A new Garda whistleblower, who had previously got an award for bravery, yesterday met the interim confidential recipient with allegations that senior management “maliciously” targeted him after he arrested a colleague for drunk-driving.
Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty told the Dáil that Garda Keith Harrison claimed that "as a result of arresting a member of the drugs unit in Athlone for drunk-driving, that Garda management maliciously targeted him while the arrested garda was afforded protection".
He said Garda Harrison claimed that from September 2009 until March 2011 he was office-bound while the garda he arrested was still driving official vehicles and carrying a firearm. Mr Doherty was speaking during the two-hour debate on the Guerin report into allegations of malpractice in the investigation of 10 criminal cases.
Garda Harrison also made serious claims about how the drunk-driving case was struck out in court and how evidence relating to the case was stolen by gardaí, he said. He also claimed a senior garda in the Westmeath division, prevented the successful prosecution of individuals in a number of cases.
Serious allegations
Mr Doherty said he had been in contact with Garda Harrison a number of times and met him on Monday with former garda John Wilson and Garda Nicky Keogh, who had also made serious allegations about the connection of a major Midlands heroin dealer with a senior drugs unit member.
A civilian had also come forward to corroborate claims by Garda Keogh in relation to heroin dealing and a member of the Garda. Mr Doherty said Garda Harrison had suspicions about a member of the drugs unit who might have knowingly allowed the sale of drugs in the Athlone district, but claimed it “fell on deaf ears” when he raised it with management.
He said Garda Harrison received an award for bravery in 2007 for a life-saving incident and he described himself in an affidavit as “once a well-respected, ambitious and unblemished member of An Garda Síochána”. But through “systematic and relentless bullying and intimidation and unmerited scrutiny” he believed he had been “totally undermined and destroyed”. He had not reported his allegations previously because he would not have been believed above Garda management.
Independent TD Mick Wallace said his office had been "snowed in" with hundreds of cases. Referring to one case he said former garda Jack Doyle, revealed in 2000 some serious drug involvement by gardaí in the Cork area.
Undercover gardaí
At the time the Garda Authority confirmed undercover gardaí had been involved in the importation of illegal drugs in "controlled operations" which were necessary to bring leaders of criminal drug gangs to justice.
Garda management rejected calls for an inquiry and said nothing inappropriate had occurred. He said the former garda told of how one of the drug runners told him there were many opportunities to arrest the boss of the criminal gang but they failed to do so because “they have a senior garda in their pockets”.
