A MEMBER of An Garda Síochána was yesterday jailed for six months after he admitted assaulting a man and knocking him unconscious when he got into a row in Cork city centre while off duty and on a night out.
Dean Foley (25), who was stationed in Bantry Garda station at the time but is currently suspended from the force, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to Stephen Murphy at the Grand Parade in Cork on September 12th, 2009.
Mr Murphy suffered a broken nose, fractures to his cheekbones, broken teeth and bleeding to the brain in the late-night assault which happened after words were exchanged over the clothes worn by somebody in Foley’s group.
Foley’s brother Travis, was also in the group, and earlier this month he pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting Mr Murphy, who was aged 29 at the time. Travis has been remanded on bail for sentencing in relation to that charge on June 27th.
Yesterday’s jailing of Foley by Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin at Cork Circuit Criminal Court is the first time an investigation undertaken by the Garda Ombudsman Commission has led to a member of the force being given a custodial sentence.
Danny Keogh of the Garda Ombudsman Commission said that Foley was stopped by gardaí and made a cautioned admission on the night in which he admitted throwing a punch at Mr Murphy and DNA from Mr Murphy was found on Foley.
Foley, with an address at Tradean, Knocknasuff, Blarney, Co Cork, broke down in the witness box as he spoke of his remorse for the assault.
Foley told how he had joined the Garda when he was 19, passed out when he was 21 and enjoyed working as a garda and helping people and revealed that he had found being on remand in prison for yesterday’s hearing “a terrifying experience”.
The court heard Foley had sold his car and motorbike and borrowed extensively to come up with a substantial sum of compensation to offer to Mr Murphy who, in a letter to the court, said he had no wish to see Foley jailed but would leave it up to the court to fix a penalty.
Judge Ó Donnabháin noted Foley’s guilty plea and his offer of substantial compensation but said he could not ignore the violence involved and the injuries suffered by Mr Murphy. The judge noted that Mr Murphy was very intoxicated on the night but there was no evidence Foley was drunk and that concerned him.
“It was not a contest of equals,” said Judge Ó Donnabháin, adding that he believed he had to impose a custodial penalty as he sentenced Foley to 18 months in jail but suspended the last 12 months on condition he be of good behaviour.