U.S. Police to Investigate IRA Infiltrator

Two American police officers, NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence and Counterterrorism John Miller and LAPD Deputy Chief Mike Downing, will join the group conducting Northern Ireland’s Operation Kenova, an investigation into a series of IRA murders and the role played by an alleged spy of the British Army who infiltrated the IRA known only by the codename “Stakeknife.”
Stakeknife allegedly operated for 25 years within the IRA’s “internal security,” the division of the organization responsible for the interrogation of suspected informers, which often led to execution. Allegations have long been leveled at the British government for the sanction of Stake-nife’s purported participation in upwards of 40 murders in order to protect his cover.
The operation will be lead externally by Jon Boutcher, chief constable of Bedfordshire, England, at the request of chief constable of the Police Services of Northern Ireland George Hamilton. Boutcher has said that each member of the assembled group “has experience of complex investigations that will have engaged similar legal challenges and have involved historical cases,” adding that the group’s role will be that of a “sounding board” or “critical friend.”
“There is an absolute determination to get to the truth for the families,” Boutcher said in a statement. He has promised “a meaningful, honest, authentic investigation to get to the heart of what happened.” ♦