A Garda accused of assaulting a protester at the 2002 "Reclaim the Streets" march in Dublin has claimed he was justified in striking a protester three times in the "upper body" but denies he ever hit a protester in the head.

A man who claims he was assaulted by a garda when he attended the 2002 "Reclaim the Streets" march in Dublin has identified himself on camera footage of the event.