●Will the guy that punched me and kicked me get away with it?

jamesflynn21 · 08-09-2013 12:13am #1

●This guy sucker-punched me for no reason and kicked me on the ground,I contacted the police and its been weeks and nothing has been done,I don't know what to do,I have no witness to stand by my story,However I have his name,address pictures of me bet up from it,medical reports and my own statement,Do you think he will get away with it?

●Thanks for your advice and it is in Dublin,Ireland.
This guy is 21,I am 19.

Bepolite · 08-09-2013 12:56am

Just keep chasing it up with the guards, other options such as a civil claim, or common informant (if that's possible/correct terminology) are available but would require you to seek proper advice. www.flac.ie might be of some assistance.

dobman88 · 08-09-2013 1:44am

Unfortunately, he probably will get away with it. In cases of one persons word against another it is too much effort for the guards. My brother got punched in the face in an unprovoked attack with a knuckle duster before and had 2 very reputable witnesses and the guards went to the guys house, told him to be a good boy and left it at that, absolute joke.

My brother had no serious injuries, just a couple of stitches so it wasn't worth the effort by the guards. At the time my parents tried doing everything for something to be done by them but the guards kept saying "we have spoken to him". Apparently thats good enough!

The one thing we didn't have was CCTV and they kept saying it would be different with CCTV, so if you have any way of getting CCTV do all you can to get it.

But from what you say, he probably will get away with it which sickens me. Hope your injuries weren't too bad.

ZEBRA THREE · 08-09-2013 1:53am

I think you should get a solicitor and let them deal with the cops

hfallada · 08-09-2013 1:57am

ZEBRA THREE wrote: »

I think you should get a solicitor and let them deal with the cops

A solicitor will be a couple hundred of euros and will probably solve nothing. OP you need to find a helpful Garda. My brother got his phone robbed and we reported it to the gardas. We heard nothing for weeks until the gardas found the guy in a half way house. Just wait a few more weeks and see if the gardas do anything about it.

naughtyfox · 08-09-2013 2:45am

Contact the garda who took your statment, if you cant get him ask for a sergeant there is always one around, see if they got the cctv if not your entitled to it if there is any under the data protection act, if you got a victim of crime letter their may be some useful info on that, get in contact with the garda or sergeant and push for them to do something.

ldxo15wus6fpgm · 08-09-2013 6:13am

Yes in all probability he will get away with it. I had a similar situation during the winter. My girlfriend was attacked outside a nightclub (I wasn't there unfortunately - night out with her friends who were all blind drunk) and had her face repeatedly slammed off the floor. She had minor head injuries and a severe wound on her arm from being thrown into the ground.

Gardai were around the corner, came on the scene about 30 seconds after yer man stopped. Found the guy out of breath and flustered, not far from my girlfriend. While plenty of people told the gardai he did it, no one that was there was willing or able to give a statement (most of them were drunk, little credibility there anyway I suppose) so it was 1v1. His details were taken and that was about all that happened, despite constant pestering from me and my girlfriend.

There was even some (grainy) cctv footage that backed up her version of events and the garda dealing with the case told us we were wasting his and our time with it and essentially said this is as far as it's going.

Very disappointing but that's the way the world works.

Santa Cruz · 08-09-2013 10:01am

jamesflynn21 wrote: »

●This guy sucker-punched me for no reason and kicked me on the ground,I contacted the police and its been weeks and nothing has been done,I don't know what to do,I have no witness to stand by my story,However I have his name,address pictures of me bet up from it,medical reports and my own statement,Do you think he will get away with it?

●Thanks for your advice and it is in Dublin,Ireland.
This guy is 21,I am 19.

The very least that this assault should merit is that the Gardaí take a statement from you, take possession of copies of the medical report, photos etc. and then investigate it. They should approach the alleged assailant and put the allegation to him, give him the legal caution and note his response.
This can be done either by a normal interview or if they think warranted having arrested him. He may refuse to say anything in which case there should be a prosecution. He may give a statement which is a load of bull.
The Garda should submit a file for the Superintendent and let some recommendation be made either for a prosecution or not.
I would recommend that you contact the Garda involved and ask him/her the present position of the investigation. If not happy with the response write a good letter to the Superintendent in which you outline the sequence of events and request that he provide you with an update of the investigation.
Don't be fobbed off by some young inexperienced Garda. The Gardaí can always send a file to the DPP and let him decide if it is worth prosecuting.

