Scumbag Garda.... (Shane Waldron)

JohnCleary

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/courts/assault-case-against-garda--dismissed-on-technicality-1655543.html

Words fail me :eek: How can someone get away with this, after an independent witness (Taxi Driver) told the courts that the Garda assaulted the woman?

biko

Garda Shane Waldron wrote:

'do you know who you are dealing with?'

"do you know who I am?"

I don't know. Is the answer "a beater of women"?

ronnie3585

She asked the man to get out, but he asked her why she wouldn't share the taxi. He asked her where she was going, but she refused to say and he began to shout at her.

Ms Collins said he told her he would find out where she lived, and she shouted at him also.

"He then said 'do you know who you are dealing with?' I told him 'I don't care who you are' and he got out and walked around to where I was sitting in the back and pulled out a metal garda badge," Ms Collins said.
"After shoving the garda badge in my face, he hit me three times with the bottom part of his hand into my chin. I was in shock."

:eek:

What an as*hole! Must of thought he was a big man flashing the Garda badge and assaulting a woman, coward.

The sad thing is this prick is still in fulltime employment, his wages being payed by us in the private sector.

Yet another f*ck up by the DPP.

JohnCleary

Even more shocking than a male Garda assaulting an innocent woman, is, as said above, the fact that he's still working as a Garda :eek: This guy is supposted to be upholding law and protecting citizens... yet it's OK that he goes around beating women?

Hope the Ombudsman gets onto this

disgrace.. at least his name is tarnished.

kinetic

It doesnt give you much hope when you hear about this type of case.He is clearly guilty,taxi driver saw him do it,his grilfriend apoligised and he was pointed out to a sergeant directly after.Its nice to know hes back on the streets looking after our women folk.

Mun23

Disgraceful, have one or two of them down my way also beating people with their battons and giving people black eyes... Some of the younget lads think they can get away with everything!

axiom32

is this not a time for us the public to stand up and voice or opinions .....im sure we can get the superintendents or whoever is in charge email and bombard him with polite reminders that we the public wont stand for this **** being on our streets being paid with our tax money...this guy needs to be transfered out of our city ....i mean like oranmore is hardly crime central send this woman beater to moyross if he is such a tough guy

Mun23

Transferred? Try dismissed...

Malice

From the article this is a description of the technicality:

At the conclusion of the prosecution case, defence solicitor Gearoid Geraghty sought a direction from Judge Malone to dismiss the case. Mr Geraghty argued that the prosecution had failed to provide proof of a necessary commencement order in respect of Section 104 of the Garda Siochana Act 2005, extending time for the preferring of the charge against his client.

Can someone explain this in plain English? I don't understand what the grounds for dismissal could be. The woman had evidence (blood) that she was struck. The taxi driver saw the guy hit her, the guy's girfriend saw him hit her and yet it's dismissed because the prosecution didn't do something in time?

JohnCleary

axiom32 wrote: »

is this not a time for us the public to stand up and voice or opinions .....im sure we can get the superintendents or whoever is in charge email and bombard him with polite reminders that we the public wont stand for this **** being on our streets being paid with our tax money...this guy needs to be transfered out of our city ....i mean like oranmore is hardly crime central send this woman beater to moyross if he is such a tough guy

Good idea, but E-mails won't do jack sh1te

Registered post FTW with a hand-written signature

The accused Garda is based in Oranmore, wouldn't be hard to get the Super's name of that station (Or even just address it to the Super)

Frankieboy

This a complete joke.

Total abuse of power, or at least a false sense of power. If I knew more about it I might argue that the entry requirements for An Garda Siochana need to be assessed. There seems to be a lot of power hungry people, that have watched to much television, and think they can do anything they want in the force. This guy should have been nailed to the wall, and it would act a deterrent for the next garda that thinks they can do whatever they like.

DamoKen

transferring the problem to somewhere else won't solve it. Just look at the Catholic Church's way of dealing with "problem" priests and how that turned out.

JohnCleary

malice_ wrote: »

Can someone explain this in plain English? I don't understand what the grounds for dismissal could be. The woman had evidence (blood) that she was struck. The taxi driver saw the guy hit her, the guy's girfriend saw him hit her and yet it's dismissed because the prosecution didn't do something in time?

