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A car was burnt during the trouble on Monday evening
Police were faced with a "serious" rioting situation in Newtownabbey involving more than 100 youths on Monday, a detective has said.
Several vehicles including a bus were burnt out and stones thrown at police vehicles in the Rathcoole estate after trouble broke out at about 2030 BST.
It followed a number of earlier police raids in the mainly loyalist area.
A policeman rejected claims the raids were heavy-handed, saying there was "no sense or reason for the violence".
Chief Superintendent Henry Irvine said: "Whenever the PSNI are caryring out searches and going about their lawful business, there's no reason for this reaction."
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Ken Wilkinson, a representative of the UVF-linked Progressive Unionist Party, said he understood the trouble was linked to three searches in the area over the past two days by officers from the Historical Enquiries Team, which investigates unsolved murders from during the Troubles.
He said that "the way a lot of these searches were carried out leaves a lot to be desired", adding that one of the houses raided belonged to a lady in bad health.
However, Chief Supt Irvine said he rejected "any suggestion that police officers operated anything other than professionally".
He said detectives had recovered drugs during the searches.
"It's a sad reflection on any community where police can't go about their business without being attacked like this," he said.
Police said they worked with community representatives to restore calm to the area by 2230 BST.
This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
A car was burnt during the trouble on Monday evening Police were faced with a "serious" rioting situation in Newtownabbey involving more than 100 youths on Monday, a detective has said.
Several vehicles including a bus were burnt out and stones thrown at police vehicles in the Rathcoole estate after trouble broke out at about 2030 BST.
It followed a number of earlier police raids in the mainly loyalist area.
A policeman rejected claims the raids were heavy-handed, saying there was "no sense or reason for the violence".
Chief Superintendent Henry Irvine said: "Whenever the PSNI are caryring out searches and going about their lawful business, there's no reason for this reaction."
Related stories
Ken Wilkinson, a representative of the UVF-linked Progressive Unionist Party, said he understood the trouble was linked to three searches in the area over the past two days by officers from the Historical Enquiries Team, which investigates unsolved murders from during the Troubles.
He said that "the way a lot of these searches were carried out leaves a lot to be desired", adding that one of the houses raided belonged to a lady in bad health.
However, Chief Supt Irvine said he rejected "any suggestion that police officers operated anything other than professionally".
He said detectives had recovered drugs during the searches.
"It's a sad reflection on any community where police can't go about their business without being attacked like this," he said.
Police said they worked with community representatives to restore calm to the area by 2230 BST.
This article is from the BBC News website. ? British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.