Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher told the Policing Board that 107 officers were injured during a wave of racially and sectarian-motivated unrest that began in Ballymena in mid-June and spread to several towns and cities, including Portadown, Larne, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Londonderry and Coleraine. Officers were hit with petrol bombs, masonry, fireworks and even an axe during consecutive nights of violence. The disturbances followed a protest in Ballymena over the alleged attempted rape of a teenage girl by two 14-year-old boys. Boutcher said every incident is being treated as a hate crime. To date, police have made 56 arrests and 27 suspects have been remanded in custody, with more detentions expected as investigators continue to release images of rioters. Boutcher praised officers for saving lives on the first night of disorder but warned that prolonged budget pressures left the force short-staffed, requiring mutual aid from Police Scotland. He said PSNI would continue to deploy water cannon and attenuating-energy projectile launchers where necessary and vowed “a robust, consistent” response to any further violence.