Gardaí call for 'dedicated pursuit training' to deal with dangers of e-scooters and scramblers

It comes after student garda was hospitalised after being struck while trying to stop an e-scooter, driven by a juvenile, in West Dublin on Wednesday morning

The Garda Representative Association said a student garda faced knee surgery while stopping a 'suspected criminal on an e-scooter' in Finglas on Wednesday.

Frontline gardaí need “dedicated pursuit training” to deal with the dangers posed by people driving e-scooters and scramblers in communities, a Garda representative has said.

The call came after a student garda was hospitalised after being struck while trying to stop an e-scooter, driven by a juvenile, in Cappagh, Finglas, west Dublin, on Wednesday morning.

The youth, aged in his mid-teens, was searched, and a quantity of cannabis was taken from him.

The incident happened in the same area where Grace Lynch, aged 16, died after being hit by a scrambler bike last January.

Following uproar, new legislation, known as “Grace’s Law”, was introduced in April, which banned the use of scramblers in public places.

The Garda Representative Association said a student garda faced knee surgery while stopping a “suspected criminal on an e-scooter” in Finglas on Wednesday.

“The GRA stand firmly behind all members injured on duty and strongly condemn such actions,” the association said in a post.

Subsequently, local GRA Dublin Metropolitan Region representative Mark Ferris said he had been in contact with the injured garda: “He’s in good spirits and was kept in for further scans/interventions.

“In DMR West, members are being disproportionately impacted by e-scooter- and scrambler-related incidents."

He said gardaí needed a coherent and practical response to the problem: “This means dedicated pursuit training tailored to e scooters and scramblers; an agreed tactical framework setting out safe intervention practices and clear disengagement points; appropriate equipment, including motorbikes and properly equipped patrol cars — so gardaí are not improvising; legislative indemnity for members who act within that framework; and, in the longer term, a system of State-issued licences and stricter regulation for these vehicles."

In a statement, Garda HQ said: “While conducting proactive foot patrols as part of Operation Tara shortly after 2pm on Wednesday, in the Cappagh area of Finglas, gardaí stopped a youth in his mid-teens who was riding an e-scooter.

“A quantity of cannabis was seized and the youth was arrested and detained. He was subsequently released and a file will be prepared for the Youth Diversion Programme. 

“During the incident, a Garda member sustained a non-life-threatening injury. He was brought for assessment and is continuing to receive hospital treatment.”