Garda actions towards homeless man ‘justified’

A Garda Ombudsman report into the filmed arrest of a homeless man by a garda last March found the force used appeared to be “justified, lawful and proportionate”.

Part of the arrest was caught on video by a passing student and uploaded onto his Facebook page. It subsequently went viral, with more than 500,000 hits. The incident, which occurred on March 13 at Henry Street, Dublin, sparked considerable unrest and criticism of the garda concerned, who was clearly visible.

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission launched a public interest investigation on March 18 after 17 public queries.