Officers in kebab shop affray trial 'acted in self defence'

Four Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers, who are on trial accused of affray after a fight in a Belfast kebab shop, have given evidence.

The officers - three men and one woman - who were off duty at the time, deny the charges and claim they acted in self defence.

Dean McCallum, 37, Mark Fullam, 29, Victoria Bell, 39, and Taylor Annett, 25, all with addresses given as PSNI Brooklyn in Knock, Belfast, appeared before Belfast Crown Court on Thursday.

They are accused of being involved in a fight which happened in Belfast city centre late on a Saturday night in January 2022.

The prosecution argue that a male customer, Graham McCullough, entered the City Kitchen and became concerned about an interaction between the four defendants and a man with a red hat.

Mr McCullough then intervened, which resulted in a fight breaking out.

Giving evidence on Thursday, Mr McMcCallum said he and his colleagues went to the kebab shop after a night's drinking and were in a "jovial" spirit.

Mr McCallum said that Mr McCullough shouted at the group in an "aggressive tone", and the officer told him to calm down.

CCTV footage of the incident was also played in court, with Mr McCallum asked to comment on it.

He said Mr McCullough headbutted him twice, and that efforts were made to restrain and reason with him, but he was "aggressive and becoming more and more violent".

Mr McCallum added: "At this point I was concerned it was escalating and getting out of control."

He said his sole focus was on restraining Mr McCullough that the group did not disclose they were police officers.

When it was put to Mr McCallum under cross-examination that what happened was a drunken brawl and at points he was not acting in self defence, he rejected this.

"I was defending myself and I was in fear of further violence," he said.

Ms Bell then gave evidence, telling the court she was trying to help restrain a man that had been "violent" to two of her friends.

She alleged she was face-palmed and then punched by Mr McCullough.

Asked about her use of force, Ms Bell said she believed it was "necessary" during the "vicious assault".

Commenting on the fight with Mr McCullough's girlfriend, Ms Bell said she was grabbed by the hair and the other woman was aggressive.

Accepting that they were both grabbing each other by the hair, the officer said the other woman assaulted her friends, that she was "relentless" and that she tried to restrain her and told her repeatedly to calm down.

Mr Fullam was then called to give evidence, where he described being "in fear" and "shocked" after the incident.

In the CCTV footage, Mr Fullam was shown as punching Mr McCullough in the lower back area several times.

However, he said that Mr McCullough was "extremely strong" and that his strikes had "little to no effect".

He also alleged that Mr McCullough's partner punched him several times, but he did not retaliate.

He rejected the prosecution's description as "a drunken brawl where you were all out of control", adding: "I absolutely disagree with that."

Mr Annett told the jury he sustained a broken nose in the incident and that Mr McCullough "assaulted every single one of us".

The officer said the actions he took were in a bid to "de-escalate" the situation and said punching Mr McCullough in the back several times was him "trying to defend myself and my friends".

Mr Annett added while he and his friends were trying to restrain Mr McCullough, he was "actively trying to break free and assault us".

Like his three co-accused, Mr Annett rejected suggestions the force he used was disproportionate and excessive.

On Wednesday, the jury heard about the interviews which took place with all four officers one month after the incident.

They maintained that they acted in self defence after a customer became aggressive.

Mr McCallum said during his interview that as they were eating their food after a night out, Mr McCullough shouted at the group before becoming aggressive.

He admitted to punching Mr McCullough several times in the face and he was trying to "get him to back down".

During his interview, Mr Fullam said he witnessed his colleague being headbutted and intervened after feeling the situation was escalating.

The court also heard during Mr Annett's interview that he accepted punching Mr McCullough during the struggle but that he believed his actions were "justified and proportionate".

Ms Bell told police that it was clear Mr McCallum was assaulted first and that the force she used was "necessary".

The trial continues.