Garda pepper sprays handcuffed homless man on ground

suicide_circus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xssyCecm2TY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cecm2TY
Location: Henry Street, Dublin 1

Ok clearly we don't know what preceded the start of the video - there is usually selective editing in these types of clips - but on first viewing this dosn't look good. The guy is handcuffed and also appears to be pretty sluggish and out of it. The Garda sprays him a couple of times and stands on his leg. Any more infor on this? Opinions?

DoYouEvenLift

Video's not working, is it removed?

suicide_circus

sorry, should work now

kneemos

Seems to be aggressive to me.

SIX PACK

Well if the individual in the doorway complied with the Garda their wouldn't be any need to make video.

jaykay74

Selective editing = propaganda in my book. Why did he not put up the whole clip for people to judge?

kneemos

Why was he handcuffed?

Phoebas

Looks quite bad on the face of it.

Its also made the front of the Mirror the morning and was picked up by RTE Radio 1 news, and Ruth Copponger and Peter McVerry are chiming in, so I expect it'll get some legs.

http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/fury-garda-pepper-sprays-homeless-5341567

Regardless of whether the guy was failing to follow a Garda instruction, standing on him seems unnecessary.

But as has been said, we don't know the full story. The guy may be known to the Gardaí and may have a history of violence - the Garda had apparently called for backup including a 'riot van'.

punisher5112

The guy tried to get up a number of times. Didn't see any pepper spray been used.

There was a big crowd around and cop on his own so obviously was waiting for van to transport.

Ah heeeererr why ya hav stand his leg like that, ah leeeve him alone, I have this on camera.

Such wonderful people to have around in a bad situation.

The guy was probably wanted or was found with drugs or didn't comply with cops orders who knows as the video is only short and is rubbish to be honest.

Phoebas

By the way, we don't see the Garda using pepper spray in the video. He seems to have pepper spray in his hand, but doesn't use it.

It looks like the Garda is trying to keep the guy in a prone position while his backup arrives.

ratracer

Can't see that the garda done too much wrong there. Didn't actually see him use the pepper spray, he was protecting himself by restraining the guys leg.

But wait, this probably doesn't suit this forum....

fedor.2.

God, that accent. It always sends shivers down my spine.

Sunnyisland

kneemos wrote: »

Seems to be aggressive to me.

SIX PACK wrote: »

Well if the individual in the doorway complied with the Garda their wouldn't be any need to make video.

DIT student Philip Campion, 20, uploaded the video on Facebook with the message: “This happened on my way home from college yesterday.

“It’s absolutely outrageous behaviour by a garda on Henry Street in Dublin.

“A poor homeless man was treated like an animal when a garda tried to arrest him.

“He pushed him against the floor and pepper-sprayed him in the eyes when the poor man was clearly not making any sort of an attack or movement towards the garda.

“He then stood there with his leg on the man as if the man was going to run somewhere. This is the sort of thing that really p***es me off.”

In the video, a member of An Garda Siochana can be seen speaking to a man sleeping rough. He has a can of pepper spray in his hand and it looks as if he used it on the man.

Reaching down and picking something up from behind the man, the officer then pushes him back as he tries to stand up.
A video which appears to show a guard pepper-spraying a handcuffed “homeless man” has sparked outrage.

Link to Article: http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/fury-garda-pepper-sprays-homeless-5341567

_Brian

Is this not like posting " painter dips brush in paint and paints wall"
Really, these selectively edited or shot videos are just rubbish. Garda, police or whatever law enforcement deal with all levels of crime and scum on a regular basis, I've no problem with them defending themselves and using the tools at hand to subdue people.

It's like the recent thread titled " police shoot homeless man" really what a sham, they shot a man who was suspected of a robbery, and ended pulling a gun of an officer and pointing it at them- and he was homeless.

endacl

What's the story with all these videos being sideways/upside down?

Phoebas

realies wrote: »

Campaigner Fr Peter McVerry said he found it “absolutely shocking” and that the officer could behave “so blatantly” shows a “culture of impunity” within the force.

