Gardai come under public pressure to reform.

national | miscellaneous | news report Thursday May 09, 2002 21:54 by Aj McKee aj at nevermindthebollox dot com N/A +353879252191

Higgins calls for independent Garda complaints board.

In excess of three thousand people turned up outside Pearse Street Garda station, one of the counties busiest police stations to register their disgust at last Mondays events when Irish police baton charged Reclaim the Streets protesters causing serious injury to 14 people.

The event, which had a wide rage of support from such organisations as GR (Global Resistance), Reclaim the Streets, Sinn Fein, The Green Part, Socialist Workers Party and Labour, passed off peacefully. There were no arrests a Garda spokesperson stated.

Joe Higgins TD, from the Socialist Workers party called for a full and independent investigation into last Monday’s events. Other speakers observed that Garda training was totally lack

After a number of speeches the protesters made their way up Dame Street, the scene of Garda violence on Monday, where they staged a token sit down outside Dublin’s City Hall. From there they then made their way to Dublin corporations civic office, the scene of protests in the late 70’s over the building of the offices on a Viking historical site.

As the protesters moved a fellow journalists remarked to several Gardai “Smile lads its not all that bad”, which was meet by an obscene remark by a junior Garda, whom was quickly reprimanded by another colleague.

Media both national and independent heavily attended the event. Many protestors brought video cameras and cameras and openly photographed Gardai whom appeared to take a relaxed attitude to the protestors. Unsurprising considering video footage of their assaults on protestors at Mondays protest was instrumental to the confinement of one officer to indoor duty.

Tonight the Garda Chief commissioner, Mr. Pat Byrne faces a new and serious challenge to the policing services in Ireland and calls for his resignation. Allegations of corruption, collusion with terrorist organisations, the withholding of information regarding the Omagh bombing and police brutality have all been exposed within the past weeks. Last year there were over 1300 complaints against members of the Gardai.

The Minister for Justice has asked for a report on the incident but there is increasing pressure on him to form an independent body to investigate complaints against Gardai.