TWO GARDAÍ accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice and impede the prosecution of a colleague who assaulted a student were yesterday found not guilty of all charges by direction of the trial judge.
Brendan Daly and Cathal O’Regan, who are stationed at Anglesea Garda station in Cork, were each charged with three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice and three counts of intending to impede the prosecution of a fellow member of An Garda Síochána.
The charges relate to an incident in which James Boyce from Charleville was assaulted by Garda Michael Kiernan after he and a friend, John Casey, were apprehended by the two accused on Hanover Street, Cork at about 3am on February 23rd, 2007.
Both accused were charged that they failed to report a complaint by John Casey, that they failed to report an assault by Garda Kiernan and that they falsely reported that James Boyce had fallen on the footpath when he was assaulted by Garda Kiernan.
Yesterday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court following closure of the State’s case, counsel for the two accused, Tim O’Leary SC sought a direction from Judge Con Murphy to acquit the two gardaí who had been investigated by the Garda Ombudsman Commission.
Mr O’Leary pointed to what he described as inconsistencies between two key prosecution witnesses, Insp Pat Cadogan and Sgt John O’Donovan, who gave evidence regarding an interview Insp Cadogan had with the two accused at about 10.30pm on February 23rd, 2007. Insp Cadogan said that Garda Daly told him that they had pursued some youths at about 3am that morning and they were talking to two of them when one of them fell on to the footpath and injured his head. And when he asked Garda O’Regan if that was correct, he agreed it was.
Neither of them mentioned Garda Kiernan or any assault by him on Mr Boyce and no more detail was given by either officer, said Insp Cadogan adding that he later viewed CCTV footage which showed Garda Kiernan striking Mr Boyce.
However, Sgt John O’Donovan said he was present when Insp Cadogan interviewed the two defendants and he recalled them saying that Garda Kiernan had arrived on the scene and they heard a bang and saw Mr Boyce lying on the floor but said they didn’t see what happened.
Garda Daly had said he hadn’t seen what happened as he was dealing with some other youths while Garda O’Regan said he had missed what happened to Mr Boyce, said Sgt O’Donovan.
Mr O’Leary pointed to the inconsistencies between Insp Cadogan’s evidence in which he said neither accused made any reference to Garda Kiernan and Sgt O’Donovan’s testimony in which he said both officers had referred twice to Garda Kiernan.