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Allegation
Councillor accuses gardaí of "assault" at Dublin protest
People Before Profit councillor John Lyons claims that the handling of protesters at Government Buildings today amounted to “political policing”.
A NORTH DUBLIN councillor has accused the gardaí of “political policing” and “assault” at a protest today at Government Buildings.
Around 200 people from the anti-water charges movement gathered today outside the buildings on Merrion Street at about 1pm.
People Before Profit councillor John Lyons joined the protest himself just after 1pm.
He claims that “within five minutes gardaí decided to push protesters back behind the barriers”.
“Unfortunately they were rather provocative, and ended up assaulting me,” he told TheJournal.ie.
The councillor says that he was left with a graze on his back after being “pushed to the floor against a barrier”.
Lyons said he also saw an elderly lady “manhandled” during the protest.
Lyons says he has lodged a complaint with the officer in question’s superior officer at Pearse Street Garda Station.
A Garda spokesperson declined to comment on the matter this evening, but did add that no arrests took place at the protest.
Today’s protest was a “welcome back” to the new government according to Lyons.
“We were just welcoming back the most unpopular government of modern times,” he said.
You have several vans of riot officers here – it’s such a waste of resources.
It just amounts to political policing as far as I’m concerned.
Additional reporting Michael Sheils McNamee
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