A prisoner who claims two gardaí assaulted him at Tallaght Garda Station was "drunk, abusive, aggressive and violent", one of the accused has told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Garda Sgt Martin Woods, who was Member in Charge of the station at the time of the alleged incident, said he saw the prisoner hit his colleague and co-accused Garda Darragh Jennings on the face while he was waiting to be processed.
Sgt Woods and Garda Jennings have both denied assault causing harm to Mr Christopher Boyle (25), of Millbrook Lawns, Tallaght, on May 5th, 2002, at Tallaght Garda Station.
Sgt Woods told his counsel, Mr Anthony Sammon SC, that when Mr Boyle was brought to the station around 3.30 that morning by Garda Jennings he was standing behind the hatch where prisoners are processed.
From inside the hatch he saw Mr Boyle hitting Garda Jennings on the face and he immediately went to his colleague's assistance. He said he held Mr Boyle's hands behind him while another garda handcuffed him. He said Mr Boyle calmed down after he was handcuffed and was then duly processed and brought to a cell. He was then left in the cell until about 6.30 in the morning.
Sgt Boyle said he checked on Mr Boyle about six times during the course of the morning to see "if he was alive and kicking." He duly recorded every check-up in the custody record and when he offered Mr Boyle a bail bond to sign in the morning for his release he again refused.
He agreed in cross-examination by prosecuting counsel, Mr Seán Gillane, that he had not recorded in the custody record that he had to use force to search Mr Boyle outside the cell, nor did he record the injuries he saw on Mr Boyle's face when he was released in the morning.
Sgt Woods said that in his opinion the injuries that he noted on Mr Boyle's face in the morning were "not grave enough" either to enter into the custody record or to summon a doctor.
The hearing continues.