A FORMER garda has secured €468,000 compensation from the High Court after it found that three incidents he was involved in had, as a matter of probability, resulted in his having to retire early in 2005.
In one incident, an apparent bogus call lured the garda into a trap, the court was told. It found that a large half-tonne wooden spool of cable which rolled in front of Garda Liam Farrell's patrol car, leading to a significant collision, was maliciously pushed.
The claim was brought under the Garda Compensation Acts by Mr Farrell (47), who was stationed in Cork at the time of the events.
In making the award, Ms Justice Mary Irvine said she was satisfied on the evidence that Mr Farrell would have been promoted to sergeant if he had not been forced to retire from the force in 2005.
The judge was also satisfied he had established that, but for the three events, he would probably have been able to continue with his work as a member of An Garda Síochána until retirement age.
She said the first of the three incidents complained of occurred on October 17th, 1997, when Garda Farrell attended a domestic dispute between a husband and wife. While trying to evict the husband from the home, he was pushed down the stairs, sustaining significant soft tissue injuries to his neck, back, shoulder and ribs.
The second incident occurred on November 8th, 1997, during a disturbance outside McDonald's restaurant, Patrick Street, Cork. While trying to handcuff a prisoner, a struggle occurred causing Garda Farrell to fall to the ground as a result of which his previous injuries were exacerbated.
The third incident took place at 5.30am on October 2nd, 2000, when he was driving a patrol car at Kilmore Road, Cork, on the lookout for some youths who had been reported as acting suspiciously. A large wooden spool of cable had suddenly emerged in front of his patrol car, causing a significant collision, resulting in the car's airbag being activated.
Ms Justice Irvine said she had no difficulty whatsoever in concluding the spool of cable was maliciously pushed on to the roadway.
The State had argued that Mr Farrell had not established that the three incidents were the cause of him being discharged from the force in 2005.