Ombudsman finds no Garda misconduct at Irish Water protests

Investigations by the Garda Ombudsman into 29 water protest complaints found “no clear evidence” of Garda misconduct in a majority of cases — and, in some cases, found that Garda actions were “proportionate”.

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission 2015 annual report said GSOC sent one investigation file, relating to a complaint of assault on a female, to the DPP — which ordered no prosecution.

It said a disciplinary investigation concerning the conduct of three gardaí in relation to this case remained open at the end of 2015.

“Over a third of complainants did not co-operate with the GSOC investigations or withdrew their complaints, making investigation difficult,” the annual report said.

“There was insufficient evidence in any of the other investigations to warrant criminal or disciplinary action.”

It said it received a total of 40 complaints between September 2014 and August 2015 in relation to the policing of protests about water charges and water metres.

However, only 29 were deemed admissible complaints.

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