Is McVerry making this sweeping assessment based solely on the video? Pretty irresponsible of him if he is.

kneemos

endacl wrote: »

What's the story with all these videos being sideways/upside down?

Dunno . He's a DIT student apparently.

The Moldy Gowl

Your man was probably an agressive junkie and back up was on the war which is why he was holding him down.

the_monkey

endacl wrote: »

What's the story with all these videos being sideways/upside down?

Of the the many side effects when you let an idiot use a camera

Streetwalker

Hopefully the cop gets fired. We can do with less of these thugs on the beat. Hope he never has to spend a night sleeping rough nothing but a fuc king coward.

Timberrrrrrrr

Have watched that 4 times now, guard has pepper spray in his hand and certainly points it in the guys direction but there is no indication that it was used. Fwiw if he had been pepper sprayed i don't think he would have been lying there as calmly as he was.

The Moldy Gowl

Streetwalker wrote: »

Hopefully the cop gets fired. We can do with less of these thugs on the beat. Hope he never has to spend a night sleeping rough nothing but a fuc king coward.

It was the middle of the day.

Timberrrrrrrr

Streetwalker wrote: »

Hopefully the cop gets fired. We can do with less of these thugs on the beat. Hope he never has to spend a night sleeping rough nothing but a fuc king coward.

Fired for what?

Tzardine

These type of videos piss me off. 1 whole minute of footage.

I don't see anything wrong. And to be honest if the lad is cuffed and has been sprayed then it is likely that he was aggressive before this convienantly edited clip.

The Garda is telling him not to move and he is still trying to get up so he is restraining him by standing on his leg while he waits for help. I don't hear the guy screaming in agony. It does not look like there is much pressure on the leg.

I feel sorry for our gardai. Not only do they have to deal with the scum of the earth (in general, not necessarily this homeless lad ) but they also have to deal with the do-gooders and the likes of the Muppets who stood around filming this clip.

Red Alert

The anti-Gardai sentiment seen here (and from both "journalists" and commenters on that comic known as the Journal.ie) is disgusting. The garda seems to be restraining the man in a normal fashion while he is taunted and harassed by junkie-sounding passers by.

Uriel.

There's some fiercely sensitive souls around. Aggressive policing my a$$.

McVerry is a gobsh1te if he did make those comments that are attributed to him, but I expect nothing less

conorh91

Realistically, what are the chances this Garda 'targeted' a homeless man for no reason?

I pass about twenty people sitting or lying in doorways on an average day in the city. So does everyone who walks around the city. I have never seen these people molested by AGS.

In fact, if Gardaí were to go about molesting and arresting individuals sitting in doorways, our streets would be clear of homeless people altogether.

Clearly, this doesn't happen

So something else is happening here.

When I see Gardaí arresting a person, I presume they're suspected of having committed a criminal offence. Doesn't everyone? Of course we do.

There is no reason why that presumption should change, simply because a person appears to be homeless.

Guy:Incognito

Uriel. wrote: »

McVerry is a gobsh1te if he did make those comments that are attributed to him, but I expect nothing less

You tend to see this with many of these advocates for different things. The people they are involved with are , to a man, the nicest, least violent , most misunderstood people on the planet and the rest of us are just victimising them.

TBH, such one sided view doesn't do them many favours.

Slicemeister

He should've taken him home and given him a cup of tay and a bed for the afternoon.

maniac2000

I can't believe this is even up for discussion.. Firstly we don't know what happened prior to this clip being recorded. The fact that the guy on the ground is handcuffed means the Guard probably had reason to do so. Secondly this is a slap on the back of the hand compared to police forces worldwide. If you think this is heavy handed then I wouldn't advise you to search 'NYPD' into YouTube.

Juts because this guy looks homeless or otherwise doesn't mean that the guard can't protect himself. Whats to say this guy wouldn't swing his leg and kick the Guard? besides this you can see the guy on the ground moving around so if the idiot just sat there this probably wouldn't be an issue.

