Garda brutality against suicidal traveller woman in Cork City

cork | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Wednesday August 18, 2004 18:56 by Joan - Traveller and Settled Solidarity traveller_solidarity at hotmail dot com

Last Saturday afternoon (14/8/04), up to 15 gardai descended on a lone Traveller family, whose trailer was parked just off the South Link Road in Cork City. When the gardai threatened to have the trailer towed away, the mother locked herself into it to prevent it being moved. The gardai broke off the perspex window at the back of the trailer in an attempt to enter it. At this stage, the woman, who is receiving medical attention for depression, took a bread knife and attempted to cut her wrists. Fortunately, the knife was quite blunt and did little damage

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The woman’s 14 year old daughter rang for an ambulance and then tried to assist her mother but was restrained by gardai. The woman’s son (12 year’s old) also tried to protect his mother and was also restrained in a very violent manner. His arm was twisted up behind his back and his face was shoved sideways against the side of the van. All the time, the gardai were using extremely abusive language to the woman and her two children. They also, very violently, kicked the family’s small dog around and threatened to break its neck if the woman did not lock it away.

By this time, the ambulance had arrived. The gardai were very uncooperative with the paramedic and would not give him five minutes alone with the woman to assess the extent of her injuries.

In the meantime, the daughter, who was completely panicked and hyperventilating, had run to her aunt’s house nearby for help. On her way, she fell and hit her face on a stone. She now has a massive black eye. The boy also injured his arm when he fell. By the time the girl got to her aunt’s house, she was so hysterical she could not speak and the aunt got the story from the boy.

When the aunt arrived on the scene, there were five squad cars and one unmarked car; all to move just one family and a small trailer! The gardai were also searching the bushes behind the trailer. The woman thought that they were checking to see if anyone was filming or taking photographs as they had earlier knocked a camera from her hands.

Eventually, the trailer was towed away, but was later released to the family at no charge. The woman is taking this as an admission from the gardai that they went over the top, as she was charged E165 last month when her trailer was towed from Carrigaline.

Since this incident, the family are in extreme distress. Both children have been having nightmares. The girl is suffering from panic attacks and the boy has become very aggressive. This family has been on Cork City Council’s housing waiting list for the past five years. The woman’s doctor wrote to the council earlier this month insisting that their need for housing is very urgent as the woman has been displaying suicidal tendencies and is on anti-depressants. We now know that she has actually attempted suicide.

TASS has contacted the council on the family’s behalf. The social worker, who has been dealing with this family, is on holiday. No one else was available to come to the phone. The garda who answered the phone at Togher garda station, at first said that he knew nothing about the incident. Then he gave the name of a garda who was on duty last Saturday but is normally stationed at Carrigaline. When TASS contacted the gardai at Carrigaline, it was told that the garda in question was off duty and would not be able to respond until next Friday! Perhaps they need time to consult their lawyers and that is what they would be advised to do because this is not the end of the matter.