Published Date: 25.02.2009
Investigators from the Police Ombudsman's Office will this morning (Wednesday) make an appeal in Cushendall for information about the murder of RUC Sergeant Joe Campbell in the village on 25th February 1977- 32 years ago today.
Detective Sergeant Joseph Campbell (49) was shot at around 9:00pm with a high velocity rifle as he locked the village police station for the evening. He received one wound to the head and died almost immediately.
The police officer was a very popular and well-respected member of the community. He left a wife and eight children, the youngest of who was four years old.
In the early 1980s an RUC Detective Sergeant was arrested and charged with the murder, but was later acquitted at Belfast Crown Court.
The Police Ombudsman's Office has been investigating the incident after it received a number of complaints, some of which alleged police misconduct in relation to matters arising from the murder.
The Office has now confirmed its investigation has uncovered new evidence. It will not disclose the nature of that information but has said it is now important to jog the memories of the people who lived in the area at the time.
Earlier this week, Police Ombudsman appeals were made at local church services.
A spokesman for the Office confirmed there has been ongoing speculation about police involvement in the murder and this has added to the issues the Campbell family have had to deal with over the years:
"It is in the interests of both the Campbell family and policing in Northern Ireland that we do all we can to discover the truth about whether or not there were any police issues related to the murder."
The spokesman said he accepted that some memories will undoubtedly have faded in the 32 years since Sergeant Campbell's murder, but added:
"Cushendall is, and was, a small and close-knit community. The murder was a rare instance in which the violence of the time intruded on the village. It is my hope that this appeal will prompt a memory, any memory, of anything unusual in the area on the evening of 25 February 1977."
The investigator said that on the night in question, there was a bingo session and a theatrical event being held in the village.
"Sergeant Campbell walked the short distance from his house to the Police Station. The person who shot him must have had to lie in wait. Did anyone see someone acting suspiciously in the village at around ten o'clock?
"We also know that Joe Campbell's behaviour changed in the days leading up to the shooting. We want to know if he confided in anyone about what may have been on his mind, and in particular if he thought his life was at risk.
Sergeant Campbell locked up the police station, even though he was off-duty. Did he mention that he was planning to meet anyone at the Station?
We have issued this appeal in the hope that anyone who may have any knowledge whatsoever of the circumstances of Sergeant Campbell's murder, no matter how insignificant that information might seem, will come forward and speak to our investigators," he said.
Anyone with any information is asked to speak to Police Ombudsman investigators who will be at The Old School House in Mill Street, Cushendall between 9am - 9pm until Friday night. They can also contact the Police Ombudsman's Office on its free-phone witness appeal line, 0800 032 7880.
ENDS