Complaining about a Garda

I work in a job where I sometimes have to deal with Garda on the phone. I had a phone call from one and when I explained I couldn’t comply with his request (it’s not possible within my particular job) he was incredibly rude and threatened to put me in his investigative notes to his superintendent.

I got a bit of a shock and decided to ring his station to make a complaint but suddenly felt worried because he has my name and where I work. It’s crazy that this is how many of us feel about Gards.

I feel something must be said and my colleague is of the same opinion but honestly, I’d just be afraid to go up against a Gard.

Do you reckon you would feel the same AH or am I over thinking it?

gr8 m8

Hello.

If you have nothing to hide then go hard. Keep your records and if it gets out of control then any judge is not going to care what a guard says, just because he happens to be a guard! I've seen guards in court tore to pieces by judges for doing something wrong.

They are exactly the same as the rest of us in court!

gr8 m8

gr8 m8 wrote: »

Hello.

If you have nothing to hide then go hard. Keep your records and if it gets out of control then any judge is not going to care what a guard says, just because he happens to be a guard! I've seen guards in court tore to pieces by judges for doing something wrong.

They are exactly the same as the rest of us in court!

Do you think I could be called to court over the investigation and questioned as to why I didn’t comply??

suicide_circus

Deleted User wrote: »

Do you think I could be called to court over the investigation and questioned as to why I didn’t comply??

if you really could not do whatever it was for a legitimate reason then i would relish the opportunity.

"As i told Garda xxxxx at the time, i could not do xxxx due to xxxxx at which time he threatened me with xxxxx"

gr8 m8

Hello.

Sorry, I didn't mean that it would ever come near a court. What I mean is that they are just people like anyone else. If you are doing your job then they can't demand that you do more!

But if they insist on throwing their weight around then don't be afraid to put them in check! I don't mind the guards, most I have dealt with (which has been few and far between) were grand but the odd one thinks that they are above the law in some misguided ways. They are not, they enforce the law and are paid to do so!

If he knows your name then the next time he gets sassy just ask for his badge number, then you are on equal footing. If he persists then ask to speak to his boss.

Actually, the best response to that guard may have been to ask for his number and also ask for a number for his superintendent and tell him that you would explain the matter yourself!

Did you comply after he said that to you?

judeboy101

Never, ever go against a guard. Look what they did to one of their own (McCabe). Individually they can be sound but they have a herd mentality beat into them in tipp that puts the organisation first, duty second.

gr8 m8

Hello.

You are comparing mountains to mole hills.

He is explaining to a guard that he can't help him further because he is not allowed to do so due to whatever regulations he is subjected too! If he breaks those rules, will the guard make sure he is not sacked? Will the guard pay his morgage or rent?

McCabe brought down a circle of corruption that ran into the center of the Garda organization (and I would shake his hand if I ever got to meet him)! But what McCabe did was HUGE!!!

And he isn't going up against the guard, he is simply doing his job!

judeboy101

gr8 m8 wrote: »

Hello.

You are comparing mountains to mole hills.

He is explaining to a guard that he can't help him further because he is not allowed to do so due to whatever regulations he is subjected too! If he breaks those rules, will the guard make sure he is not sacked? Will the guard pay his morgage or rent?

McCabe brought down a circle of corruption that ran into the center of the Garda organization (and I would shake his hand if I ever got to meet him)! But what McCabe did was HUGE!!!

And he isn't going up against the guard, he is simply doing his job!

Tell that to the mcbreaty's

pleas advice

I wouldn't trust judges either to look at things in an objective fashion, if it was me I'd stick to my guns because i've f*** all to lose, but ...

gr8 m8

Hello.

"Tell that to the mcbreaty's"
I'm not trying to be awkward here but again wasn't that a a hit and run that was believed to have been a Garda cover up?

Again, that is HUGE!!!

Was this guard looking for sealed information about a murder or some other tragic event? Because if it is then the op might be expecting a warrant or court order or whatever!

