Seven police officers are to face trial on charges relating to the death of a 21-year-old man in west Belfast, a court heard yesterday.
Deryck Rothwell and Stephen Thompson are charged with causing Raymond Boyle's death by dangerous driving almost two years ago.
The two men and five fellow officers - Robert Hall, John Hadley, Richard Seve, James Long and Alan Calvin - are also charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice by giving detectives false statements.
The charges arise from an incident in which an RUC Land-Rover collided with a stolen car on the Whiterock Road in west Belfast on May 1st, 2001.
Mr Boyle, of the Falls Road, the eldest of four siblings, was a front-seat passenger in the stolen Metro car and died of his injuries in hospital.
The driver of the car and three other passengers were taken to hospital, as also were three police officers.
The charges are the result of an investigation by the Police Ombudsman. A defence lawyer told Belfast Magistrate's Court yesterday that the officers had denied the charges from the outset and would continue to contest them. - (PA)