Was just discussing this with a classmate here... I simply don't understand how the accused could get away when there was an independent witness stating that the girl was assaulted?

aoraki

"At the conclusion of the prosecution case, defence solicitor Gearoid Geraghty sought a direction from Judge Malone to dismiss the case. Mr Geraghty argued that the prosecution had failed to provide proof of a necessary commencement order in respect of Section 104 of the Garda Siochana Act 2005, extending time for the preferring of the charge against his client.

After considering the matter, Judge Malone agreed with the defence submission and dismissed the case."

This is the sort of b@llixology that I hate about the legal system - what does that paragraph above actually mean?! The incident was reported to the guards and an independent witness (the taxi driver) corroborated the young woman's story, and testified to that effect. Yet this is not enough. There's too much of this ****e where a savvy defence lawyer will say something like "Your honour, form XYZ paragraph Blah was not filed in accordance with Section ABC of the Waffle Act 1803, therefore I urge the court to move to strike". Where's the justice in that - does common sense not come into it? It seems that the justice system has moved away from deciding what's right and whats wrong, and is now an exercise in bureacracy.

As for the garda involved, what a complete and utter fcuker. I'm glad that he was named in the national media. And what a great start for the Garda Ombudsman process, it really inspires confidence that it will crack down on corruption and wrongdoing in the Garda Siochaina... (NOT)

Mun23

Power hungry is right! A few I have met out myself lately seem to think they can do whatever they want alot only recent members of the force! They are no better than anyone else...

Robbo

malice_ wrote: »

From the article this is a description of the technicality:

Can someone explain this in plain English? I don't understand what the grounds for dismissal could be. The woman had evidence (blood) that she was struck. The taxi driver saw the guy hit her, the guy's girfriend saw him hit her and yet it's dismissed because the prosecution didn't do something in time?

Basically, if Joe Soap commits a summary offence (in this case, assault), it has to be reported within 6 months of the offence.

If a Garda is accused, this period can be extended to 12 months. Someone dropped the ball and didn't apply for an extension to the time period to report the offence. It's not for me to speculate here as to why this happened or who's to blame but it's entirely possible as the Garda Ombudsman was involved and they are a relatively new organisation that there was an oversight of some description.

cornbb

What a pr*ck. And an idiot. Do many gardai get away with this behaviour, or think they can get away with it? Hope they manage to somehow prosocute him, or at least eject him from the force. Would be a disgrace if he managed to keep his job after this.

seamus

malice_ wrote: »

Can someone explain this in plain English? I don't understand what the grounds for dismissal could be.

aoraki wrote: »

what does that paragraph above actually mean?!

From what I can gather (IANAL), the Garda Siochana Act 2005, Section 104 allows for the DPP to issue proceedings within 12 months of the complaint. Normally proceedings must be made within 6 months of the complaint (for certain "petty" offences).

However, when an act is signed into law, a separate "commencement order" needs to be made by the minister for justice basically saying, "Section X of Act Y is to come into effect on date Z".

In this case, there doesn't seem to have been any commencement order for the section in question, so the maximum time allowable to bring proceedings was 6 months, not 12. Assuming that proceedings were issued more than 6 months after the complaint was made, then the case was thrown out because the DPP didn't issue proceedings in time.

ronnie3585

malice_ wrote: »

From the article this is a description of the technicality:

Can someone explain this in plain English? I don't understand what the grounds for dismissal could be. The woman had evidence (blood) that she was struck. The taxi driver saw the guy hit her, the guy's girfriend saw him hit her and yet it's dismissed because the prosecution didn't do something in time?

S104 of the said Act states;

104.— Notwithstanding section 10(4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act 1851, summary proceedings in respect of a matter relating to an offence reported to the Director of Public Prosecutions under this Act may be instituted within 12 months from the date of the offence.

In plain English, the DPP had 12 months from the date of the alleged incident to issue summary proceedings against the accused. They didn't. Proceedure must be adhered to and the Judge was duly bound to strike out the proceedings.

Makes you realise the meaning behind the old phrase 'the law is an ass'.

99qwerty99

Such an ABSOLUTE DISGRACE..stuff like this makes me wanna get on a plane and never come back....unbelieveable. I've heard of people getting a crim record for alot less.

This idiot cop was in school with me...a year or 2 ahead of me. Doing what he was accused of would not surprise me in the least.

how DARE he do that to another human being, never mind a girl. Imagine if that girl was ur sister/wife? This p1g wouldnt be getting away with it that easily.