And if it's that big then it won't be left to the lad on the telephone to make the decision (no offense sir)!

judeboy101

"believed"?? Are you having a laugh? One Garda, ONE, got the hump with frank jr and the WHOLE NW division takes on a personal vendetta against the entire family. It happens everyday in this country, but not everyone has the bravery of a mccabe or a mcbrearty to do sometime as the outcome is devastating. I'm from that area and to this day the family still have to watch themselves very carefully when guards around. If gsoc has shown us anything it's that the gsc are a law unto themselves and not accountable.

gr8 m8

Look sir, it's not a case I am knowledgeable about. I'm not saying that there are not crazy low life guards out there. I'm only saying that the op probably doesn't have to worry about retaliation over such a jumped up lad on the phone that happens to be a guard.

Do you mind me asking what that man in your area was supposed to have done in order for the guards to come after him? I'll have to Google that case.

judeboy101

gr8 m8 wrote: »

Look sir, it's not a case I am knowledgeable about. I'm not saying that there are not crazy low life guards out there. I'm only saying that the op probably doesn't have to worry about retaliation over such a jumped up lad on the phone that happens to be a guard.

Do you mind me asking what that man in your area was supposed to have done in order for the guards to come after him? I'll have to Google that case.

No offence but you must be living under a rock to not know about ags and the mcbreartys.these were not low life ags, this was an entire division that turned against one family due to a perceived 'slight' against one guard. They said it would never happen again, that an entire division would turn bad, but then we had mccabe. The nature of ags , their training and the lack of protections that citizens have against them allows this.

_Brian

I presume OP offered to pass the guard up the food chain to their manager to see if the request could be handled ??

There are so many different ways of saying no I can’t do that, attitude can be everything.

Then on the flip side guards are just people, like anyone in a job same as OP, attitude is everything and some are just arseholes.

If OP is 100% right and straight on this I’d just sit tight and let it pass innthe understanding that in all our jobs we have to deal with morons who try and bully their way in life.

gr8 m8

judeboy101 wrote: »

No offence but you must be living under a rock to not know about ags and the mcbreartys.these were not low life ags, this was an entire division that turned against one family due to a perceived 'slight' against one guard. They said it would never happen again, that an entire division would turn bad, but then we had mccabe. The nature of ags , their training and the lack of protections that citizens have against them allows this.

Wow Jude boy!
I was something like 12 years old when it happened! Unless it was widely covered on cartoon Network I probably didn't pay much attention to it!

Samuel T. Cogley

Just tell him to feck off and write what he likes in his little notepad. Have some balls and deal with him head on.

Ash.J.Williams

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

Just tell him to feck off and write what he likes in his little notepad. Have some balls and deal with him head on.

that's pretty much it

judeboy101

gr8 m8 wrote: »

Wow Jude boy!
I was something like 12 years old when it happened! Unless it was widely covered on cartoon Network I probably didn't pay much attention to it!

Hope your sitting down for this, but before you were born there were 2, yes 2, world wars!! And , wait for it, a man WALKED on the moon!!!!the Irish have an amazing capacity to forget and ignore their own wrongdoings.

judeboy101

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

that's pretty much it

Good luck with that, you'll soon be randomly stopped in your car some night and done for some minor infraction using discretionary powers.

gr8 m8

judeboy101 wrote: »

Hope your sitting down for this, but before you were born there were 2, yes 2, world wars!! And , wait for it, a man WALKED on the moon!!!!the Irish have an amazing capacity to forget and ignore their own wrongdoings.

Haha, so you are telling me that you were that man that walked on the moon?

I'm only joking with you sir. I'm not trying to start an argument with you, I just didn't know about that case is all! From what I read about it, I agree that it was scandalous how people were treated and the carry on by the guards in that case. I saw the television coverage of McCabe and again it was terrible beyond measure how they attacked him! So we agree?

