Gardaí had ‘no choice but restrain naked man’

Gardaí had no alternative but to chase down a man who died shortly after he was found running naked around a north Dublin suburb, an inquest heard yesterday.

William Kavanagh, aged 58, from Edenmore Crescent in Raheny, Dublin, died after midnight on Jun 5, 2009, shortly after he had been restrained by Gardaí when they found him running around naked in the Bayside area. He had punched a female Garda in the jaw as she tried to calm him down.

Mr Kavanagh became unwell after gardaí handcuffed him and placed him in the recovery position. He was not breathing when para- medics arrived at the scene.