Garda feared for life, court told

A GARDA has told a court how he feared for his life when a man put a knife to his throat and told him he was going to die.

This was before Edmond Stapleton stole a Garda 4x4 which he drove down a crowded pedestrian street in Cork city before almost hitting an aircraft carrying passengers at Cork Airport.

Garda Michael Bohane told how he believed Mr Stapleton (38) was going to kill him when he opened the door of his stationary Garda vehicle on Patrick Street in Cork city centre on May 22nd, 2011, and held a knife to his throat.

“He said he was ‘a f***ing Army ranger’ and he was highly aggressive – I could feel his spittle hitting my face and, although he was wearing sunglasses, I can recall the whites of his eyes bursting out wide. He said today was the day I was going to die and he was going to kill me.”

Garda Bohane was giving evidence on the opening day of the trial of Mr Stapleton, of no fixed abode, who denies 12 charges relating to a series of events in Cork city centre and Cork Airport on Sunday, May 22nd, 2011.

Mr Stapleton denies assault causing harm to Garda Bohane, threatening to kill Garda Bohane, two counts of unlawfully taking Garda and airport police vehicles, five counts of criminal damage and three counts of dangerous driving in Cork city centre.

Opening the case for the prosecution at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, Pearse Sreenan said it would be open to the jury of nine men and three women to find Mr Stapleton guilty, not guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity.

Garda Bohane told how after Mr Stapleton had cut him on the throat with a knife he began to struggle with him, only for Mr Stapleton to start punching him in the face with the knife in his hand. Garda Bohane ended up with cuts to his check, chin and mouth.

He managed to push Mr Stapleton out of the 4x4 and pursued him, but Mr Stapleton produced a 12in blade from a rucksack and started lunging at him and threatening bystanders on Patrick Street who had come to the garda’s aid.

Witnesses told gardaí in statements that Mr Stapleton was shouting: “Everyone back off or I will kill someone”, and “This is the day I’m going to die”, before he ran back to the Garda vehicle, got in, reversed it into a car behind it and then drove down Winthrop Street.

The pedestrianised street was crowded with people who started screaming and running for cover as Mr Stapleton travelled at speed down towards Oliver Plunkett Street, which was also pedestrianised.

“It was like Formula One,” said one witness, Terry Burke.

Another witness, Olivia O’Callaghan, told how she and her brother had to press themselves against the wall of a vacant shop at the junction of Oliver Plunkett Street and Parnell Place as the 4x4 went past them at speed after initially getting stuck on bollards.

“I closed my eyes and held my breath and waited for the bang – I felt the rush of wind as the [4x4] passed us – if we hadn’t got out of the way it would have blown us away – I was shocked and very upset,” Ms Callaghan told gardaí.

Mr Stapleton later drove to Cork Airport, where it is alleged he rammed through a perimeter fence, hijacked an airport police vehicle at knifepoint and stripped to his underwear before driving around the airport ramp, where he narrowly missed a loaded aircraft.

“It could have been a catastrophe the like of which had never been seen in Ireland,” Mr Sreenan said, before outlining how the State would say Mr Stapleton rammed a Garda car before the vehicle he was driving stopped just 10 metres from another fully loaded and fuelled aircraft.

The case continues today.