Is it not utterly WRONG that this morning, this idiot cop is walking round oranmore in his all important uniform, and all important badge on him that apparently gives him the right to do whatever he wishes??? for god's sake.

There are many many decent fair sound cops out there for sure, but whatever it is about the newbies..... is there a problem with their training?? is GI Joe blowing the whistle in templemore telling these guys that they can do what they like and noone can touch them???

Im absolutely appalled, and I don't say that too often

JohnCleary

Robbo wrote: »

Basically, if Joe Soap commits a summary offence (in this case, assault), it has to be reported within 6 months of the offence.

If a Garda is accused, this period can be extended to 12 months. Someone dropped the ball and didn't apply for an extension to the time period to report the offence. It's not for me to speculate here as to why this happened or who's to blame but it's entirely possible as the Garda Ombudsman was involved and they are a relatively new organisation that there was an oversight of some description.

Wonder if proceedings would have been brought up quicker had it been a civilian assaulting a Garda?

(Yes, rhetorical question :pac:)

sgthighway

Its prIcks like this that give the Gardai a bad name.

While I don't condone violence especially against the Gardai I'd love to see him get a taste of his own medicine. Any dirty gaelic footballers will get their chance if they play against Milltown or the Gardai in Interfirms.

I wonder can the victim take a civil case?

Robbo

JohnCleary wrote: »

Wonder if proceedings would have been brought up quicker had it been a civilian assaulting a Garda?

(Yes, rhetorical question :pac:)

In theory, yes, because of the fact that proceedings have to be issued against the civilian within 6 months whereas there's an extra 6 months for a Garda. In practice, it all depends on the complexity of the case, the compiling of evidence, the courts lists, the number of witnesses, procedural adjournments....

ronnie3585

sgthighway wrote: »

While I do condone violence especially against the Gardai

Really? :pac:

I wonder can the victim take a civil case?

Yes.

KevR

What a disgrace - the fact that the case was dismissed on a 'tecnicality' and the offence in the first place.

He was probably bullied when he was younger and now he's on a power trip taking it out on people who have never done anything to him.

galwayguy22

So if Garda Shane Waldron pulls me over can I flash my student card in his face and beat him on the face with the palm of my hand?

The general public should refuse to deal with him in whatever circumstance and request to see a different Garda.

KevR

He looks a bit like Jonathan Woodgate (English footballer).

Mun23

scary, he looks cross :mad:

Melted M&M

So basically the Gardai can commit offenses as long as they have there badge my trust in the Gaurds has hit rock bottom They close ranks and nobody stands a chance:mad:

biko

Gives meaning to the old phrase: "This is not a court of justice, this is a court of law".

cornbb

Melted M&M wrote: »

So basically the Gardai can commit offenses as long as they have there badge my trust in the Gaurds has hit rock bottom They close ranks and nobody stands a chance:mad:

In fairness I think the fact that this incident was thrown out is an indication that there was a f*ckup with the ombudsman/prosecution and in this case it doesn't appear to be the result of a conspiracy within the gardai or between the gardai and the judge.

I know that there has always been an undercurrent of power-abuse and corruption in the gardai (a very minor one I hope) but I think that this case was a serious attempt to discipline someone for it.

At least his name was made public because of this and his career is likely to be ruined as a result.

99qwerty99

I think if he was brought to court and admitted a wrongdoing and charged etc....i would think ..'fair enough' - he did something wrong and he has paid the price and punished accordingly, but for that pr*ck to get off so lightly.... i think the only thing that we a society can do is make sure that he realises he has lost the respect and credibility of his community.

Maybe that'll make him think twice about abusing his power again...or maybe not....if i remember correctly, this guy was a disruptive dumbass in school , so ...chances are....he's a lost cause.
Just cause he's wearing a uniform doesn't disguise the face that he is SCUMMMMMM.

the_syco

99qwerty99 wrote: »

Maybe that'll make him think twice about abusing his power again...or maybe not....if i remember correctly, this guy was a disruptive dumbass in school , so ...chances are....he's a lost cause.

As he got off scot-free, even with a witness to the assault, I say he now thinks he has a license to act the prat.

One rule for us, another for them, it would seem.

Fey!