But the odds are that such a situation will not be the outcome of this person's dealings. Sure it could happen, but what are his options? Give the guard everything he asks for at the expense of his job?

The original poster was looking for opinions about what he should or could do about this aggressive phone call and I'm just posting my opinion back.

rgodard80a

Deleted User wrote: »

...and threatened to put me in his investigative notes to his superintendent.

That's hardly much of a threat.
In his report he'd write "X refused to give out information".

Next time, just tell him he has to escalate whatever information request to your boss/owners/directors of the company.
Unless your boss gives you explicit permission to release that information in future.

If the guards really need to, I imagine they can get a warrant/court order to force your company (not you named specifically) to release the information.

If they were calling over a phone, there's no guarantees someone wasn't impersonating a guard to get information.

So I wouldn't worry about it.
Your boss should set out a company policy for dealing with these situations.

judeboy101

It happens every day, most ppl just knuckle their forehead and show their belly. Ags have insane discretionary powers in this country and we have very little protection from them. Even something as simple as a refusal to answer a question can land you with a criminal record, same goes with refusal to 'move on'.

gr8 m8

Hello again.

From my understanding, Irish law and British law are quite similar however there are slight difference where British law has more regulations to make sure that police don't run away with theirselves while Irish law empowers the guards a little more!

If British police ask you for your name you don't have to give it but you do have to give it to a guard because there is some way they can get around you legally!

But if a guard stops me on the street for my name I just tell them. It's on my bank card is just how I look at it! The guard can't do anything with it really. If he looks me up on pulse I understand that he has to log onto it and a record is kept that he looked me up!

He can't really just show up at my house on duty because he would have to have a reason and if he stopped me in the car then he would have to have a reason also and be assigned to that area I'm guessing! plus, if the car is taxed, insured, on reasonable tyres with the lights working and I haven't been drinking then what can he do really? They are not mechanics. yellow lights on the dash doesn't make the car dangerous and if it's a red light then I will be looking to get it fixed ASAP for my own contentment.

As long as the op isn't growing pot in his attic or something sinister then he can't go around scared all the time of some renegade cop with a vendetta!

Deebles McBeebles

Wasn't this guy by any chance OP?

He was a cop, and good at his job, but he committed the ultimate sin—and testified against other cops gone bad. Cops that tried to kill him, but got the woman he loved instead. Framed for murder, now he prowls the badlands...an outlaw hunting outlaws...a bounty hunter...a RENEGADE.

Kermit.de.frog

gr8 m8 you don't have to put "hello" as a preface to every post.

odyssey06

Ask for the request in writing so that it can be referred to your legal department to ensure you are compliant with all regulations before the release of any information. That'll end it.

gr8 m8

Kermit.de.frog wrote: »

gr8 m8 you don't have to put "hello" as a preface to every post.

I know, but I like doing it! when I go back to read over the tread I use it to make my own messages stand out at a glance.

Sometimes I say "hello again" just to shake it up a bit and keep people guessing!

gr8 m8

gr8 m8 wrote: »

I know, but I like doing it! when I go back to read over the tread I use it to make my own messages stand out at a glance.

Sometimes I say "hello again" just to shake it up a bit and keep people guessing!

Hello gr8 m8

You keep doing your thing!

The best thing would have been to say you would need to speak to your supvispr or manager. Then get your supervisor oe manager to talk to the Garda in question and decide from there if it should be taken further.

Raging_Ninja

mariaalice wrote: »

The best thing would have been to say you would need to speak to your supvispr or manager. Then get your supervisor oe manager to talk to the Garda in question and decide from there if it should be taken further.

This.

If you know you shouldn't do something but are worried about the consequences of saying that, escalate it to your manager and let them be the one to deal with it. No need to go around taking stands, it's not worth the hassle.

If you did give out information you weren't supposed to and it ended up in front of the courts or DPC then you're the one out out on your arse and would be (justifiably) fired by the company.