Morris tribunal:A former garda, answering questions at the tribunal, admitted that his decision to alter records on the instructions of a more senior officer had been stupid.
John O'Dowd told the inquiry that his training in the Army and Garda Síochána had conditioned him to follow orders without question.
"I was always subject to the discipline and respect for authority, it was something that was very, very deeply-ingrained in me," Mr O'Dowd said.
"I would always react to an order and respond positively."
Mr O'Dowd said he now realised that his decision to alter Garda records when Supt Kevin Lennon directed him to do so was "a stupid thing to do".
Garda work records were altered to create a false alibi for Mr O'Dowd on the night a hoax blackmail call was made from his home by a local petty criminal.
"I went out and did it without thinking, like a headless chicken, and I have to accept that, but I did it," he said.
Mr O'Dowd also said his respect for authority meant that he did not take part in the so-called "blue flu" Garda protest in 1997.
"I did not partake in that demonstration, because I thought it was something the authorities wouldn't like, and I didn't want to be onside with that type of thing."
Mr O'Dowd said that a "policy of strict enforcement and adherence" of the licensing laws in the Donegal border town of Raphoe came from senior officers in the county.
Publican Frank McBrearty snr claims that gardaí targeted his business after his family were wrongly identified as murder suspects following the hit-and-run death in 1996 of cattle-dealer Richie Barron.
Mr O'Dowd said that prior to 1997 a pub inspection never lasted more than 10 minutes, and he would not remain on premises for extended periods.
And he said that food inspections, to ensure compliance with the terms of a late-night restaurant licence, were "never an issue" before the new regime was introduced in January 1997.
"We never bothered with food. It wasn't a big thing."
The ex-garda rejected an allegation by private investigator Billy Flynn that he had told members of the Barron family that gardaí had obtained a confession and he said he had no knowledge of defamatory leaflets which were distributed around Raphoe.