THE RUC has denied a claim by a former US judge that police colluded in the killing of Mr Patrick Shanaghan, who was murdered by the UDA close to his home at Killen, near Castlederg, Co Tyrone, six years ago.
Retired Judge Andrew Somers, in a report following a three-day unofficial inquiry into the death, said in September last year there was overwhelming" evidence of direct or indirect police collusion in the killing.
His findings are made in a 110-page report of the inquiry held at the Aghyaran GAA centre in Castlederg. "Patrick Shanaghan was murdered by the British government and more specifically with the collusion of the police," Mr Somers said.
"The overwhelming evidence points towards collusion, and it would need a very strong case to demolish it."
Mr Shanaghan, a Sinn Fein supporter who worked for the Department of the Environment, was shot dead as he drove near his home. An inquest into his death was rejected by his family, who claimed RUC collusion with loyalist paramilitaries.
Mr Shanaghan had survived a previous attempt on his life and shortly before he was killed police warned him a security file on him had gone missing. Mr Shanaghan had been held several times for questioning by police in the years before his murder and people said at the inquiry police regularly threatened him with death.
The inquiry also cited a Helsinki Watch human rights report which alleged that the investigation of the killing "appeared to be compromised by RUC incompetency". The group claimed little forensic evidence was gathered at the scene that no ambulance was called, that only one RUC vehicle without back-up attended the scene, and the sole eyewitness was interviewed only once and that he was not taken to the scene to describe events.
Mr Somers, who is president of the Irish-American Unity Conference and was formerly a prosecutor and judge in Wisconsin, said that while the unofficial Castlederg inquiry was "one-sided" in that the RUC did not co- operate, the police had a case to answer.
"Patrick Shanaghan was subjected to 10 years of surveillance, threats and brutality. He was told he was going to die, that his details were lost. He was beaten at Castlereagh and told of his impending death so many times that it became commonplace."
The RUC strongly rejected the collusion allegations. "We totally refute these allegations of collusion contained in a report of a so-called public inquiry which has absolutely no legal standing whatsoever," a spokesman said.
"The RUC has demonstrated time and time again, at a very considerable cost to themselves, total commitment to bringing to justice terrorists, from whatever quarter, involved in such terrible deeds."
