THE FAMILY of a 14-year-old boy who died after spending a night in Garda custody expressed disappointment yesterday with the findings of an official inquiry into his death, writes Barry Rochein Clonmel.
The inquiry report, published in part by Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan, concluded that Brian Rossiter was unlawfully detained by gardaí in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, in September 2002. But it found no evidence that he was assaulted while in Garda custody.
The boy's father, Pat Rossiter, said he was not surprised by the findings of the inquiry by senior counsel Hugh Hartnett as he believed its terms of reference were too narrow.
Brian Rossiter was found unconscious in a cell in Clonmel Garda station on the morning of September 11th, 2002 following his arrest the previous night for an alleged public order incident.
He died two days later at Cork University Hospital.
In the summary of his report published yesterday, Mr Hartnett, who heard evidence from 99 witness over 77 days of hearing, said he was not satisfied that Brian Rossiter was unlawfully assaulted during the course of his arrest and detention.However, he found that the boy was unlawfully detained and that gardaí had failed to investigate all the circumstances surrounding his death.
Mr Rossiter said the report left the family still looking for answers as to what exactly happened to Brian and how he came to die. "We want accountability, we want justice . . . we want to find out what happened to Brian," he said. Mr Rossiter confirmed the family would continue with a High Court action against An Garda Síochána and the State over his son's death.
Mr Lenihan said that while he was unable to publish the report in full for legal reasons, he hoped the comprehensive summary would facilitate "a clear understanding of the events leading up to Brian's death". A full copy of the report had been made available to the Rossiter family.
Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy said the powers of arrest and detention carried very great responsibility and he had appointed an assistant commissioner to examine the full report and assess whether any disciplinary or criminal issues arose.