Silencing The Garda Whistleblowers

In Politicsby Fedayn22 Comments

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Back in 2010 The Sunday Tribune’s Ali Bracken reported on an alleged assault by Garda Assistant Commissioner Derek Byrne on Garda Whistleblower Sgt. Maurice McCabe.

In 2008, the Whistleblower had alleged serious charges against colleagues in the Cavan/Monaghan area, including framing of innocent people for crimes, failing to investigate serious crimes including sexual assault and hijacking, publishing details of a victim of domestic abuse on social media, drunkenness at work and failure of management.

In May 2008 Assistant Commissioner Derek Byrne was put in charge of the investigation into the allegations. He had been the senior Garda based in Sligo at the time of some of the allegations; in other words he was tasked with investigating himself and his subordinates. It was reported by John Mooney in the Sunday Times of November 2010 that Byrne’s two year internal investigation ‘upheld complaints over the failure of officers to follow procedures, but found no evidence of corruption.’ 

The heated meeting at the Hillgrove Hotel, Monaghan took place on 11th October 2010 – presumably subsequent to the whistleblower Sgt. McCabe’s learning of the investigation’s report finding contrary to his produced evidence .

We have reprinted the Sunday Tribune report on what allegedly transpired below [emphasis our own]:

 

Assistant Garda commissioner accused of assault:

THE GARDA commissioner has received a criminal complaint alleging that assistant commissioner Derek Byrne physically restrained and falsely imprisoned a garda whistleblower in a hotel in Monaghan last month.

Byrne had been appointed to oversee an internal investigation after a garda made a number of serious allegations against his colleagues in the Cavan/ Monaghan area.

He claimed gardaí failed to investigate certain serious crimes including a sexual assault, physical assault, a case of false imprisonment and hijacking.

The whistleblower also alleged that some officers regularly turned up drunk to work. The garda, who has been moved from his station in the Bailieborough district since he made his complaint, also claimed that gardaí posted information about a victim of domestic violence on Bebo, the social-networking website.

The accusations were made in a report passed to Brian McCarthy, former sec­retary-general to President McAleese.

McCarthy was appointed by the government to receive confidential information from gardaí who want to report corruption and wrongdoing in the force. As a result, a major internal investigation was launched in May 2008, led by assistant commissioner Byrne.

Byrne met with the garda whistleblower and two other gardaí at the Hillgrove Hotel in Monaghan on 11 October. The meeting was held to discuss the investigation, which is almost complete.

It is understood the assistant commissioner had not upheld some of the more serious allegations made by the whistleblower and these issues were discussed at the heated meeting.

At the meeting, the whistleblower voiced concerns that Byrne was the assistant commissioner based in Sligo at the time of some of the alleged misconduct, meaning he would have had responsibility for the Bailieborough district and therefore could not be seen to be impartial. 

The garda also brought to the meeting boxes of documents printed from the garda intelligence system, Pulse, which he said clearly showed that gardaí had falsely claimed members of the community were involved in criminality. 

The whistleblower claimed that officers had incorrectly stated that innocent people were involved in crime, in a bid to increase their returns on work.

The whistleblower said he planned to hand this information over to an independent body rather than the assistant commissioner. 

The garda then allegedly attempted to leave the room where the meeting was taking place with his boxes of documentation. In his complaint to the Garda Commissioner, the officer claimed Byrne restrained him by the arm and shoulder to prevent him leaving the room. Byrne then allegedly blocked the door and refused to let the garda leave with the documentation. 

One of the gardaí present, a representative from the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors, tried to calm the situation down.

The whistleblower claimed he was unable to leave the room and was again obstructed by the assistant commissioner when he tried to leave with the files. Byrne then took possession of the boxes of documents and left the hotel. 

The fourth garda present was Chief Supt Terry McGinn.

It is understood the boxes of documents seized by the assistant commissioner alleging misuse of the Pulse system are to be investigated, but Byrne is not to lead this investigation.

The documents have been placed in safekeeping and because of the conflict between the whistleblower and Byrne, another officer will be appointed to probe the fresh allegations.

