The death of Garda Robbie McCallion highlights the new challenges facing the force in an increasingly violent environment, writes CONOR LALLY, Crime Correspondent
GARDA Robbie McCallion responded to a call-out to Tara Court housing estate in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, just after 4.30am on Wednesday, March 26th, after gardaí had received a call regarding a suspicious vehicle. When he arrived at the scene, he got out of his patrol car and approached a supsicious vehicle containing two young male occupants.
When the teenagers inside saw Garda McCallion approach, they tried to reverse at speed in an effort to escape. They pinned the 29-year-old from Swinford, Co Mayo, against a brick wall. He sustained head injuries and was rushed to hospital. He never regained consciousness.
His life-support machine was switched off on Monday. The following day he died at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, surrounded by members of his family.
Gardaí are being called upon to police an increasingly violent society. But what has shocked his colleagues across the force is the manner in which the seemingly minor Garda operation in Letterkenny escalated in seconds into a serious incident.
The vast majority of the 36 gardaí who have died in the line of duty over the 87-year history of the force have lost their lives in shootings carried out by republicans. The last of these was Det Garda Jerry McCabe, who was shot dead during a botched robbery in Adare, Co Limerick, in June 1996. Since then seven more gardaí have died in the line of duty.
In July 1999, Sgt Andrew Callinan died when a man walked into the foyer of Tallaght Garda station and lit two containers of petrol.
Det Sgt John Eiffe, died in Abbeyleix, Co Laois, in December 2001. He was hit by a bullet mistakenly fired by a Garda colleague during a planned bank raid.
Garda Michael Padden (27) and Garda Anthony Tighe (54) died when their patrol car was hit by joyriders in Stillorgan, south Dublin, in April 2002.
Garda Brian Kelleher (46) was killed when he was struck by a car as he worked to secure the scene of an earlier collision at Barrigone, Foynes, Co Limerick, in February 2007.
AND THE DEATHSof those killed in the line of duty do not tell the full story of the dangers posed to modern gardaí.
Firearms are more plentiful than ever. On average, there are just under five shooting incidents per week across the country and an average of nine illegal firearms are seized every week.
Gangland feuding has also become entrenched over the past decade in a number of Dublin suburbs and in Limerick.
In recent years, one detective investigating the activities of feuding gangs in Dublin’s Crumlin and Drimnagh suburbs – where the death toll from a drug feud has now reached 14 – came out of his house one morning and found a bullet on his car.
The threat to his safety was taken seriously by Garda management, because the suspect had killed before. The detective was transferred to another station.
In Dublin’s north inner city, gardaí have been policing a feud in the Sheriff Street area that has seen three murders and countless non-fatal shootings, stabbings and grenade attacks. In 2005, two members of one of the feuding gangs – Eric Hopkins (24) and Collie Griffin (33) – were shot dead by the Emergency Response Unit during a botched robbery at a post office in Lusk, north Co Dublin.
Griffin ignored warnings to drop his loaded gun and tried to fire at gardaí who were waiting for the raiders inside the post office. It later emerged how close the two gardaí present had come to being wounded or killed. Griffin’s gun was loaded, but not properly. No bullet had been loaded into the chamber, meaning the weapon’s firing motion couldn’t begin. It was a simple loading mistake that most likely saved the gardaí’s lives.
By the time the dead men’s inquests had come around, gardaí had gathered intelligence suggesting the gang wanted to shoot a member of the force in revenge.
The Garda witnesses at the inquest were allowed give evidence from behind a curtain and were not named. And a major security operation was put in place around the Coroner’s Court, with airport-style X-ray machines and metal detectors being used to check everybody entering the court for weapons.
The court was surrounded by armed gardaí, some of whom were stationed on the roof.
In September 2007, Garda Paul Sherlock was shot during a robbery off Dublin’s North Strand, and 12 months earlier Sgt Mark Clarke was shot in Crumlin as he was securing the scene of an earlier shooting. Both survived.
More recently, unarmed gardaí tackled gunmen in two Dublin suburbs this year as they were on their way to carry out what gardaí believe would have been attempted gangland murders.
Knife crime is also on the increase, having risen by 34 per cent in the past two years alone. It poses perhaps a more consistent threat to gardaí than firearms.
In July 2005, Garda David Comer was stabbed in Raheny, Dublin, after he tackled two Chinese men as they attempted to rob fellow Chinese nationals at a house in the village. Garda Comer survived.
ALONG WITH THEincreased amount of weaponry in circulation, gardaí are also encountering more and more members of the public under the influence of drink and drugs.
The more violent nature of Irish society and the lack of fear of, or respect for, members of An Garda Síochána among some sections of society has resulted in a significant increase in attacks on Garda members.
According to figures supplied by the Garda Representative Association, there were 356 assaults on members of the force in 2005. That increased to 502 in 2006 and to 655 in 2007; a near doubling of incidents in just three years.
Garda management has responded by issuing anti-stab vests to every member of the force, and incapacitant pepper sprays have been approved for use.
New Regional Support Units have also been established on a pilot basis to beef up the Garda’s ability to tackle gun crime outside Dublin.
These units, introduced last year, involve uniformed gardaí patrolling unarmed in marked patrol cars but with weapons stored in the boot in the event they need to respond to armed incidents. This represents the first time in the history of the force that uniformed members have been allowed access to firearms.
SGT WILLIE GLEESON is based in Cork city and is a member of the national executive of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors. He says most of the danger facing his members on the streets takes the shape of “violent and obnoxious” behaviour from young people who have been drinking.
He says that in recent years young people under the influence of drink or drugs have proved much less willing to take direction from gardaí.
“They question everything and they’re much more willing to take us on.”
He believes the anti-stab vests have been a very welcome addition to the Garda kit. He also believes the purchase of incapacitant sprays for every member of the force is more important than ever and says it is vital their procurement not be delayed by cuts in public expenditure.
“The proliferation of knives is a worry and we’ve had a rise in cases of people using broken bottles and glasses as weapons, so the vests are really valuable.”