Gardaí have common law powers to use their own discretion, court hears
Four gardaí and a retired superintendent are accused of 'engaging in conduct tending and that intended to pervert the course of justice', after a probe by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Picture: iStock
Gardaí have “common law powers” to use their own “discretion” when dealing with the public, a trial of gardaí accused of unlawfully interfering in road traffic offences has heard.
Four gardaí and a retired superintendent are accused of “engaging in conduct tending and that intended to pervert the course of justice”, following a probe conducted by the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GNBCI).
The five accused are retired Superintendent Eamon O’Neill; Sergeant Anne Marie Hassett; Sergeant Michelle Leahy; Garda Tom McGlinchey and Garda Colm Geary, attached to stations in the Limerick and Clare Garda Divisions.
The charges against Mr O’Neill, Ms Hassett, Mr Geary and Mr McGlinchey relate to allegedly communicating with gardaí in respect of terminating prosecutions.
Ms Leahy faces two charges relating to having a summons “struck out” and a summons “withdrawn” from court in her role as court presenter.
Garda witnesses called by the prosecution said that “discretion” was part of normal policing, and that they had used their own discretion on a “case by case” basis.
Superintendent Oliver Kennedy, Roxboro Road, gave evidence that discretion was a key part of policing and he agreed with Felix McEnroy, senior counsel for Mr O’Neill, that it was normal for gardaí to use their discretion on a “case by case basis”.
Mr Kennedy also agreed that, in his prior role as a prosecuting court sergeant, he used his “common sense” when dealing with cases which were often withdrawn or struck out.
Another witness, Inspector John Dunne, formerly a sergeant in Limerick, agreed under cross-examination by Jim O’Mahony, senior counsel for Ms Hassett, that using discretion in certain situations was “no big deal”.
Mr Dunne gave evidence that he asked a garda in his unit if she would consider exercising her discretion in respect of a motorist she detected allegedly holding a mobile phone while driving.
Mr Dunne said he was passing on the query from a colleague who had been contacted initially by the accused, now retired superintendent Mr O’Neill.
Mr Dunne said the garda replied she was “happy” to do so, and he relayed this to his colleague, and didn’t think any more on it. He said:
Mr Dunne agreed with Jim O’Mahony, senior counsel for Ms Hassett, who suggested the witness “just passed on a request” and that this was “no big deal”.
He agreed with Felix McEnroy, counsel for Mr O’Neill, that it had never been suggested to him by anybody that what he did was wrong or that it had constituted a crime.
Mr Dunne told the court he had sometimes given “informal cautions”, or “warnings”, to members of the public, and he said, in his opinion, “a word of advice or warning given on the side of the road can be just as effective as (issuing) a fixed charge penalty notice”.
Vincent Heneghan, senior counsel for Mr Geary, put it to Mr Dunne that gardaí use their discretion all the time, Mr Dunne replied: “We police by discretion.”
Policing with “common sense” was “important”, the witness said.
Sergeant Patricia Ryan, formerly Limerick Divisional Roads Policing Unit, gave evidence that she detected Pat Ryan, a member of the All-Ireland winning senior hurling team, allegedly driving a black BMW at 135kph in a 100kph zone, at Dooradoyle, Limerick, on November 14, 2018.
She said she explained to Mr Ryan that a fixed charge penalty notice would be issued in respect of the alleged speeding offence.
Patricia Ryan said afterwards she received a text message from one of the accused, Ms Hassett.
The message, shown to the court, read: “Hey missus. Anne-Marie Hassett here. Sorry to be bugging you but you stopped a fella today, Pat Ryan, Doon. He’s on the Limerick panel with Eamon. Any way you could do something for him? No panic if you can’t and sorry again for annoying you about this.”
Patricia Ryan’s reply, also shown in court, read:
Patricia Ryan agreed with Carl Hanahoe, prosecuting, that ‘Eamon’ in Ms Hassett’s text referred to co-accused, Eamon O’Neill, who the court has heard is Ms Hassett’s partner.
Mr Hanahoe asked Ms Ryan why she told Ms Hassett that she had input all of her incidents on the roads detection system, when she in fact had not. Ms Ryan replied: “It was a polite way of saying no.”
The trial being held at Limerick Circuit Court, before a jury of eight men and four women, is expected to run for another three weeks.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
