Speaking after an attempt was made to kill a police officer in Downpatrick at the weekend, Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: “Firstly my thoughts are with the young officer who was struck by the vehicle, and with his colleague who was forced to witness what they believed at the time to be the murder of their colleague and friend.

"Policing is without question a career filled with risk and challenge, and sometimes danger. What it is not, is an acceptable target for those who want to unleash violence and chaos on society.

"This attack didn’t arise from terrorism or a violent altercation involving weapons. This began with a car which failed to stop. It is further evidence, if any was needed, of the danger facing our officers every time they put on their uniform. How within a split second almost any situation can escalate into violence or the threat of violence towards them.

"PSNI officers put themselves on the front line everyday to keep communities safe. They serve with professionalism, courage and a deep commitment to the people of Northern Ireland and they do not deserve to be faced with what I see as increasing levels of abuse and hostility simply for doing their job.

"Our recent statistics tell us that there have been more than 2,600 assaults on officers and staff in a 12 month period to the end of 2025, as well as over 100 incidents where police vehicles have been rammed. Now we are seeing vehicles weaponised as part of efforts to murder police. Nowhere in a civilised society can this be considered ‘normal’ or ‘part of the job’.

"Police officers no longer face only the continuing threat from dissident republican groupings but they now also have to contend with a chaotic surge in routine violence. Abuse and aggression directed at those who have chosen service and making a difference as their career have somehow become an accepted daily norm in Northern Ireland. This pervasive apathy towards such attacks has to be universally called out, challenged and eradicated.

"Support for policing - and for our police officers - must be unequivocal.

"Our officers and staff are from the same communities as everyone else living and working in Northern Ireland. And they are the ones who step forward to serve those very same communities. So, these attacks are not just attacks on individuals, or attacks on ‘the police’ as an entity, they are - and should be unanimously viewed as - attacks on all of us.

"I continue to work closely with the Department of Justice and other criminal justice partners to ensure these crimes are met with the strongest possible action. I will ensure those who attack police officers and staff are pursued and prosecuted for their actions, and do all I can to ensure they are in the best possible place for them and for society - prison.

"Both the District Commander for Newry, Mourne and Down, Superintendent Lynne Corbett, and I have been inundated with messages of support from the public and from across the political spectrum, for which we are both very grateful.”

The investigation into the incident by detectives from PSNI Serious Crime Branch is continuing. One man (27) has been charged with a number of driving offences and appeared in court this morning while two others, a man aged 36 and a woman aged 27, remain in police custody.

Detectives continue to ask the public for information and any recorded footage the may have. You can call police on 101 or submit information online at www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/

Photos and footage, including CCTV, mobile phone or dash cam footage, can be shared with police through the Major Incident Public Portal here: https://mipp.police.uk/operation/PSNI26W09-PO1 

The Crimestoppers charity can also be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org/