Irish Examiner view: Added shade of horror

Shooting of PSNI officer

A forensic investigator from Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) takes photographs near to the sports complex in the Killyclogher Road area of Omagh, Co Tyrone, where off-duty PSNI Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot a number of times by masked men in front of young people he had been coaching

The shooting of Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell of the PSNI on Wednesday evening has shocked the entire island of Ireland, and the details of the incident which have emerged so far do little to reduce that sense of shock.

Caldwell was attacked by a group of masked men after coaching a group of young people at a Tyrone sports complex; he was reportedly putting footballs in his car boot when shot. His own son was present.

For those old enough to remember the Troubles at their worst, this has echoes of many of the killings which took place then in Northern Ireland, when the presence of children was no deterrent to those intent on murder.

Any such assault on a police officer constitutes an attack upon democracy itself and clearly demonstrates the assailants’ wish to set aside the rule of law for their own purposes.

Those who spend their working days maintaining peace and order in society often do so in challenging circumstances, and this horrific assault points to the fundamental danger which can confront police officers at work. 

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The fact that Caldwell was not on duty but coaching children does not invalidate that point.

It does, however, underline the sense of a person making a contribution to the wellbeing of his community that goes far beyond donning a uniform.

In this case there is an added shade of horror in the location of this attack — Omagh, scene of the 1998 bombing which became the single deadliest incident in the history of the Troubles. 

When that occurred it was seen as a watershed moment, an example of the violence the North wished to leave behind.

Perhaps in time this incident will be seen the same way, as marking the point in time when civic authority, under strain now from thuggish gangs and far-right agitators all across the island of Ireland, moved beyond mere indications of support. 

Extra resources and targeted legislation would be far more helpful.