article in herald

ria5000

great article in yesterdays Herald, well worth a read.

http://www.herald.ie/opinion/john-okeeffe-a-brave-garda-chases-down-two-joyriders-on-drink-or-drugs-causing-mayhem-on-our-streets-he-deserves-a-medal-he-gets-flung-in-the-dock-on-the-word-of-wrongdoers-2247577.html

MagicSean

This doesn't surprise me at all. I remember hearing the case of a garda who was prosecuted for dangerous driving because he was driving too fast (lights and sirens) when he hit another car who had broken a red light. I dont think im wrong when I say that most new gardaí see their superiors as people who are trying to catch them out instead of support and help them do a difficult job.

cushtac

The DPP would have been prosecuting on behalf of the Ombudsman, so all this was done at their behest.

I think the question that must be asked in this case is would it have even gotten to court if the accused hadn't been a Garda? Given the fact that the witnesses were heavily intoxicated and could not identify their supposed assailants I'm not so sure it would have.

Whitewater-AGS

k_mac wrote: »

This doesn't surprise me at all. I remember hearing the case of a garda who was prosecuted for dangerous driving because he was driving too fast (lights and sirens) when he hit another car who had broken a red light. I dont think im wrong when I say that most new gardaí see their superiors as people who are trying to catch them out instead of support and help them do a difficult job.

Add to that list GSOC and the dpp! If a Garda had attempted to run with a case so lacking in evidence I know what the dpp would have said:rolleyes:

ria5000

The ombudsman suprisingly had nothing to do with the decision to prosecute in this case. They also did not prosecute the case

1922

nice to see the ,media backing the Gardaí so strongly

cushtac

ria5000 wrote: »

The ombudsman suprisingly had nothing to do with the decision to prosecute in this case. They also did not prosecute the case

They at the very least knew about it, since they have to be made aware of all complaints made against Gardaí. I would be very surprised if they were refer something as serious as an assault back to the Gardaí to investigate.

No one said they prosecuted the case.

Whitewater-AGS

ria5000 wrote: »

The ombudsman suprisingly had nothing to do with the decision to prosecute in this case. They also did not prosecute the case

Actually yes they did it was GSOC who sent a file to the ddp regarding this incident, a member of the public lodged the complaint with Gsoc not the two scrotes.

Guy:Incognito

I picked up a good book heading through one of the UK airports last year, A fair cop . it's a similar case only the the guy got kicked up and down the road but still managed to find himself in jail for assaulting some scummer. The law is very twisted at times.

EDIT: this is the guy http://www.afaircop.co.uk/

ria5000

Whitewater-AGS wrote: »

Actually yes they did it was GSOC who sent a file to the ddp regarding this incident, a member of the public lodged the complaint with Gsoc not the two scrotes.

Yea your right about the member of the public making the complaint but gsoc didn't do the file.a superintendent did.I was told this by the member who was prosecuted himself.not trying to get into an argument.

Spartan09

Stekelly wrote: »

I picked up a good book heading through one of the UK airports last year, A fair cop . it's a similar case only the the guy got kicked up and down the road but still managed to find himself in jail for assaulting some scummer. The law is very twisted at times.

EDIT: this is the guy http://www.afaircop.co.uk/

Have read it, very good book if not terrifying too considering how badly shafted he got by his organisation.

Whitewater-AGS

ria5000 wrote: »

Yea your right about the member of the public making the complaint but gsoc didn't do the file.a superintendent did.I was told this by the member who was prosecuted himself.not trying to get into an argument.

Well if thats true I heard wrong

MagicSean

Its still a gsoc investigation. They just get a super appointed to investigate it.

Delancey

I understood the GSOC have their own investigators , the idea being to give them an arms length relationship from AGS ?

1922

Whitewater-AGS wrote: »

Actually yes they did it was GSOC who sent a file to the ddp regarding this incident, an interfering busy body lodged the complaint with Gsoc not the two scrotes.

fixed that there for ya

shampon

Scrotes will do Scrotey things...It's a joke that the case even progressed to the courts...waste of money.

meathstevie

From what I could read in the media it looked like the case wasn't going to go anywhere anyway, some serious identification issues to say the least.

AlekSmart

With the current prediliction for investigating things in this juristiction,this case and the circumstances surrounding it needs some serious sifting through.

There has to be a signature somewhere on a document authorizing the spending of (substantial) public funds on a case which,to any reasonable observer,was highly questionable.

We,the people who directly fund the DPP`s salary are surely entitled to hear an explanation of his reasoning for bringing this travesty of a case to court.

The DPP may not even be aware of it,but ill-considered decisions or worse still,decisions such as this which might tend to infer that the DPP`s office is awash with as many stimulants as the complainants had ingested,are inflicting great and lasting harm on the general principle of law in Ireland.

It is perhaps time to seek the pulling back of the curtain from the DPP`s office and to allow public scrutiny of the decision making process which,to many observers,appears to derive from Criminal Minds rather than Legal one`s.

John O Keefe is incorrect when he says

Shame on us all.

but the officials involved in this piece of damaging anti-social nonsense should most certainly feel some shame !! :mad:

PrimalTherapy

1922 wrote: »

fixed that there for ya

so anyone who complains about a garda is an interfering busy body ?

Zambia

I presumed 1922 meant in this case. I would say he would be right.