Belfast Kebab Shop Trial: Off-Duty Officer Tried to Reason with Violent Man
The trial reveals off-duty officers’ claims of self-defense during a kebab shop brawl in Belfast
Belfast, Northern Ireland, Kebab Shop, PSNI, Affray, Court Trial
Belfast: So, there was this wild incident at a kebab shop where four off-duty police officers got into a bit of a scuffle. They’re on trial now, and one of them, Dean McCallum, said he was just trying to talk things down with a guy who was getting a bit too rowdy.
This all went down back in January 2022 at the City Kitchen eatery. The officers were just grabbing some late-night food after a night out when things escalated. McCallum mentioned that he noticed a guy in a red hat looking agitated, and before he knew it, a customer named Graham McCullough jumped in, leading to a full-blown fracas.
McCallum said he was just trying to keep the peace, but it got out of hand. He described how McCullough headbutted him, and then it was chaos. The other officers backed him up, and they all claimed they were acting in self-defense. They insisted they didn’t want to hurt anyone, just to stop the situation from getting worse.
Victoria Bell, another officer, also testified. She said she was just trying to help her friends and ended up getting punched herself. It sounds like it was a real mess, with everyone trying to restrain McCullough while he was being aggressive.
Mark Fulham and Taylor Annett, the other two officers, shared their sides too. Fulham said he was shocked by the whole thing, and Annett even ended up with a broken nose. They all denied being part of a drunken brawl, insisting they were just trying to handle a tough situation.
It’s a pretty intense trial, and it’ll be interesting to see how it all plays out. The officers are sticking to their story that they were just trying to keep things under control, but the jury will have to decide if that’s the case.