‘Snowball altercation’ between child and policeman being probed

It relates to an incident last Thursday in Limavady.

Though the ombudsman’s office did not describe the details, a report by the BBC states that the incident involved snowballs being thrown, with one striking a passing vehicle.

It says that the boy was 14, and the officer moved to restrain him.

The BBC also said a video of the incident had been shared over 100,000 times online, but that the parents had called for it to be taken down.

The link to the video on the chatroom site Reddit has been disabled.

The ombudsman’s office said: “We were initially notified about the incident by police, and have since also received a complaint about what happened.

“Our investigators have begun the process of gathering evidence to assess the appropriateness of the officer’s actions during the incident.”