Anyways if you call that standing on somebody then you need your head checked. He clearly has his heel on the ground so I don't label this as 'standing on a homeless man'

cloud493

So... the gardai hasn't really done anything wrong? Not unlike all those videos the water protestors kept uploading about 'gardai brutality' that turned out to be ****e as well.

FTA69

Red Alert wrote: »

The anti-Gardai sentiment seen here (and from both "journalists" and commenters on that comic known as the Journal.ie) is disgusting. The garda seems to be restraining the man in a normal fashion while he is taunted and harassed by junkie-sounding passers by.

I don't see too much anti-Garda sentiment on this threat, the majority of posters here seem to automatically have designated the homeless man on the ground as some sort of wanton criminal and those who were watching as junkie/dole types for the temerity of having working class Dublin accents.

The Guards have a proclivity for being heavy-handed and quick with their fists, the concept of a cop being a complete prick isn't hugely far fetched in my eyes.

mackeire

Timberrrrrrrr wrote:

Fired for what?

For doing his job 😱

LDN_Irish

Red Alert wrote: »

The anti-Gardai sentiment seen here...

Seen where? 3 pages and every poster bar one has either said that the garda must be justified or there's not enough to go on. One person wants him fired and one wanted the garda to make him a cup of tea. All the far leftists that are supposed to be on here must be having a lie in.

conorh91

LDN_Irish wrote: »

All the far leftists that are supposed to be on here must be having a lie in.

They'll still be in bed… utopian idealism doesn't rise until Hollyoaks

JohnnyChimpo

Stupid sensationalist title. OP must be pretty starved for attention

Phil Mitchell

I support our boys in blue. Stop resisting.

Guy:Incognito

LDN_Irish wrote: »

Seen where? 3 pages and every poster bar one has either said that the garda must be justified or there's not enough to go on. One person wants him fired and one wanted the garda to make him a cup of tea. All the far leftists that are supposed to be on here must be having a lie in.

1 page if you're doing it right

North of 32

It seems to me that a large segment of the Irish population has the same relationship with authority as a bratty seven year old would have.

anncoates

Some lucky dissident will be getting ridden solid in the students union bar all week anyway.

North of 32

FTA69 wrote: »

The Guards have a proclivity for being heavy-handed and quick with their fists, the concept of a cop being a complete prick isn't hugely far fetched in my eyes.

There is no such proclivity. There is no evidence for that; only videos with sensationalist titles.

Moreover, if anyone did have cause for heavy-handedness, it would be the Gardaí considering they deal with criminals.

FTA69

North of 32 wrote: »

There is no such proclivity. There is no evidence for that; only videos with sensationalist titles.

Moreover, if anyone did have cause for heavy-handedness, it would be the Gardaí considering they deal with criminals.

B*llocks. Do you remember the Reclaim the Streets debacle when cops with no identification numbers went around battering people with impunity? Anyone from a working class estate will know the cops are well able to dish out the digs, I've seen it myself more than once.

Unfortunately there is a culture within the Guards that tends to view all people from certain areas in an adversarial manner and this often lends itself to violence and cases of brutality. I'm not a member of the "All Guards Are Bastards" brigade, but at the same time I can recognise that there is a host of unsavoury attitudes within the force that is replicated in police forces across the world.

G_R

realies wrote: »

DIT student Philip Campion, 20, uploaded the video on Facebook with the message: “This happened on my way home from college yesterday.

“It’s absolutely outrageous behaviour by a garda on Henry Street in Dublin.

“A poor homeless man was treated like an animal when a garda tried to arrest him.

“He pushed him against the floor and pepper-sprayed him in the eyes when the poor man was clearly not making any sort of an attack or movement towards the garda.

“He then stood there with his leg on the man as if the man was going to run somewhere. This is the sort of thing that really p***es me off.”

In the video, a member of An Garda Siochana can be seen speaking to a man sleeping rough. He has a can of pepper spray in his hand and it looks as if he used it on the man.

Reaching down and picking something up from behind the man, the officer then pushes him back as he tries to stand up.
A video which appears to show a guard pepper-spraying a handcuffed “homeless man” has sparked outrage.