The assistant commissioner has been informed that a criminal complaint has been made against him in relation to the incident in the hotel.

It is understood he will deny he assaulted and falsely imprisoned the garda but will admit there was an incident at the hotel between the pair.

Formal statements have not yet been taken by gardaí. The Garda Commissioner has also been formally requested to set up an independent inquiry into the allegations of criminal malpractice at Bailieborough.

A spokesman for the garda press office said he could not comment on an internal investigation. The Sunday Tribune understands deputy commissioner Nacie Rice has been appointed to investigate the allegations made against Byrne.

ENDS

 

In  light of today’s report in Broadsheet (here) surrounding transcripts of Garda McCabe’s discussion with confidential reporter Oliver Connolly we believe it’s important to log the Sunday Tribune report which can be found on the Way Back Machine.

Garda John Wilson, another whistleblower, in a radio documentary ‘The Garda Who Limped’ (available here) reiterated some of McCabe’s claims of serious corruption including falsification of evidence against innocent people. He had a rat tied to his front door.

Other whistleblowers and those highlighting problems or investigating issues within the force have been subject to threats, implied or otherwise, or harassment or derision.

This case, the Kieran Boylan affair, the murder of Fr. Niall Molloy and recent GSOC bugging claims are part of a general malaise when it comes to policing and reporting in Ireland. (more cases such as deaths in custody, missing evidence etc covered here by Soundmigration)

This has seen  journalist Gemma O’Doherty fired from the Independent, Clare Daly TD handcuffed and humiliated over a drink-driving arrest (subsequently cleared), TDs harassed and Sgt. McCabe told by Connolly: “I’ll tell you something Maurice and this is just personal advice to you. If Shatter thinks you’re screwing him, you’re finished.”

UPDATE: Read the Guerin Report (released May 9th 2014 which helped cause Justice Minister Alan Shatter’s eventual resignation and contains reference to much of Sergeant McCabe’s complaint) here

 

Comments

  1. LOL that photo must have been taken by Pats or Bohs arriving in Tallaght!

  2. The super ing sligo and the local colooney cop threatened me with violence. For trying to do a music and arts event..the fucking super like…

  3. Who watches the watchmen? No wonder GSOC has come under fire the second they try to do anything that might be considered a slipup. Not in the eyes of the law, but in the eyes of the old established order riddled with unaccountability, unfettered to significant checks and balances. With regards to journalistic coverage of the story, many journalists rely on sources from within the gardai. They can become reliant on these sources and, in some cases, become mouthpieces for the sources. That’s the old way of doing things. Brown envelopes. I’ll scratch your back if you’ll scratch mine. This is what happens when everybody is in bed with one another. I just hope that we can get some sort of functioning ombudsman office by the end of it all.

  4. Who watches the watchmen? No wonder GSOC has come under fire the second they try to do anything that might be considered a slipup. Not in the eyes of the law, but in the eyes of the old established order riddled with unaccountability, unfettered to significant checks and balances. With regards to journalistic coverage of the story, many journalists rely on sources from within the gardai. They can become reliant on these sources and, in some cases, become mouthpieces for the sources. That’s the old way of doing things. Brown envelopes. I’ll scratch your back if you’ll scratch mine. This is what happens when everybody is in bed with one another. I just hope that we can get some sort of functioning ombudsman office by the end of it all.

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  9. Getting this warning when sharing.

  10. DPP s office needs to be investigated. Garda who reported corruption, fraud cover ups and stitch ups by senior gardai and the top people in justice departments gets death threats which were ignored by TD s, DPP s office and justice departments.They also tried stitching him up with a crime like they did with ian bailey. Get this government out now.http://www.irishexaminer.com/analysis/a-government-that-instinctively-protected-a-minister-over-the-garda-whistleblower-cannot-be-insulated-from-revelations-268129.html.

  11. Kieran Boylan worked for mi5/mi6 you cant constantly bring heroin over from UK through Holyhead unless your working for the Brits…Gerry Adams came a cropper by having meetings with him…..

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