Ahern condemns gardaí who suggested man had criminal record

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday condemned the anonymous garda sources who suggested to reporters that the victim of a traffic accident involving an officer had a criminal record.

However, Mr Ahern stressed that the false information did not come from the garda press office or any member of the team investigating the accident.

Derek O’Toole, 24, from Clondalkin, Co Dublin, died in hospital a short time after being struck by a car driven by an off-duty garda in Lucan around 5am on Sunday.

The garda press office has publicly stated that all evidence available to date suggests Mr O’Toole was lying on the road when struck by the car.

But it is what anonymous garda sources privately stated in conversations with reporters that became the subject of Dáil debate yesterday.

Socialist TD Joe Higgins said these anonymous sources had spun the incident to suggest Mr O’Toole was “known to the gardaí”, a term that was “code for having a criminal record”.

But none of this true, he stressed, and Mr O’Toole’s mother, Christine, had made valid complaints about the spin put on the issue.

“There is a pattern whereby when members of the garda are involved, there is a suspicion that a spin is put out anonymously and from unattributed sources to the media to secure a pre-judgment on issues that arise with a view to minimising responsibility on the garda,” Mr Higgins said.

While he was making no judgment of any member of the force involved in the Lucan incident, he said: “I think that in cases like this, it should be provided for that there is a mechanism for an independent investigation by competent people outside of the Garda Síochána.”

He added that gardaí should not risk “impugning the good name of innocent people before an investigation is complete”.

Urging the Taoiseach to condemn what had happened, Mr Higgins said: “The gardaí should not be involved in leaks of this kind, and I believe you should say so.” In response, Mr Ahern said he first wished to sympathise with the family of Mr O’Toole.

He then said the anonymous sources involved were “certainly very unhelpful to the family, so I condemn them”.

But he stressed that they did not come from the garda press office or the team investigating the incident.