Court Hears Of Detainee's Humiliating Treatment By Gardai

A judge has heard that a detainee at Longford Garda station was told to remove his trousers and underpants and had his privates “inspected” by gardaí.

Mr Justice Matthew Deery heard it was one of a litany of humiliating experiences gardaí put Paraic Brady through after a squad of nine had turned up to arrest him and search his home for evidence.

Mr Brady told the Circuit Civil Court he had been woken in his bed on April 19th, 2004, by Det Garda Jim Campbell and told to get dressed and was arrested, handcuffed and taken outside to a Garda car in the full view of neighbours.

Barrister Ronan Kennedy said Mr Brady, who suffered from depression, had never been charged with any crime despite gardaí suspecting him of having harassed a former neighbour in a letter.

Mr Brady’s elderly mother, Anna, outlined to the judge how she stood in her nightclothes on the landing, watching gardaí brush past her husband Patrick (since deceased) and ignore his inquiry as to whether they had a search warrant.

Det Garda Campbell (now retired), who had led the arrest and search team, told the court he had not obtained a search warrant.

He had been investigating the alleged harassment of a former neighbour of Mr Brady’s, who had claimed she had received letters of a pornographic nature.

Mr Brady told the court how he had been interviewed at the garda station and wile some of it was videotaped, the recording was also stopped for periods of time.

He claimed that garda told to lower his pants and underpants, and his privates had been “looked at” by a number of gardaí in the cell, which he had been told was “routine”.

Following a two-day hearing, in which gardaí denied claims of any wrongdoing, the judge was told yesterday that Mr Brady’s €38,000 claim had been settled and could be struck out with an order covering his legal costs.

(H)