ICPC inquiry into Adams beating
By Ned Kelly
On a cold dark February morning four years ago the RUC
attacked 35 year-old Davy Adams with obscene intensity.
In a statement to An Phoblacht Adams described how the
attacks in Belmont Avenue, in the yard of Castlereagh
and inside a holding cell at Castlereagh, left him in
hospital for three weeks with a punctured lung, two
fractured ribs, a fractured left leg, a badly swollen
right leg, a busted head, a closed eye and a body full
of bruises, aches and pains.
Last month a High Court judge awarded Adams £30,000 in
a civil court action that found RUC Chief Constable
Ronnie Flanagan responsible for the injuries to Adams
while he was in the hands of the RUC. Now the
Independent Commission for Police Complaints (ICPC) has
recruited Assistant Chief Constable Jim Orr from
Strathclyde to head an inquiry. Given the ICPC's
record, it would be surprising if their report ends in
convictions.
Adams freely admits that he finds it difficult to talk
about the beating. He admits that that morning as he
was dragged along the ground by members of the RUC's
Headquarters Mobile Support Unit (HMSU), he expected
the ``inevitable bullet in the head.''
Instead he was put on his knees and his hands were
cuffed behind his back. He says, ``then the nightmare
began. I've had some bad beatings in my life at the
hands of the RUC at Castlereagh and by prison wardens
in prison but nothing prepared me for this.''
Adams was battered while he was ``prone, no threat,
captive.'' His head was repeatedly smashed on the
ground, his face ground and scraped into the concrete;
his back, shoulders, sides and head were butted with
rifles. All the while the RUC were shouting abuse, all
the time Davy felt he could be killed. It didn't stop.
Guns were placed against his temple, blows rained down,
he was temporarily blinded.
During this first phase of the attack at least four
individuals, `Deano', `Adair', `Billy' and an Asian RUC
man were involved along with an Inspector who would
have been responsible for the actions of his forces.
Later in the Castlereagh yard a man attempted to break
both of his legs and ran him at full pelt into a brick
wall. After he was transferred to a cell, still
handcuffed, the beatings became more systematic. For
the next hour Adams was beaten about the head and an
RUC man jumped repeatedly up and down on his legs.
These were the activities of men who had no fear of any
retribution, acting beyond the law but within the walls
of Castlereagh.
During his detention at Castlereagh Adams saw a doctor,
but despite his severe injuries he remained in
detention. He was processed, so the custody sergeant
must have been aware of the conditions under which he
was held. A minimum of seven individuals therefore came
into contact with Adams during the time that he
received his injuries. Those four hours ``in the hands
of the enemy'' left Mr Adams in hospital for three
weeks.
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