A GARDA HAS been cleared of the assault of a teenage boy who was armed with a knuckle duster at the scene of a large fight in Dublin.

Garda Bernard Briody, who is stationed at Tallaght Garda Station, pleaded not guilty of assault causing harm to the now 17-year-old teenager on 2 November, 2024. 

The trial took place before Judge John Hughes at Dublin District Court today. The teenager cannot be identified for legal reasons given his age. 

The court heard that Briody was on public order duty in Dublin when he and his colleagues received a call to attend a large row near Holles Street Maternity Hospital near Merrion Square.

The court heard two 999 calls made to gardaí from a taxi driver and a witness who was inside the hospital. During their calls they said that there were between 30 to 60 people involved in a fight, some of whom were armed with baseball bats. 

The court heard that Briody and his colleagues arrived at the scene in a public order van and the vehicle gave chase as the alleged victim ran from the scene. 

Briody then jumped out and pursued the teenager on foot. As he ran, the garda told the court, that he saw a silver object that he believed was a knife.

Briody told the court he shouted warnings to the teenager, who was wearing a face covering and hooded top.

The garda told the court that as he ran after the boy he could see the silver object in the boy’s pocket. He shouted warnings and then used his pepper spray, but the spray didn’t deploy properly and the pursuit continued. 

Seconds later the boy stopped, the garda said, turned and took up a confrontational stance. 

Briody told the Judge that he struck the boy once with his baton, aiming for his thigh, but it connected with the teenager’s hand. He said the entire interaction, including the confrontation, lasted for approximately 15 seconds.

The garda told the court that it was his belief the boy was carrying a knife, and he said that he used his baton after all other efforts to detain the boy failed. He said he believed the teenager was confronting him rather than surrendering. 

The court was told that the boy was seen by a doctor and went to hospital where it was discovered he had a broken bone in his hand. He received a juvenile caution for possession of the offensive weapon, namely a knuckleduster. 

Teenager evidence

The teenager gave evidence at the trial that he was in the Merrion Street area on the night of the incident to watch a fight. He said he had the knuckleduster with him because of “all stuff going on with migrants, Dublin isn’t safe”.

The boy told the court that he ran because he was afraid of the gardaí. He said he had a previous incident when he was collecting bonfire materials when a garda van rolled over his foot. 

The teenager claimed that the garda had tried to strike him in the ribs and connected with his hand. 

Under cross-examination by Defence Barrister Deirdre Flannery the teenage complainant admitted that he had received juvenile cautions on eight occasions for various offences. 

The crimes included possession of an offensive weapon and also possession of drugs for sale or supply. 

The boy’s father, who also cannot be identified for legal reasons, had attended the station and the court was shown CCTV footage of him remonstrating with the gardaí.

Another witness, Lynsey Byrne, said she was walking her dog and told the court that she saw the injured boy on the ground with a garda standing over him. She claimed to the court that she saw the garda striking the teenager on the ground. 

No CCTV of alleged assault

Deirdre Leonard, the investigator from Garda ombudsman body Fiosrú, told the court that she had asked for statements from a garda sergeant at the scene. She said she was unable to gather CCTV of the incident because the cameras at the hospital did not cover the junction where the alleged assault occured. 

Under cross-examination by Flannery, for the defence, she said she did not gather statements from other witnesses who rang the 999 call about the fight into gardaí because she was dealing with the assault of the teenager only. 

Sean Smith, the prosecuting barrister, said in his closing submissions that the force used by Briody was excessive and disproportionate to the threat he faced. 

He told the Judge that it was his contention that it was not lawful for the garda to strike “a retreating youth” and he used the example of police in the US shooting a fleeing suspect. 

“Good policing requires restraint,” he said. 

Flannery, for the defence, advised by Liz Hughes solicitor, disputed this assessment by the prosecution.

She called in to question the contradictory evidence of witnesses and the lack of statements gathered by the garda ombudsman from other people who could have provided an independent view on the events. 

Judge Hughes said that the garda was correct in his assessment that the complainant was carrying a weapon. 

The judge said that there were contradictions in witness evidence during the trial. He said Lynsey Byrne’s evidence had “inconsistencies and inaccuracies”.

He said that the case was not proved beyond a reasonable doubt, and he acquitted the accused garda.