Abuse in custody left couple fighting depression, tribunal is told
Sean and Anne Crossan, who were married for 25 years, were prescribed antidepressants following his detention in a Donegal garda station.
Ms Crossan told the Morris Tribunal the ordeal affected their family life and left their home town divided.
The 57-year-old electrician was arrested during an investigation into the death of hit-and-run victim Mr Barron, who gardaĂ wrongly believed had been murdered.
A part-time doorman at McBreartyâs nightclub, gardaĂ allegedly asked Mr Crossan to admit seeing prime suspects Frank McBrearty Jnr and Mark McConnell in the club car park covered in blood shortly after the alleged attack.
âI heard people had been treated very badly in custody,â said Ms Crossan. âI felt terrible. I didnât know what to do.
âHe had been âroared and shouted atâ, he told me. He was crying. He was very upset. I just wanted to get Sean out and work it out from there.
âHe told me âwhen that big boy there (pointing to a man who passed the door) comes in now, they say thatâs when Iâm going to get itâ,â she added.
Ms Crossan, who identified the man as Det. Sgt John White, told how on a second visit, her husband was more upset and had a cut above his right eye.
He claimed Det. Sgt White spat in his mouth, poked him in the eye and ear, and punched him in the chest and genitals during his 12-hour detention inLetterkenny Garda Station in December 1996.
Describing how her family life later deteriorated, Ms Crossan told how they were both prescribed antidepressants and separated temporarily.
âHe just canât cope anymore,â she added. âWeâve been living with this for 10 years. Raphoe is divided.
âPeople who would have been speaking to you, them people donât speak to youanymore.
âI know my son, if he is in a pub, is told âyour father is a murdering bâ.
âInnocent children are getting it now.â
The gardaĂ deny all the allegations, highlighting how Mr Crossan failed to mention any assault when he approached the Garda Complaints Board two years later.
