfield Road at around 1am.

Police officers administered first aid to Mr McMenamin, who lived in the area, but he died at the scene.

Mr Adams said local residents were concerned about police behaviour during the incident.

“There is serious disquiet in the local community, shared by the family, that the PSNI handling of Saturday’s incident gives cause for real concern,” the West Belfast MP said.

“Many serious questions need to be answered about the circumstances surrounding the killing of Jim McMenamin, the role of the PSNI and its behaviour immediately after the incident.

“The family wants no cover-up. They want the truth.

“I am appealing to anyone who saw anything, or who has any information, to bring that forward to the Office of the Police Ombudsman,” he said.