Reclaim the Streets protestor identifies 'attacker'

A woman who claims she was struck on the back of the head with a baton during the May 2002 Reclaim the Streets demonstration has identified Garda Donal Corcoran as the perpetrator.

Gda Corcoran of Mountjoy Garda Station is also accused at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of assaulting two other demonstrators on the same occasion.

He has pleaded not guilty to three counts of assault causing harm, to Oisín Breen, Butterfield Park, Rathfarnham, Katie Crean, New Cabra Road, Dublin 7 and Brian Hayden, Knockmore Grove, Tallaght on May 6, 2002.

Ms Katie Crean told Mr Sean Gillane BL, prosecuting, that she saw a uniformed garda she described as being approximately six foot four, with dark skin and dark hair, standing directly behind her, as the demonstrators were being pushed onto Anglesea Street by gardaí.

She said she turned to the gardaí and asked them to stop pushing as people were tripping up and stumbling. As she turned around she felt a baton blow to the back of her head.

Ms Crean said she saw Gda Corcoran again on Dame Street and subsequently on RTÉ and TV3 news footage that evening. She told the jury that she discovered Gda Corcoran’s name through coverage in The Irish Independent and The Irish Times in the days following the protest.

Asked by Mr Patrick J McCarthy SC (with Mr Breffini Gordon BL) defending, if there were any other gardaí in the immediate vicinity of Gda Corcoran in the line that formed behind her, Ms Crean said she would only recognise the garda that was on his immediate left and the one on his immediate right.

When asked by Mr McCarthy if either of these gardaí had batons, Ms Crean replied that she did not see either of these gardaí carrying batons.

She did not accept Mr McCarthy’s suggestion that gardaí in that line, including the two gardaí to the left and right of Gda Corcoran, did indeed carry batons.

Ms Crean said she could see the downward movement of the baton coming towards her from the corner of her eye, as her head was turned sideways and could see it was held by Gda Corcoran.

In response to Mr McCarthy’s suggestion that she was wrong about the identification of Gda Corcoran as the man who struck her, Ms Crean replied: "I am positive my identification was correct and I am not mistaken."

An expert forensic imagery interpreter, called to analyse footage showing the incident where Mr Brian Hayden, the first witness in the trial, was allegedly assaulted by Gda Corcoran, said the male in the footage whom he had named "Man A" - and confirmed in court as being Gda Corcoran - had exerted significant force on the protester as he grabbed him by the rear of his sweatshirt and pulled him across the street.

He told Mr Tom O’Connell SC (with Mr Gillane) prosecuting that "it was quite clear that Gda Corcoran having pulled the protester across the road then struck him on the crown of his head with his baton".

When asked by Mr McCarthy, in cross-examination, if Mr Hayden was shown in the footage to be elevated above members of the gardaí prior to Gda Corcoran grabbing him, the witness replied he certainly looked to be wound up and appeared to be bracing himself.

He said: "I characterise this motion as an action of confrontation as the gardaí surrounding him seem to be standing still."

However, he stressed he could not determine what was going on in between the group of gardaí and the protester.

The witness was further asked by defence counsel to comment on footage showing Mr Hayden stretching out his arm towards another garda as he is being pulled back by Gda Corcoran.

He said Mr Hayden did make contact with that garda’s elbow at one point and appeared to have tried to grasp his jacket. He said he believed this could have been done for one of two reasons.

Firstly, to try to steady himself as he was being dragged by Gda Corcoran or, secondly, to try to prevent the other officer from striking out at another protester.

Mr McCarthy told the witness he had put it to Mr Hayden that at this point in the footage he appeared to be lunging towards gardaí.

"I would not go so far as to say that this was an overly aggressive act," replied the witness.

The witness accepted Mr O’Connell’s point, in re-examination, that the Garda officer who Mr Hayden had made contact with was indeed swinging his baton at another protester.

The trial continues before Judge Yvonne Murphy and a jury of eight women and four men.