‘Prisoner with AIDS’ threw blood at garda, court told

A PRISONER who claimed to have AIDS threw a cup of his own blood into a garda’s face and hoped he would contract the disease, a judge has heard.

Mr Justice Paul Gilligan said Garda Donal Hegarty, of Ballincollig, Co Cork, suffered stress for five months until assured his own and the prisoner’s blood samples were clear of HIV or Hepatitis C contamination.

Garda Hegarty told the High Court judge in a garda compensation claim that he had been jailer in the Bridewell Garda Station in Cork in April 2005 when a prisoner had been brought in on a public order offence.

When he brought the prisoner, from the North, a cup of tea in a paper cup the prisoner had made a swipe at him with one of his steel toe-capped shoes. In warding off the blow he had suffered a fracture of his right index finger.

The prisoner’s shoes and laces had been taken from him. On admission, the prisoner had been bleeding from an injury under his right ear and had refused to have it medically treated.

Garda Hegarty said that at a later stage he had gone to the cell to check the prisoner and had knelt down to a waist level hatch to look inside. As he did so the prisoner had thrown blood from the paper teacup through the hatch into his face.

He told the court he had cleaned the blood off his face and after finishing duty had showered at home. He had attended his doctor the following day about his injured finger and had told him about the blood incident.

The doctor recommended blood tests but it had been five months before the prisoner concerned had been available to give a sample which proved negative. The delay had been due to the fact the detained man had later gone to the North for some time.

Judge Gilligan, awarding Garda Hegarty €15,000 damages, said the garda had made the case he had suffered substantial trauma and stress for a period well beyond the five months it had taken to clarify there was no blood contamination.

Naturally he would have had a significant concern as a result of having been splattered with the prisoner’s blood and hearing him claim to have AIDS.

“But in medical terms it was clear within five months of the incident it would have been impossible for him to have contracted Hep C or HIV and I am not satisfied he had a basis for continuing to believe he could contract a blood borne disease,” Judge Gilligan said.