PSNI officers disciplined after 'sham wedding' arrests

The Police Ombudsman had ruled that Neil McElwee from Castlederg and his pregnant Chinese fiance Yanan Sun, had been unlawfully arrested and detained by the police. The police wrongly arrested the couple, moments before the ceremony at the Guildhall in Derry. PSNI Inspector John Burrows said the police had acted in good faith, but sometimes they got things wrong. The couple were taken to a police station, forced to dress in forensic clothing and separated. They were held for five hours and only released when their solicitor got involved. They were married the next day in Castlederg. Mr McElwee said his day had started like every other wedding day. "We were excited and looking forward to getting married. "We were so happy when we saw each other at the Guildhall. "Then everything just changed. Our day crumbled in front of us, it was awful. "We had no reason to think anything sinister would take place. "The room was full of plain clothes police officers. "In front of all our guests they came in and said they had reason to believe it was a 'sham marriage'. "They based the operation in an anonymous tip-off letter. "They held us for five hours. Within 40 minutes they knew they had made a mistake. "The officers have been disciplined but I'm not satisfied. We went through such a bad time, it was torment. "We try to forget what happened on our wedding day. We never ever talk about our wedding. "My wife has not been the same since," he said. Karina Breslin-Carlin is the McElwee's family solicitor. "The police had time to redeem this situation so the couple could have carried on with their day, but they did not. "This was a farce. "A bridal couple were kept in a car park for an hour and a half in separate vehicles. "They were then detained in separate cells for two hours. "This is not good enough under any circumstances," she said. A PSNI spokesperson confirmed that as a result of a PONI investigation three police officers were disciplined.

www.bbc.co.uk...

HAHA first I was laughing so hard I couldnt finish reading but wow this really sucks. Imagine the police barging in on your wedding and arresting you because an anonymous tip was made. They went in on a tip that they didnt bother investigating and arrested these poor kids for no reason. Sad but still hilarious.

I really dont find it funny at all, if anything down right outrageous. Goes to show how far these super sluthes go to investigate circumstances.

I would be rightfully pissed if this were to happen to me, and would have been detained for good reason if some lacking IQ idiot cops came in based on an anonymous tip and ruined whats supposed to be a generally very happy occasion.

This whole police as baby sitters thing is getting way too out of hand, since when was a simple questioning and common sense no longer needed in police work, get out your crayons recruits time to write a test...

Bloody pathetic , police give you damn heads a shake, and sum up the situations before going in blind and retarded looking....


SaneThinking

reply to post by SaneThinking


Not that it is actually funny in the sense that these poor kids had their day ruined but it is funny in the sense that the stupid officers just crashed a wedding without an actual reason and that they must feel like the biggest morons in the world right now.

This is the sort of disrespect that marks the disintegration of our civilization. There is simply no excuse for this sort of thing to happen, particularly when the day is meant to be a lifetime memory, much like the birth of your child and buying your first home. Their sheer disregard for something meaningful needs to be addressed first and foremost. If it were a sham wedding in reality, they had time before and will have time afterward to deal with it.

In Finland, we have many young people who are not granted permission to even bring their spouse to the country because the officials will not believe that they are genuinely in love and married for authentic reasons. They decide this virtually on their own. If your evidence doesn't meet their strict criteria, you will never be allowed to live as a couple here. It's not enough that they disrespect and dishonor the institution that is the very stuff society is meant to be built upon, but they disrespect, dishonor and disgrace their own people. In this country we have 5 million people and about 40 people per square mile. We have an inhospitable climate in both the weather and the community.

The people do not exist to support and submit to government. Government exists to benefit the people. Things are not this way now. It's our choice and decision as to whether to becomes that way in the future.

It should be completely unacceptable that a "tip" can send government enforcement agents charging onto your private property.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


Thats exactly why I posted this its nuts I hope the officers feel very bad about this incident.

reply to post by lobotomizemecapin


Feeling very bad about it doesn't even come close to making amends for it. They should have to compensate in some way. Money can't buy that day back. It won't erase the memory of that disrespect and humiliation.

Governmental processes have to change. It's gone far too far now. They work to protect their country, but the country is only as good as the people. This is reaching Orwellian proportions now.

reply to post by CosmicEgg


Of course they should be compensated for their lost day and for being arrested and held captive for five hours and for the embarrassment of it all.

I just had a tip that POTUS is an illegal. ARREST HIM!!!

Different rules for different people

reply to post by VoidHawk


He's not pregnant. No fun to harass one when you can get two for the same price.

Seriously, this has nothing whatsoever to do with Obama. Leave him out of it. I'm so sick of people blaming everything on Obama. Obama didn't cause your hangnail so just leave him out of stuff that isn't applicable!

reply to post by CosmicEgg


I could have used anyone, I was just making a point and he is on topic at the moment.

pssst, I think CosmicEgg is an allien, arrest him. - Get it ?

reply to post by VoidHawk


Well his sn is cosmic egg... And you did supply a tip that he is an alien so...