Could he be refused entry to pubs on the grounds that he's now a "known troublemaker"?

I hope for the publics sake that he's taken off the street and stuck in an office somewhere from now to eternity, with no overtime and the worst shifts he can be given, or else shipped straight to O'Malley Park.

It's unlikely that the powers that be would do either of these things.

skelliser

Fey! wrote: »

Could he be refused entry to pubs on the grounds that he's now a "known troublemaker"?

Gaurds actually get in free to any club!!


Traditionally the stereotype of your typical guard was a bull of a man from the depths of mayo/kerry. imo standards have fallen due to a number of issues, one of which is the height restriction which iirc has been abolished, up until then you had to be 5'11'' or above, this is not the case now.

Also All the young and new gaurds are the lads who where bullied and/or had self-confidence issues back when they were young lads, now that they're guards its pay back time!

axiom32

i wish he was dismissed but unfortunately as weve seen in the last number of weeks our government likes to be ****ed up the ass by those they release from their duties by giving huge golden handshakes

to O'Malley park with the cnut

PopeBuckfastXVI

skelliser wrote: »

up until then you had to be 5'11'' or above

Yes I'm 5'9 which, obviously, makes me smack around wimmins... :rolleyes:

JohnCleary

Google 'Shane Waldron' or 'Scumbag Garda' and you'll get plenty of hits to this case. Maybe Karma will serve this one out.. his name is tarnished forever

axiom32

just emailed the links to NEWSTALK eamon keane

jonsnow

very disappointing.This is the first case brought by the Garda ombudsmans office to go to trial and this is how it went!!!!there not going to get many easier ones than this.The garda struck a sympathetic ordinary citizen in eyre square(cameras and witnesses everwhere), the taxi driver witnessed it and was prepared to go to court and she reported it immediately to a garda sergeant who acknowledged that she recognised and knew the man.If they couldnt nail this one something is seriously wrong.a lot of future cases involving guards will be in much murkier circumstances with less sympathetic victims and if they cant get this one right its pretty depressing.

-some people have wondered if a citizen had assaulted a garda would the DPP have been allowed to make such a basic error in bringing the case forward.Im inclined to wonder too.there seems to be a lot of easy mistakes made where guards and judges are concerned.I wonder when the garda ombudsman trys to bring forward more cases will we see more mistakes-DPP not filing in time,guards losing casefiles,guards improperly questioning accussed guardss etc etc-I sure hope not.

The reality is that this guy no longer has the moral authority to police our streets.He is now lower in most peoples eyes than some of the worst scumbags that are in galway city.Imagine him telling you to move along are trying to arrest you for some minor infraction.you,ld be hard put to put up with it.Having this guy in uniform damages further the already tattered institution that is the Garda siochana.

-I know some great guards.my favourite GAA coach for ten years is a guard and an absolute gent.but friends and family of mine hacve also witnessed some appalling behaviour by garda including the following.
-30 years ago when my father was building his house he got a local truck driver to drop up supplies for the house over a number of months and it was agreed everthing would be receipted and paid for at the end.down the road a local guards house was at a similar stage and he had a similar deal.when my fathers house was completed the guy called up for his and was in a foul mood.My father commented that hed never seen someone so miserable calling to collect so much money.the truck driver launched into a rant about how a week earlier hed called up to the guards house the guy had given him a cheque for considerably less than the amount owed.my dad advised the guy to go after the guard for his money.the guy said I make my living as a truck driver and i cant have that cnut pulling me over every second day to check my tyres
- years ago my father and mother were out for a meal in a well to do restraunt.saw the owner chatting and laughing with this middleaged guy and his wife.when they left his face changed and he looked pissed off.he came over to chat with my father who he was friendly with.Told my dad that the guy was the local super and had eaten free for the last ten years.the restraunt was in a rural area and he couldnt afford to piss him off in case there was a blitz against his customers drinkdriving.
-only last year my father was in a shop were you rent powerhoses.this guy came in waterproofs and went up to the owner.asked for the price to rent one.guy gave it to him.said to the guy "you know im a guard".the guy dropped the price by a 100.the guard said can you not do better than that!!!.
-a friend of mine is a bouncer.said one night two guys staggered up who could hardly stand."not tonite lads".one of them whipped out his garda badge and started threatening him.my friend was unmoved.he got a pen and paper and started taking down the guys badge number.the guys mate spotted what was going on and said "put that way you eejit" and pulled him down the street.
-another freind of mine was out with a scoolmate of his who became a guard.when they were refused into a club.he got out his badge and put it between the teeth of one of the bouncers.
Im afraid a lot of guards take liberties with there powers.I hope there are no more screwups by the garda ombudsman/DPP and this kind of behaviour is stamped out.