Link to Article: http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/fury-garda-pepper-sprays-homeless-5341567

Mod
For future reference, realies, you can't post a whole article - just a few paragraphs, and you must always include a link to the source, so we stay the right side of copyright law.

Cheers

Cienciano

File this along with police brutality against water protesters and shell to sea protesters. Nothing to see here, as with all these videos the garda did nothing wrong and the video is too short with no context.

For Forks Sake

anncoates wrote: »

Some lucky dissident will be getting ridden solid in the students union bar all week anyway.

Johnny dissidentnotpayingwaterchargesf*ckthepolice Student.

Greenmachine

Agree with most of the other poster. At one point the guy recording say, I have been recording you the last five 5 minute. Somehow the video just over a minute long. If the garda had really been misbehaving why is the clip so short. It is also daytime. Maybe he was blocking staff or customers from entering the store.

Little CuChulainn

Timberrrrrrrr wrote: »

Have watched that 4 times now, guard has pepper spray in his hand and certainly points it in the guys direction but there is no indication that it was used. Fwiw if he had been pepper sprayed i don't think he would have been lying there as calmly as he was.

I think he was pepper sprayed before the video. He seems to have his hands to his eyes. Pepper spray subdues a person.

Red Alert wrote: »

The anti-Gardai sentiment seen here (and from both "journalists" and commenters on that comic known as the Journal.ie) is disgusting. The garda seems to be restraining the man in a normal fashion while he is taunted and harassed by junkie-sounding passers by.

It's good click bait.

conorh91 wrote: »

Realistically, what are the chances this Garda 'targeted' a homeless man for no reason?

Realistically, all Gardaí hate arresting homeless people and junkies. It tends to be a horrible experience.

FTA69 wrote: »

B*llocks. Do you remember the Reclaim the Streets debacle when cops with no identification numbers went around battering people with impunity?

13 years ago right?

Guy:Incognito

FTA69 wrote: »

B*llocks. Do you remember the Reclaim the Streets debacle when cops with no identification numbers went around battering people with impunity? Anyone from a working class estate will know the cops are well able to dish out the digs, I've seen it myself more than once.

Unfortunately there is a culture within the Guards that tends to view all people from certain areas in an adversarial manner and this often lends itself to violence and cases of brutality. I'm not a member of the "All Guards Are Bastards" brigade, but at the same time I can recognise that there is a host of unsavoury attitudes within the force that is replicated in police forces across the world.

I'm from a working class estate and havn't experienced anything like that. Maybe its more the individual people and not the area?The lads I grew up with have all gone on to be productive members of society. Maybe keeping better company gives you different experiences ? quelle surprise.

LeeMajors

jaykay74 wrote: »

Selective editing = propaganda in my book. Why did he not put up the whole clip for people to judge?

Maybe that is the whole clip?
Do you think people just go round all day filming everything in case something like this happens?
Either way, the guy is lying on the ground, handcuffed, when the copper sprays him.
Disciplinary action should follow in my opinion.

Guy:Incognito

LeeMajors wrote: »

Maybe that is the whole clip?
Do you think people just go round all day filming everything in case something like this happens?
Either way, the guy is lying on the ground, handcuffed, when the copper sprays him.
Disciplinary action should follow in my opinion.

Do you not find it at all odd that all these clips conveniently start at the time most suitable? Some coincidence.

Nobody seems to be able to say for certain that the pepper spray was even used in the video.

EDIT, Looking at it up close in full screen on a 28" monitor and I cant see him spraying him at all. He points his hand towards him a couple of times but when he pulls It back his finger is pointed. All I see is him gesturing with his finger while hes telling someone what to do.

It would seem completely at odds with videos put up by protesters that are pepper sprayed too where they are screaming and saying how they are blind. This guy seems awful calm in comparison.

Grays Sports Almanac

Good on him. They don't use it enough.

Some of those crusty protesters and scumbags who regularly harass the Gardaí when they're trying to do their job could do with a pepper sprayin' too!