Gardai escape despite video evidence

A number of gardaí on duty during the Reclaim the Streets protest in Dublin last May have avoided disciplinary action because fellow officers refused to identify them, the Garda Complaints Board has said.

Mr Gordon Holmes, the board's chairman, said there were seven or eight gardaí who could not be identified in the course of its investigations despite video evidence of inappropriate baton use.

Action has been taken, how- ever, against almost 30 officers, most for failure to wear identifying letters and numbers. Seven gardaí are facing charges in relation to assault.

Expressing concern at a "general lack of co-operation" from gardaí on duty, Mr Holmes said he couldn't help feeling that many gardaí had put loyalty to their colleagues ahead of that to the force.

All 150 officers who had been policing the event were written to by the board, but only 20-25 had responded. Particularly disturbing, said Mr Holmes, was the fact that not one garda had been able to identify another member of the force for the board.

Nor did any garda supply evidence or material which might have suggested a colleague was involved in conduct which would have constituted a breach of discipline.

Twelve protesters were arrested and a similar number required medical treatment as a result of Garda action at the demonstration.

Last night a senior source in the Garda Representative Association said it was examining the legal implications of Mr Holmes's comments. Separately, the group's general secretary, Mr P.J. Stone, said the comments "clearly displayed a perception of bias".