Michael Ferguson: RUC officer's brother 'misses him every day'

RUC officer Michael Ferguson was 21 when he was shot dead in Derry in 1993

The brother of an RUC officer killed by the IRA has said he "misses him every day" as he prepares to light a candle at a service on Sunday.

Michael Ferguson was 21-years-old when he was shot dead outside a shopping centre in Londonderry in January 1993.

He was remembered at a service in Belfast to mark National Police Memorial Day.

His brother, Joseph, said it was a great honour to be chosen to represent Northern Ireland at the event.

More than 2,000 people are expected to attend the Waterfront Hall event, that commemorates police officers who have been killed or died on duty.

Brothers spoke 'every day'

Joseph and his sister, Susan, will light a candle in memory of their brother.

Speaking to BBC's Radio Ulster's Sunday News programme, Joseph said he and his younger brother were "very close" despite a seven-year age gap.

"Growing up he was a very shy and friendly kid. From a very early age he wanted to be a police officer.

"My father, Dan, had been an officer and he wanted to follow in his footsteps," he said.

An event to mark National Police Memorial Day was held in Belfast on Sunday

"Michael loved being a police officer. He loved every part of it."

The brothers spoke on the phone "every day" and their last conversation ended with Michael telling Joseph that he would call him later.

However, that phone call never took place.

While responding to a report of shoplifting on a Saturday afternoon at the shopping centre on Shipquay Street, Constable Ferguson, a Catholic officer from Omagh in County Tyrone, was shot in the back of the head by an IRA gunman.

'Gut feeling'

Joseph, who is also a former police officer, recalled being on duty on that day.

On an internal police messaging system, he saw an incoming memo about "an incident".

"I honestly had a gut feeling that something was wrong," he said.

He finally found out the news in a phone call.

"The person on the other end did not want to lie to me and so they told me over the phone."

Although his late mother often visited the scene of the shooting in the years that followed, Joseph said he personally found that too difficult.

'Could not forgive'

"In the early days, on anniversaries and birthdays, my mother would go to Shipquay Street.

"I am aware that flowers that were left there on one occasion were ripped up and that put me off," he said.

While there was "good support" in the initial aftermath of the shooting, the former police officer said he has felt "let down in a number of way in regards to the investigation" as the years have passed.

Christopher O'Kane admitted assisting others in the murder and was jailed in 2015

Only one person - Christopher O'Kane from Derry - has ever been convicted in connection with the murder.

He voluntarily contacted police on two occasions in 2008 and 2012 and told officers he wanted to confess to involvement in various IRA operations in the 1990s.

In December 2015, he was jailed for ten years after admitting a host of IRA-related offences including assisting in the murder.

O'Kane said he had seen the gunman run down the street after the shooting and reported to his "officer commanding" in the IRA that the gunman had touched a car with his bare hand.

'The empty seat'

The "officer commanding" then ordered O'Kane to, in turn, instruct the gunman to wash the car to remove any forensic evidence.

Joseph said he "pities" the people who carried out the murder and "honestly could not" forgive them, although he added that he would "carefully consider" any opportunity to meet those responsible.

"I have had a lot of time to reflect on that... there is a good chance that the person who murdered Michael might have been a young person.

"They have probably grown up and have family themselves. I often think do they reflect on what they have done to my family?"

Joseph said that the "empty seat, the missed birthday parties, the Christmas events" were the constant reminders of his brother's absence.

"I have kids myself... I wonder if Michael would have had a family, he was very much a family person. I miss him every day."

The Sunday News is on BBC Radio Ulster at 13:05 BST.