A GARDA SERGEANT has denied directing two junior gardaí to leave him alone with a criminal suspect, who alleged he was immediately subjected to an attack in a room at a Waterford Garda Station.
The sergeant, who has 28 years of service in An Garda Síochána, also contests claims that he pressured a junior colleague to make a “false” entry on the station’s custody register regarding the treatment of the suspect on 9 March 2022.
Taking the stand in his trial today, Sgt William Doyle further denied allegations he assaulted the suspect and instead said he had been seeking to “calm the situation” when dealing with the young man, who had been arrested that morning over an assault allegedly involving a pickaxe.
Charges
Doyle is pleading not guilty to a section 2 assault charge against the man in custody, under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, and another charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice by requesting no record be taken.
The case arose on foot of an investigation by the Garda Ombudsman (GSOC) and a prosecution by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Barrister for the prosecution David Perry alleged “three different assaults” occurred between Doyle and the suspect.
These included one guard hearing a “skin on skin” slap as her back was turned, two other gardaí both hearing a “commotion” from within the room, and another involving Doyle allegedly “pinning” the suspect near the window.
Doyle denied that any of these had taken place as alleged and insisted he was entitled to protect himself.
In a previous hearing, Garda Rachel Pratt alleged that Sgt William Doyle had told her not to “mention” an incident in the fingerprinting room in which he allegedly assaulted the suspect at the station in Ballybricken in Waterford city.
Instead, Pratt said she was told to record that the suspect, a man aged in his 20s who had been arrested earlier that morning, had become “aggressive” and that Doyle had tried to restrain him.
Pratt, who was on probation at the time, previously told Waterford District Court that it “didn’t feel right”.
During today’s hearing, Doyle insisted he told Garda Pratt that “the incident needed to be recorded” in the station’s register.
He told the court:
“Garda Pratt asked me what will I write in. My reply to her was I cannot put words into your mouth Rachel but the matter needs to be recorded,” he recalled.
He told the court that he was providing extra supervision to Pratt as part of his duties. Later, he said she needed “a lot of extra supervision” to “help her with her weaknesses” at work.
He denied pressuring her.
Giving evidence, Doyle said the situation arose when he had asked the suspect, who at this point was in a room across a narrow hallway from his office, whether he was arrested some weeks earlier for assaulting his girlfriend.
Doyle explained that he was trying to identify the suspect as he had been speaking with the man’s mother earlier that morning at the station. He said the woman told him she “feared” for her safety and that her son may try to “burn her house down”.
Perry, prosecuting, told Doyle that it was “quite a pointed question” and asked why he didn’t ask him his name to identify him. Responding, Doyle said he did not know the first name of the suspect and stressed that he held no judgement towards him for the allegations facing him.
After this, the sergeant said the suspect grew aggressive and started shouting profanities.
Doyle, who was responsible for the welfare of staff and prisoners in the station, said he sought to calm the situation and went towards the room holding the suspect.
He outlined using his forearm across the suspect’s chest area to keep him in the chair. Doyle said his tie had been pulled off, falling to the floor, and he feared if the younger man was able to stand then it would increase the chance of the guard being attacked.
He also defended himself against accusations that he had directed two junior gardaí to leave the room when he told them: “Give me two secs there lads”.
Detective Garda Sean Lane and Garda Darren Colfer previously outlined their recollections of what happened.
When asked last month what he thought Doyle meant by his words, Lane said he “interpreted that I was to leave the room”.
Lane, who was not yet at detective rank at the time, added that he was thinking: “He’s a sergeant, I’m a guard.”
Explaining the incident, Doyle said he was asking if he could “get by” and enter the small room.
He said he wanted to “calm the situation”, further referring to the less experienced status of some of the members present.
“Garda Lane is a junior member, he still is a junior member, he was a very junior member at the time,” he said.
Closing the hearing, Judge John O’Leary told the room that the case was a “serious matter” and he would not be giving an “off the cuff decision” on the allegations.
He said he will issue a decision in court on 5 July.
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