A team from the Garda Ombudsman Commission has begun its investigation into the death of a Polish man who had been in Garda custody. The man has been named locally as Dariuz Dobron (42), a married man whose wife and children live in Poland, and who worked in construction in Cork.
The eight-member team consists of former policemen from other jurisdictions and Irish members of the commission.
It is the first time that the new commission, which took office last month, has investigated a death in such circumstances. They were dispatched within an hour of the announcement that the man had died on Sunday afternoon.
Mr Dobron was taken into custody at Tralee Garda station in the early hours of Sunday morning on suspicion of being involved in a sexual assault in the Monavalley area of the town.
He had been visited by his solicitor Pat Mann and a Polish translator at midday, but was found unconscious in his cell at about 2pm and taken to Kerry General Hospital, Tralee where he was pronounced dead a short time afterwards. A ligature was found around his neck, although he was not found hanging.
State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy carried out a postmortem yesterday afternoon. The results were made known to the commission team, but have not been made public yet. They will report to the three-member commission who, in turn, will issue a report which could be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions if necessary.
Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy has appointed Supt Frank O'Brien, from Roxboro Garda station in Limerick, to handle the Garda investigation into the death.
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