A MAN who claims he was one of three people beaten in a Garda station following an incident outside a Dublin city fast-food restaurant has told the High Court he was trying to avoid a confrontation when a garda “squared up” to him in O’Connell Street.
Henry Fleming (33) said the garda had told him to go home or he would “kick my head in” after Mr Fleming and a group of friends had been asked to leave Burger King on O’Connell Street on February 12th, 2001.
Mr Fleming, of Ratoath, Co Meath, was giving evidence in the action in which he, his wife Ruth (31) and his brother-in-law William Mangan (27), of Glenties Park, Finglas, are alleging they were beaten by gardaí in Pearse Street Garda station.
The three are seeking damages from the Garda Commissioner and the State for alleged wrongful arrest, assault and malicious prosecution.
The defendants deny the claims, and plead the officers were carrying out their duties and that the gardaí were assaulted.
If the three were injured, which is denied, the defendants claim that was brought on by the aggressive behaviour of the two men on the night.
The State claims Mr Mangan kicked a garda in the groin in O’Connell Street, that Mr Fleming attacked an officer outside Pearse Street Garda station and that Ms Mangan bit an officer as he tried to arrest Mr Fleming.
Yesterday, Mr Fleming, an accountant with the National Children’s Nursery Association, said the incident began after he and his then girlfriend, Ruth, her brother and his girlfriend and another friend were making a joke about the size of the “10 doughnuts for a pound” offer in Burger King that night.
Two gardaí, who were in the restaurant ordering food for their break, were allegedly told by a security man that the group was causing a nuisance and they were asked to leave by one of the officers.
Mr Fleming said they did so, but outside, while arranging to go their separate ways, one of the gardaí said to Mr Fleming he had told them to go home and to “f... off now”.
Mr Fleming said he did not want any trouble, but the officer had said he would “break my f...ing head or kick my head in”.
Mr Fleming said the garda then “squared up to me”. Mr Fleming said he put his hands behind his back, told the officer there were plenty of cameras around and if he wanted to kick his head in he could “go ahead”.
Mr Fleming said the garda told him he was the law and could do anything he wanted, to which Mr Fleming replied he was a trainee solicitor and he also knew the law. This was not true but he said it because he thought the garda believed he was “dealing with some sort of mug” and that he would back off once he heard this.
At that point one of their male friends had been pushed to the ground, as had Mr Mangan’s girlfriend, Mr Fleming said. He saw Mr Mangan being put in the back of a van. Mr Mangan was brought to Pearse Street station, and the rest of the group followed on foot.
At the station, Mr Fleming said he heard and saw Mr Mangan being beaten as he was brought into the back of the station.
When the group tried to intervene, Mr Fleming said he was grabbed by the same officer with whom he had had the earlier confrontation, who told him he was “going to get it now”. He said the garda got him into a headlock and brought him up some steps into the back of the station.
Also yesterday, the court was told that original CCTV footage from a camera in Pearse Street Garda station, which had gone missing sometime after the incident and partly led to criminal charges against the trio being struck out, had since been found.
The footage was played to the jury yesterday.
Mr Fleming’s wife, Ruth, disagreed under cross-examination from Michael P O’Higgins, for the State, that the footage showed she was very much part of “the scrum” which ensued as a garda tried to arrest Mr Fleming at the station.
She said she had put her hand on the garda to try to get Mr Fleming out of the headlock, but she denied biting the officer.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Eamon de Valera and a jury.