Scumbag Garda.... (Shane Waldron)

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

?Cee?view

Fozzie,

Hold up! You're misinterprating me completely! I have friends and relatives who are Guards and I, and my family, have had to rely on them.

By fellow thugs I'm referring to the members of the guards (thankfully a minority) who act like Waldron and who I'm sure we've all come across at some stage - NOT ALL GUARDS.

Now get off your highhorse, stop insulting me, take a chill pill (can't believe I just said that ) and get back to the Topic rather than attacking me.

jdivision

Fozzie Bear wrote: »

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.

If you read what he said you'll see he refers to fellow thugs, not all Gardai. You're the one making assumptions and jumping to conclusions. The reality is a certain number, and it is small, of garda are thugs. A certain amount are incompetent. They deserve the consequences of that. Does it happen? Very rarely.

This statement for example was made in a judgment in a Supreme Court case last week:
'This is yet another “missing evidence” case. The gardaí have lost or mislaid the copy of the CCTV video footage of the robbery. At any rate, they are unable to produce it. It is unfortunate, to use no stronger expression, that the Court has to entertain so many applications for the prohibition of criminal trials for the sole reason that important evidence has been lost by the prosecuting authorities.'
http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/09859e7a3f34669680256ef3004a27de/71af133107e04d138025756700406d1e?OpenDocument
Will anything happen the person responsible?
Doubt it

KevR

Deleted User wrote: »

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

I'm not sure it would land Boards in any trouble. His name, picture and the story of what he did were published in a national news paper before they were posted on here. It's not a case of people coming on here, breaking news of the story and throwing accusations around the place. This is merely a discussion on the story that is in the Independent.

fergiesfolly

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

Don't mind naming and shaming the low life git. His address is printed on the galwaynews website. I can only hope the good people of Tuam give him the reception he deserves when he gets home from a hard days thuggery

donmeister

skelliser wrote: »

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!

This is so true! All the young angry Gardai Men seem to have a serious vendetta on society! Pure Power trip! As seen in this case!

biko

Deleted User wrote: »

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

As I see it the name and picture is in the public domain because they are available in several online papers. However should an Smod or Admin disagree this thread might just vanish.
I'd like to remind everyone that boards.ie is not "free speech" and if your posts could potentially get the owners in trouble they'll be removed. It sucks but there ya go.

PopeBuckfastXVI

It would be insteresting to see him try to take a libel case against someone, as the burden of proof in a civil court is the balance of probabilities, rather than beyond reasonable doubt that you get in a criminal court*.

He would basically be inviting someone to prove he did it in court.

I'd imagine that's why the papers aren't worried about printing his name or photos.

*obligatory IANAL

ronnie3585

There is no issue with publishing his name or picture. The facts of the matter were all discolsed under oath in open court. All the information, and the accurate reporting thereof, is privileged.

pseudonym1

The fact that someone like this imbecile was(oh and continued to be) member of the Gaurds in the first place is IMO a misdemeanor.

That he thought he was above the law - and forcefully took claim too the TAXI is laughable but to hit a women as he did - I dont care what circumstances are involved is the act of a total scumbag.

She reported the incident to a gard on duty near by - only to be told they know him and was let off scot free!!!


Following this up with the omnibus man was a farce - covering for their cronies seems more like it. This case precidents the ledgislation 104- seems like the gaurds rules are written up as they go along.

This lady was let down so immensly by the state - I hope to hell she brings him to the high court!

ScumLord

Fozzie Bear wrote: »

God forbid you or your family are ever in difficulty or danger.

Yes god forbid because there's very little they'll do for you, all they seem to be is professional shoulder shrugers. Any time I've had to call the guards I've always got the impression they where more pissed off with me for disturbing them. I once rang them saying a lad was trying to jump in a river and kill himself and they just said "what are we supposed to do about it".