A jury of eight women and four men have found a community garda not guilty of striking three "Reclaim the Streets" protesters with his baton two years ago.

A garda accused of assaulting three "Reclaim the Streets" protesters has told a jury that he accepted he had hit one of them on the head and had used excessive force.

A garda inspector who was on duty at the "Reclaim the Streets" demonstration on May 6, 2002, told a jury he ordered gardaí to put their batons away when he saw them being used on the crowd.

A 19-year-old man told a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that Garda Donal Corcoran was the man who hit him in an assault he described as "fast, bloody and brutal".

A garda accused for assaulting three protesters at the "Reclaim the Streets" protest on May 6, 2002 has gone on trial in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.