AN investigation into the actions of police on the night a father-of-four was murdered outside his west Belfast home has resulted in one officer being disciplined after "a significant failing" was found.
Ten years after 65-year-old Harry Holland was attacked and killed in the Glen Road area, a Police Ombudsman investigation has found that police "failed to adequately respond" to a 999 call about a street gang, who two hours later were involved in the murder of the Glen Road pensioner.
The much-loved father was stabbed in the head with a screwdriver outside his home just before midnight on September 11, 2007.
He was targeted by a gang consisting of Stephen McKee, who was then 16, his sister, Niamh, who was then 15 and a friend, Patrick Crossan.
All three were originally charged with murder, however McKee changed his plea to guilty and the murder charge was dropped against Crossan and Niamh McKee.
Crossan, originally from Willowbank Gardens, was instead sentenced to four years for affray and possession of a knife while Niamh McKee avoided prison. She was sentenced to two years probation after pleading guilty to affray and common assault.
Stephen McKee, who lived at Ballymurphy Road, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the attack.
A number of years later, Mr Holland's family lodged a complaint with the Office of the Police Ombudsman about the actions of police on the night their father was killed.
The family has now been informed, that as a result of the investigation, a police officer has been disciplined as it was found that the PSNI "failed to adequately respond" to a 999 call made in the hours before Mr Holland was murdered, which concerned his killer, Stephen McKee.
The investigation found that on the afternoon of September 11, 2007, a meeting took place between the PSNI and community workers from the Upper Springfield Community Safety Forum to discuss anti-social behaviour in the area. During the meeting, concerns about Stephen McKee were raised with the police.
At the end of the meeting, police advised that "in response to concerns raised and information provided", should anyone have further information in relation to the matter they should "immediately report it to police".
However, within hours, police failed to respond to a 999 call made in relation to Stephen McKee and others.
At 10.05pm, a caller reported that they had been "verbally abused by a group of teenagers" and one of them had "chased the caller with a knife"
Based on the description, one of the teens was identified as Stephen McKee.
The caller provided the name of the street but not the friend's address they were calling from "for fear of repercussions".
The caller confirmed they would make a complaint to police and referenced that Community Watch had given that advice.
The call was categorised as a priority, however was later downgraded to "a normal response".
When interviewed, the police officer who made the decision said he had acted on instruction of the call handling unit and named a police sergeant - who has since retired - on whose advice he had acted upon.
The Police Ombudsman found that the PSNI response to the 999 call was "inadequate" and was "not in compliance with call grading policy at the time".
It added that this call "should have received an immediate response".
As a result, the police officer who had acted as the controller of the call was disciplined.
A further 999 call made at 11.17pm that night reported a group of teenagers throwing stones, with a reference to some of them having had hatchets earlier in the day. The caller referenced the same street as the earlier call.
However, police who responded reported the street to be quiet with no persons present.
The Police Ombudsman's report found that evidence from its investigation supported the fact that "the police service failed to adequately respond to the 999 call made to police at 10.05pm on 11 September".
"The failure is particularly concerning given the advice provided by police during the meeting earlier that day with community representatives," it said.
"These meetings were established to increase community confidence in policing and increase engagement. Police failed to take appropriate steps to respond to the concerns for safety"
It added that "although the impact can not be determined, this was a significant failing in the police response to events which occurred shortly before the attack" on Harry Holland and "fell short of the commitment given to the community".
Harry Holland's family last night said the results of the Police Ombudsman investigation into murder had left them "even more determined to ensure our community gets a proper police service".
Speaking to The Irish News, Mr Holland's daughter, Sarah said she believed her father might still be alive today had it not have been for a "litany of failures" by police, which "completely failed" the father-of-four.
"The Police Ombudsman's response puts into black-and-white what we had thought," said the now Dublin Sinn Féin councillor.
"It was a litany of failures from the police and they completely failed my daddy and they failed the whole community".
"Ultimately, only the thugs who killed my dad can be held responsible for his death but there are lessons to be learned from the handling of the ongoing thuggery of the gang in the run up to the murder.
"We demand an accountable police service. We need to know that if we are attacked by a knife wielding thug, a 999 call will result in an arrest or a call-out."
Ms Holland added: "We are going to keep going until we ensure the police can serve the community properly. If they had have given 100 per cent to their jobs, it's entirely possible that my daddy wouldn't be dead".
