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Boutcher apology after officers watch drugs arrest footage

PA Media Jon Boutcher - a man with short grey hair looks towards the camera. He is wearing a white collared shirt with black shoulder lapels and a black tie.PA Media
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher apologised at a meeting of the Policing Board on Thursday

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)'s chief constable has apologised for the actions of 74 officers who broke rules when they watched body worn camera footage of a drugs arrest for their own amusement.

They have been spoken to about their conduct, following a Police Ombudsman investigation.

Jon Boutcher told a meeting of the Policing Board on Thursday that the officers had acted out of "ill-guided stupidity".

He described their behaviour as "absolutely unacceptable" and falling below the PSNI's standards.

The footage showed a person being arrested for the possession of illegal drugs.

During the incident, an officer made a mistake in administering a criminal caution, "causing a colleague to laugh in the background".

The Police Ombudman's investigation found that the footage was accessed largely “without legitimate purpose” at 20 police stations on 248 occasions between 2019 and 2022, including one officer who watched it 21 times.