Pat Mustard

seamus wrote: »

From what I can gather (IANAL), the Garda Siochana Act 2005, Section 104 allows for the DPP to issue proceedings within 12 months of the complaint. Normally proceedings must be made within 6 months of the complaint (for certain "petty" offences).

However, when an act is signed into law, a separate "commencement order" needs to be made by the minister for justice basically saying, "Section X of Act Y is to come into effect on date Z".

In this case, there doesn't seem to have been any commencement order for the section in question, so the maximum time allowable to bring proceedings was 6 months, not 12. Assuming that proceedings were issued more than 6 months after the complaint was made, then the case was thrown out because the DPP didn't issue proceedings in time.

People are fairly outraged that this guy 'got off on a technicality'.

Realistically speaking, there is no technicality though. The 12 month period wasn't ever brought into force, meaning the normal 6-month period was always in force.

They should be more outraged that this guy wasn't prosecuted within 6 months.

Actually, if there are any lawyers reading this, I wonder if assault is an indictable offence where there is no time limit. Or does the 6 month time limit apply in the case of District Court prosecution?

Redhairedguy

Hope this arsehole gets his comeuppance....

It kind of unsettles me to think that there is someone like that, out 'upholding' the law.

axiom32

another thing to come out of this will be that the taxi driver wont have much trust in the justice system of our country.
I don't know where he is from originally so bear with me on this one.....Just say he was from a country where injustice is rife and police corruption a daily occurrence. Finding a way out ends up in Galway, to begin a new life for himself, saves up gets a taxi and i bet he is loving the place. So then this happens and fair play he steps up and goes to trial thinking, i will give something back to the community and justice will prevail it cant be like home and low an behold the guard walks

Is he or is he not the next time going to turn a blind eye or take the attitude its not my problem. The taxi drivers are the few sober people on the streets on weekends and are driving around our homes on a nightly basis, more so than garda patrols, i just hope the next time he is asked to step up he wont turn away thinking there is no point

my 2 cents
Still Infruiated :mad:

?Cee?view

The taxi-driver's point of view ocurred to me also. I think that he deserves great credit. It takes balls for a guy who is in a new country to stand up for what he sees is wrong, when he is arguably in a vulnerable position (as an immigrant). I hope scumbag Waldron and his fellow thugs leave him alone.

ScumLord

The garda in this country are a law onto themselves. I've met so many that where just bad people plain and simple. I don't think it's a case of the minority giving the rest a bad name either it's the other way around.

I have to say I'm really at odds with this country, I don't trust the government or the "justice system" and have no time for either.

Wompa1

As someone said its us paying their wages and if everyone feels strongly about it why not start a petition and send it to the Ombudsman?

?Cee?view

...But it's the Ombudsman and the DPP that screwed up the case and that caused the pr**k to be let off!

(Sorry, a pr**k is useful for something.)

Fozzie Bear

churchview wrote: »

I hope scumbag Waldron and his fellow thugs leave him alone.

Good man yourself. Thats a big ol brush you have there to tar them all with.

What ever about Waldron how can you justify calling all the Guards in Galway or the country "thugs" too?. A handful of bad apples does not reflect the abilities or attitude of the entire force of 14000+ officers. There are men and women in the Gardai who have lost their lives on duty or are now walking our streets who have to deal with situations and events the horror of which you can only imagine and if had to face you would in all likely hood sh1t your pants. Think back just 1 week to Lackagh and two Guards facing down a gang of 5 armed men. How quick we are to forget.

God forbid you or your family are ever in difficulty or danger. I presume if you are you will not think twice about ringing those same self "thugs" to come to your aid?

How about putting a little thought into your posts before making sweeping statements and knee jerk reactions.

slyph

It's like something out of a soap opera.

It gives me the message "we protect our own".

Do we have the right to name&shame and especially post a photo of the accused though? Would this not just be putting Boards in some serious doo-doo