The case of a garda who was suspended and placed under criminal investigation for lending a man an unclaimed bicycle during the Covid-19 pandemic has left a “shameful stain” on the force, the Garda Representative Association (GRA) has said.
Det Gda Eamon Cunnane was joined on stage at the GRA’s annual conference in Westport, Co Mayo, by gardaí from Limerick and Clare who were suspended as part of an inquiry into the handling of penalty points.
The conference heard Cunnane “endured severe trauma and distress” as a result of being “wrongly suspended for years on end”.
The conference heard Cunnane was “left isolated by many of his superiors”, and that the investigation took a toll on his health, his reputation and his “standing in the community”, with his wife and children also impacted.
READ MORE
Cunnane received a standing ovation alongside seven gardaí who were suspended for allegedly “squaring” penalty points – Tom McGlynchy, Niall Deegan, Peter O’Donnell, Paul Baynham, Alan Griffin, John Shanahan and Co Clare garda Colm Geary.
Of the seven suspended gardaí, two were charged but found not guilty, three were charged but never prosecuted and the remaining two were suspended but never charged. The investigations into the gardaí was described as a “witch hunt” by GRA representative for the Limerick division, Frank Thornton.
Cunnane, who is based in the Midlands, was suspended for more than three years after he gave a bicycle from a Garda station to an older man in his community who required it following a knee injury.
The conference heard what happened next “was a shameful stain on the organisation we all work for,” GRA representative for Westmeath Michael Ryan said.
Six members of the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI) unit arrived at Cunnane’s door at 7am on June 4th, 2020.
[ Garda chiefs ‘overzealous’ and too quick to suspend officers, GRA saysOpens in new window ]
Cunnane was not notified that he was under investigation prior to the execution of the search warrant on his home, the GRA representative said.
Ryan said it was a case of a rural garda engaging in community policing and lending an unclaimed bicycle to a vulnerable member of the local community during the pandemic.
For that act, he was “suspended and left languishing for over three years, not knowing what would happen next. He was given no proper information or direction”.
“He was simply told he was under investigation, presumably guilty, until he would prove his innoFcence,” Ryan said.
Despite the Director of Public Prosecutions directing that no prosecution or charges should be brought 10 months after that, Ryan said the suspension continued “for a further three years”.
He said comments made by former Garda Commissioner Drew Harris at an Oireachtas committee that not all of the facts on the matter were public, prolonged the ordeal for Cunnane.
The detective is to receive some €260,000 in damages following a confidential settlement in his civil damages case against the force and the Government in advance of a full High Court trial.
Cunnane declined to speak directly to the media.
The GRA is seeking a review of the suspension process and a motion calling for an independent appeals mechanism over suspensions to be put in place.
Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said the force’s internal investigation processes have “changed quite considerably” since the time of Cunnane’s case.
He told reporters at the conference that all “incidents of concern” are now referred to Fiosrú, the policing ombudsman, for investigation rather than the GNBCI.
Regarding the number of gardaí under long-term suspensions, Kelly said the Garda is obliged to investigate and gather evidence about any alleged offences it becomes aware of. He said the “lengthy” court and prosecution processes that can follow are out of the Garda’s hands.