A civil action is also likely as there isn't as high a level of proof required. This would be a matter for a solicitor

Zen65 · 08-09-2013 10:11am

ZEBRA THREE wrote: »

I think you should get a solicitor and let them deal with the cops

Unless you are being prosecuted you have no entitlement to legal representation in a criminal case. Hiring a solicitor to deal with the Gardaí makes as much sense as hiring a dress-maker to speak to them.

If there are no witnesses then there will be no criminal case.

You could try to have your solicitor pursue a civil case for damages (medical bills, lost time from work, pain and suffering) but again without witnesses this is simply one person's word versus another. However in a civil case it is sufficient to be able to demonstrate a reasonable probability of guilt, as opposed to a criminal case where the conviction must be beyond reasonable doubt.

Santa Cruz · 08-09-2013 10:14am

Zen65 wrote: »

Unless you are being prosecuted you have no entitlement to legal representation in a criminal case. Hiring a solicitor to deal with the Gardaí makes as much sense as hiring a dress-maker to speak to them.

If there are no witnesses then there will be no criminal case.

You could try to have your solicitor pursue a civil case for damages (medical bills, lost time from work, pain and suffering) but again without witnesses this is simply one person's word versus another. However in a civil case it is sufficient to be able to demonstrate a reasonable probability of guilt, as opposed to a criminal case where the conviction must be beyond reasonable doubt.

The absence of witnesses does not necessarily rule out a prosecution. The nature and severity of the injuries, response of the alleged culprit when interviewed are factors which would influence a decision to prosecute or not.

Pro Hoc Vice · 08-09-2013 2:56pm

Zen65 wrote: »

Unless you are being prosecuted you have no entitlement to legal representation in a criminal case. Hiring a solicitor to deal with the Gardaí makes as much sense as hiring a dress-maker to speak to them.

If there are no witnesses then there will be no criminal case.

You could try to have your solicitor pursue a civil case for damages (medical bills, lost time from work, pain and suffering) but again without witnesses this is simply one person's word versus another. However in a civil case it is sufficient to be able to demonstrate a reasonable probability of guilt, as opposed to a criminal case where the conviction must be beyond reasonable doubt.

A private person can hire a solicitor to take a privat prosecution as common informer. Also a person has every right to be advised by a solicitor even if only a witness. In certain circumstances a witness is entitled to free legal advice, if memory serves if the witness is a victim of a sexual assault and the accused intends to make certain claims the witness is entitled to advice.

Your comment if there is no witness there will be no criminal case ignores the OP as witness and any medical evidence. There is often no witness other than the victim in for example rape cases.

The fact is a lot of criminal cases and civil cases involve no more than one persons word against another. Also medical evidence can back up the OP's claim.

godtabh · 09-09-2013 2:08pm

naughtyfox wrote: »

see if they got the cctv if not your entitled to it if there is any under the data protection act

that's not correct

naughtyfox · 10-09-2013 1:17am

godtabh wrote: »

that's not correct

Well www.dataprotection.ie states that a person can acess the stills and tape as long as other peoples faces are obscured. Im just passing on information from that site i do not know how to post a link yet.

Zambia · 10-09-2013 2:22am

naughtyfox wrote: »

Well www.dataprotection.ie states that a person can acess the stills and tape as long as other peoples faces are obscured. Im just passing on information from that site i do not know how to post a link yet.

6.3 What if I am asked for a copy of CCTV footage?

Any person whose image has been recorded has a right to be given a copy of the information recorded. To exercise that right, a person must make an application in writing. A data controller may charge up to €6.35 for responding to such a request and must respond within 40 days. This will, of course, only apply if the recording has been retained and is available at the time the request is made.
[\quote]

Most CCTV is private cameras, the images they capture are their own.

As a private person how can you force another private person to give you footage? Never mind having the technology to blur other people's faces.

CCTv is given to police as its a civic duty thing and the right thing to do, in some cases the police have the power to seize evidence. As you can see the last line above is the thing.

You ask me for CCTV, pay me 6.35 and I write back and say Its been overwritten. In essence who is going to prosecute me in those circumstances.

naughtyfox · 10-09-2013 4:53am

The point i was trying to get across is that if their was any cctv recordings of the incident that he had a right to ask for it.

●Will the guy that punched me and kicked me get away with it?

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