Off-duty Garda seriously assaulted in his own home.

The Gardai will put huge resources into finding these scumbags. I'm sure that they'll resist arrest too.

Hopefully he recovers and gets back to work.

Are off duty cops in other countries not allowed to bring there service gun home? I had it in my head that they could bring it home

sealgaire wrote: »

no its not a reason for them to be armed and comments here (by I'm guessing serving members) should be reported to ombudsman

That someone said that the Gardai should be allowed to keep a (pistol?) at home for cases such as this? Report away, my dear boy.

Hope the Guard makes a full recovery and is able to return to service. Was this a targeted attack, or coincidental that the house these guys broke into just happened to be a Guards house? the story was unclear about that aspect so i just want some clarity.. Hopefully they are caught. As mentioned above by Fuh_Q, i am a firm believer that if someone breaks into a house they automatically give up their rights and should have to accept whatever happens to them therein...

H

What has him being a garda have to do with it? Does this make the crime somehow worse than if it was you or I?

Nowhere (that I have read) has a link been made between him being a garda and the crime, it seems that it was a break-in and it happened to be a garda's house.

While I fully respect the work done by the Garda, I'm not sure why the story is with him being on off suty garda. Will the next story be about an off duty accountant. Possibly an off duty Tesco worker?

This crime is terrible, but no more or less terrible than if he hadn't been a garda. It's like when an off duty garda has a car crash etc, does this not just make it a car crash? Why bring his day job into it?

If it turns out that he was targeted because he was a garda, then I for one would argue that the people involved get life in jail as any attack o the garda etc is a direct attack on the state and as such once somebody crosses that line thay are never coming back to being useful to society.

sealgaire wrote: »

No its not a reason for them to be armed and comments here (by I'm guessing serving members) should be reported to ombudsman

I'd suggest guessing again !

A somewhat disquieting example of,what has become almost a by-line in Irish life,the compulsory attempt to dilute and/or excuse evil brutality to further a quasi political stance.......

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/garda-may-lose-sight-in-eye-after-fighting-off-burglars-3320273.html

The 27-year-old community police officer was slashed in the face and stabbed with a screwdriver during a terrifying ordeal.

His wife and young child were also at the house in Tallaght when two men broke in and demanded money at about 2.30am on Saturday morning.

When the garda said there was no money in the house, the intruders took his car keys.

But they couldn't start the car and returned to the house.

Although the garda dialled 999, the raiders grabbed his phone from him and slashed him across the face with a Stanley knife.

His eye was damaged and he is now in danger of losing his sight in one eye.

His lung was punctured when he was stabbed with a screwdriver.

I'm quite confident the Garda Ombudsman has enough to investigate without having to pander to some form of attempt to dehumanize individual Gardai for not being prepared to accept such savagery as an integral part of their Job.

FWIW,I'm not a Garda,and neither would I be a blind supporter of everything the force currently represents,but I sure as hell am not prepared to look upon this (and other recent incidents) in any sort of soft-focus or "understanding" light.

An attack like this,in fact PARTICULARLY such as this,is ample grounds for ensuring serving Gardai can effectively defend themselves and their families...something vitally necessary if WE expect them to provide the same protection to ourselves.

Should you ever have occasion to experience the attentions of savages such as this young man met,then you are most welcome to turn your own and your families other cheek and see if they will be satisfied with that.

AlekSmart wrote: »

I'd suggest guessing again !

A somewhat disquieting example of,what has become almost a by-line in Irish life,the compulsory attempt to dilute and/or excuse evil brutality to further a quasi political stance.......

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/garda-may-lose-sight-in-eye-after-fighting-off-burglars-3320273.html



I'm quite confident the Garda Ombudsman has enough to investigate without having to pander to some form of attempt to dehumanize individual Gardai for not being prepared to accept such savagery as an integral part of their Job.

FWIW,I'm not a Garda,and neither would I be a blind supporter of everything the force currently represents,but I sure as hell am not prepared to look upon this (and other recent incidents) in any sort of soft-focus or "understanding" light.

An attack like this,in fact PARTICULARLY such as this,is ample grounds for ensuring serving Gardai can effectively defend themselves and their families...something vitally necessary if WE expect them to provide the same protection to ourselves.

Should you ever have occasion to experience the attentions of savages such as this young man met,then you are most welcome to turn your own and your families other cheek and see if they will be satisfied with that.

Does the risk of such a burglary not extend to all households, not just those occupied by Gardai?

If so then there is an argument to let everyone arm themselves and we see what's going on in America as to what that looks like.

If that Garda had had a firearm, it would have been fortuitous if he had been able to wound those scum but I don't see it as being reason for arming AGS.

Terrontress wrote: »

Does the risk of such a burglary not extend to all households, not just those occupied by Gardai?

If so then there is an argument to let everyone arm themselves and we see what's going on in America as to what that looks like.

If that Garda had had a firearm, it would have been fortuitous if he had been able to wound those scum but I don't see it as being reason for arming AGS.

Correct and right...however,Sealgaire was quite clear in referring to "them" as in Gardai in general.

Our duty,as "ordinary" citizens,is to report criminal activity to the Gardai and allow them to pursue the investigation of it.

I'm suggesting that in the case of Gardai,and this member specifically,their duties relate to the protection of EVERY other person in the State.

WE,as in every ordinary inhabitant of the State,rely on THEM to protect our lives,property and peace,that reliance can only work if the Gardai can protect themselves adequately.

In this case,a Member has been seriously injured and will most likely be out-sick for some considerable time,thereby depriving US of that protection.

But,yes,if pushed upon it,I would suggest that the severity of this attack,particularly the non-spontaneous nature of the perpetrators returning to the home,merits a significant re-think of Garda Personal Protection Measures,up to and including retention of weapons.

To suggest reporting Members who post here to the Ombudsman for advocating better self-protection is the stuff of lunacy.

Terrontress wrote: »

That's a bit tenuous Alek. We depend on the fire brigade for our safety but that is not sufficient reason to issue them with personal protection firearms because not to do so could leave us with one less fireman in the case of an aggravated burglary.

I wish that Garda had had a gun and shot the legs off those guys,leaving them with a lifetime of severe wounds to act as a reminder of their crimes. But the off chance such an awful crime might be visited on his home is not reason to arm Gardai at home.

I suppose just how tenuous it is kinda depends on how close you were to the Stanley and Screwdriver,but either way it's not worth while debating it as Government Policy is for an unarmed force.

AFAIR,it was Mr McDowell as Minister for Justice,who wondered aloud if Ireland wanted a "Gendarmerie" or similar armed force,before plumping for the tried and trusted Civic Guard model.

As long as Judges feel themselves corralled by interpretations of Supreme Court Judgements,then Criminality,particularly violently inclined will continue to heighten in seriousness.

Automatically suspending portions of custodial sentences in individual cases simply because the Supreme Court has found it a desireable principle,appears to me,to verge on the comical.

bravestar wrote: »

You clearly have little to no understanding about the use of firearms in a defensive situation, which is obvious with a comment like that.

Center of mass... Stop the threat.

You can wish all you want but shooting limbs with the intention of wounding is best left to Hollywood.

After invading the sanctity of the home and wounding that guy so gravely, a chest shot is to good for them. Too much chance of an easy exit.

Anyway, I was just waxing lyrical about what I'd like to have seen.

It is good to see that a PSNI officer in Bangor was able to repel those who had come to murder him with his gun but I had heard that a culture of bureaucracy and fear of sanction led that police officer to have her car petrol bombed without defending herself.