Garda accused of assaulting Polish man

A GARDA charged with assaulting a Polish man while in custody was heard by a colleague telling him, “Welcome to Ireland, you’re not in Poland now”, Waterford District Court was told yesterday.

The case, which is being taken by the Garda Ombudsman, alleges that Garda Tom McKenna of Waterford Garda Station, assaulted Bartlonej Skwirut on June 19, 2010, at Waterford Garda Station. The incident allegedly arose after the injured party was arrested with his friend for a public order offence at the Woodlands Hotel on Dunmore Road, on the outskirts of the city earlier in the night.

Mr Skwirut told the court through an interpreter that while he was under the influence of alcohol on the night in question he wasn’t drunk and had consumed approximately five beers and one shot of vodka. He said he wasn’t entirely clear of all the events of the night, but he knew he was arrested outside the Woodlands Hotel before midnight for being intoxicated in public.