Niall O'Connor

GARDAÍ HAVE MADE progress in their investigation into the death of Yves Sakila on Dublin’s Henry Street as they continue to focus on gathering evidence of what happened before interviewing the people who restrained him.

The garda probe is a large undertaking with an incident room being run by a senior investigative officer who has assigned a number of detectives to gather information. 

The Journal understands that these detectives are identifying and speaking to witnesses with first-hand accounts of what happened on the day.

The investigation is led by a team in Store Street Garda Station, and while the viral video of him being restrained on Henry Street by a number of men is forming part of the investigation, gardaí are currently gathering other critical evidence. 

Since the death of Mr Sakila on 15 May, gardaí have been collecting CCTV footage and statements from witnesses which paint a picture of the whole incident and build key context for investigators. Some of the CCTV footage is from inside the shop where Yves Sakila was allegedly shoplifting as well as other angles of him being restrained on the street.

One aspect which is being looked at is Yves Sakila’s previous engagement with security at Arnotts. 

Detectives are looking at the exact effect of the restraint and whether anything else contributed to Yves Sakila’s death. Sources said that restraint asphyxia – where physical restraint impairs someone’s breathing, leading to their asphyxiation – is a working theory as the cause of his death.

The post-mortem results were inconclusive. 

Yves Sakila

One big focus for the garda investigation, which will determine the direction of the probe, will be the results of toxicology tests from the post-mortem, which may take some time to be completed. It is understood the autopsy will only make a determination on the exact cause of death when those tests become available. 

There are several cases in Ireland and abroad in which other factors contributed to a death when a person had asphyxiated due to being restrained. 

The case of Adrian Moynihan, who died while he was being restrained in a Cork nightclub in the early 2000s, is one such incident in which he was seen on CCTV punching a bouncer and then being grabbed around the neck. 

The Director of Public Prosecutions refused to give a direction to charge anyone involved in that incident due to some medical evidence. Moynihan’s family continue to campaign for justice for their son.

One source said that gardaí have slowed down their work to ensure precision and to be sure that they have “their ducks in a row”. They will only interview the people directly associated with the restraining of Yves Sakila when the evidence gathering phase is concluded – it will likely happen in the coming weeks. 

Gardaí have asked for assistance from anyone who was on Henry Street (between Moore Street and Coles Lane) between 5pm and 5.25pm on Friday 15 May.

Yves Sakila was declared dead in the Mater hospital not long after he was restrained by several security personnel outside the Arnotts store on Henry Street.

Footage of the incident, which took place following allegations of a shoplifting incident, has been widely circulated online.