WEST Belfast MLA Danny Baker says the PSNI owe the Colin community an apology after 'chaotic scenes' on the Stewartstown Road on Bank Holiday Monday evening.
Scores of cars, motor bikes and hundreds of young people descended onto the Stewartstown Road for a car meet in memory of Shea McGreevy who died last Thursday after a jetski accident in Lough Neagh.
Known as 'diffing', videos widely shared on social media showed cars and motorbikes driving dangerously in the vicinity of Blacks Road, Bell Steele Road and Dairy Farm.
Police said two officers were struck and number of police vehicles damaged after youths threw bottles and masonry.
Sinn Féin MLA Danny Baker met with the PSNI on Tuesday and has called on police to apologise to the Colin community for their lack of preventative measures.
APOLOGY: Danny Baker MLA
"Questions for the PSNI remain. I met with the Chief Inspector yesterday and outlined their lack of response and failures to this community," he told the Andersonstown News.
"This event was advertised on social media all weekend. As the afternoon progressed on Monday I saw cars and banners being put up and I was contacting police calling for preventative measures to be put in place.
"There had to be visible presence from the PSNI and we didn't get that. I got the Dairy Farm gates locked so they couldn't meet in the carpark there. At around 7pm more and more cars started to come into the area and we were left on our own.
"They (the police) put a car at the Michael Ferguson roundabout after 7pm but it just sat there and allowed residents to drive into what was happening on the Stewartstown Road. There was a real risk to life and I am thankful no one was killed.
"The PSNI owe our community an apology for their lack of action.
"There was a lawlessness to it. What message have the PSNI sent out? What are they going to do going forward?
"Lessons have got to be learnt from this. They have to say they got it wrong."
Danny Baker also has a strong message for the people involved in the 'diffing'.
"I am still very angry," he said. "The people who brought this to our community have nothing to offer but destruction. I am really concerned that was able to happen.
"Preventative measures must be put in place to ensure this can never be repeated not only in my community but everywhere.
"It was so dangerous and reckless. They simply didn't care.
"This was not reflective of our community. There were cars coming from Dublin and all over the North. I was sent videos of them coming up the motorway."
