HET Review Summary Report into the death of William Francis ...

HET Review of Original Investigation
The RUC investigation
The HET allows for the context in which the original investigative work
took place; the local community was hostile to the army’s presence and
outraged by the shooting of Mr McGreanery. The RUC could not have
responded to the scene in the same way that police forces elsewhere in
the UK would have done. However, from the papers available to the HET,
it is clear that the original investigation into Mr McGreanery’s death did
not address one issue in this case robustly enough. That related to the
discrepancies in the witness accounts and what the soldiers said to the
military investigators about Mr McGreanery carrying a rifle. (This issue
will be dealt with in more detail later in this report).
The examination of these papers reveals that Detective Sergeant Ruddell
and Detective Constable Neilly of the RUC commenced a criminal
investigation into the incident as soon as it was reported. They went to
the Altnagelvin hospital at 1.20am on September 15, 1971 where they
took possession of Mr McGreanery’s clothing. At 4.30am his brother,
Thomas Desmond McGreanery, formally identified William Francis
McGreanery to them. Prior to leaving the hospital mortuary, the officers
swabbed Mr McGreanery’s hands for traces of firearms residue.
At 6.35am the same day they visited the scene of the shooting and
discovered blood on the road at Westland Street near to the traffic
island. Measurements of the scene were taken and a detailed sketch plan
was prepared. Mr McGreanery’s clothing was sent to the Forensic
Science laboratory in Belfast for analysis together with the hand swabs,
the blood sample from the road and also a blood and urine sample that
had been taken by the medical staff at the hospital. There is no record
of what, if any examinations were conducted at the laboratory. A test
for the presence of firearm residue was conducted on the hand swabs.
The test was negative and no residue was found.
HET Comment: Today, a more senior officer would take the role of
‘Senior Investigating Officer’ in such an investigation. At the time,
however, it was not unusual for the RUC to deploy more junior ranks to
investigate serious crimes, reflecting the pressure on resources at that
time. Senior officers would have taken an oversight of the case. In this
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