A detective garda yesterday told the tribunal that as he trained his gun on John Carthy as he lay on the ground, it became clear that Mr Carthy's vital signs had "changed within that second".
Det Garda Joseph Finnegan, with the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) at the siege, said Mr Carthy had turned to look at him with a blank stare and seemed to be in pain.
He told the tribunal that when Mr Carthy fell after being shot by his colleagues, he went over to him, training his machine-gun on him and placing his left foot on Mr Carthy's right foot.
Mr John Rogers SC, for the Garda Síochána, said that the previous day counsel for the Carthy family suggested to him that this was in some way "gung-ho".
Garda Finnegan said: "I totally disagree with that statement."
Mr Rogers asked the detective what his duty was when he saw Mr Carthy fall.
"My duty was to approach John Carthy and cover him, and make sure he wasn't a threat," Garda Finnegan stated. Mr Carthy's gun fell two feet away and was reachable.
"John had a very blank stare. He didn't acknowledge me. I would have said he looked around at me all right but it was blank and at that stage it was clear that he was badly injured and his vital signs all changed within that second," he said.
He said within a short space of time an extreme effort was made by himself and his colleagues to help Mr Carthy. "I would have assumed at that stage that he was seriously injured from the feedback I was getting from John - his blank stare, the way his body was tense and the pain that he seemed to be in," Garda Finnegan said.
The tribunal, which is inquiring into the fatal shooting of Mr Carthy on April 20th, 2000, after a 26-hour siege, at Abbeylara, Co Longford, was adjourned yesterday for two weeks.
The first module on events leading up to the shooting and the ERU role has been completed after 82 days, apart from evidence from one or two witnesses.
The next module will concern forensic evidence and a number of expert witnesses will be called, including the State Pathologist, Prof John Harbison.
Mr Justice Barr adjourned the hearings until December 2nd.