Pixelation of suspects’ faces in police appeal queried

The pixelation of the faces of two suspects in an appeal around the attempted murder of a man in Belfast earlier this year has been queried.

Sean O’Reilly, 49, survived after being shot twice while he sat inside his taxi in the west of the city on February 23.

Earlier this week, police issued CCTV images of two men they said they believe were involved in the case as part of an appeal.

However Mr O’Reilly has questioned why the images were pixelated, adding that it seemed “extremely counter-productive to request help in identifying the suspects while also obscuring their image”.

His solicitor, Peter Corrigan of Phoenix Law, said they have “serious concerns around the investigation”.

“This is just the latest unusual occurrence in this investigation,” he said.

“We see no good reason why the PSNI would ask for help in identifying suspects and at the same time take steps to pixelate the faces of the suspects.

“One has to question the motive behind this and who the PSNI are seeking to protect.

“We will now add this to a long list of complaints already made to the Police Ombudsman in relation to the handling of the case.”

Responding, a PSNI spokesperson said: “Detectives released still images of the two suspects with the aim of encouraging anyone with information, or footage, to come forward.

“In one of the images, the face of one suspect has been pixelated. This has been purposefully applied in order to prevent potential misidentification or retribution.

“Instead, it is hoped that both images, backed by the reward from Crimestoppers, will encourage anyone with information to get in touch using the appropriate channels.

“Detectives have made a particular ask, and would reiterate their appeal, to anyone with CCTV to check for similar images that may have been captured from the morning of Sunday 23 February.

“Anyone with information is asked to contact detectives on 101.”