Longford man felt "very belittled" by arrest after verbally abusing garda, court is told

Edward 'Blondie' Stokes (32) of Ferriskill, Granard, Longford was before Judge Brendan O’Reilly on three charges. The accused contested charges of impeding a Garda in the execution of their duty, engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour, and failing to comply with the directions of a Garda.

Garda Rob Charman gave evidence of the incident on May 25, 2021. The officer was on motorcycle patrol in the town. Garda Charman spoke of a significant Garda presence in the area in response to a large funeral in Newtownforbes.

The officer stopped a black Lexus with three occupants at the Aughadegnan roundabout outside Longford town. As he spoke to the driver, Mr Stokes, Garda Charman observed the insurance disk on display on the windscreen did not tally with the vehicle.

The driver said he had insurance, but took a disk from another vehicle rather than leave the disk holder empty. The Garda asked for proof of insurance, but Mr Stokes said he did not have it with him, but he would produce it.

Garda Charman explained that he could not let the vehicle be driven until he knew it was insured. The officer said Mr Stokes then started to become abusive. When he asked the driver to get out of the vehicle the defendant became abusive.

“He told me to go f**k myself,” Garda Charman told the judge, “People were passing slowly, it was very open. He refused to get out of the vehicle and continued being abusive.”

The officer told the defendant to calm down and asked for the keys of the car. When the driver again said “go f**k yourself” Garda Charman called for assistance: “I told him he was committing an offence and if he continued to be abusive I would have to arrest him. He again told me to go f**k myself.”

The defendant was arrested and brought to Longford Garda Station. When he was charged Mr Stokes said: “I want my solicitor.”

Under cross examination by counsel for Mr Stokes, Patrick O'Sullivan BL, Garda Charman agreed there was “heightened tension on the day” because of the funeral. He explained he stopped the vehicle to see who was in it and only called for back up because of Mr Stokes' aggression.

Taking to the witness box Mr Stokes explained he left his cousin's funeral early to avoid traffic. Mr Stokes told the court he explained the situation regarding his insurance, that he was insured, but changed the disk from his own car to that of his wife's.

“When he said he was taking the car I said I'd produce the insurance to the station in 10 day, or I could have my wife bring it,” Mr Stokes said in evidence. He told the judge that he was “suddenly surrounded by 10 or 12 Garda”. He claimed he was pulled out of the car and “one of the Guards put his elbow to my throat and shouted: “Where the f**k is the key?”. I told them the fob was in the pouch and that I was choking.”

The defendant claimed that when he was being placed in the cells in Longford Garda Station he was kicked in the back and as he turned around he was punched in the face. He named the officer he accused of the assault.

“I was left in the cell for 15 to 20 minutes. I found it difficult to breathe. The Gardai gave me a lot of abuse,” the witness claimed.

He said he felt “very belittled” by the experience. Prosecuting Inspector, Paddy McGirl, asked the witness if he made a complaint to his solicitor about his treatment when arrested.

“I have not heard anything about it,” Mr Stokes replied. Inspector McGirl asked: “Did you make a complaint to GSOC?”

“No,” the defendant replied. Mr Stokes claimed he sustained swelling to his jaw and a chipped tooth, but was unable to provide any medical records to corroborate the claims.

“Has your solicitor initiated civil proceedings?” the inspector queried. “I parted ways with the solicitor I had at the time, so I don't know what is going on with it at the moment,” the witness said.

Addressing the Judge, Mr O'Sullivan said: “Mr Stokes believes that as a member of the travelling community he does not get a fair crack of the whip. He felt he was specifically targeted and stopped.”

In summing up matters Judge O’Reilly said he found Garda Charman's evidence “credible, honest and clear”. The judge said:

“Mr Stokes had numerous avenues to go down to follow up on the allegation of assault, but had not gone down them. The State has discharged the burden of proof in each of the three charges before the court.”

Inspector McGirl said the defendant has 17 previous convictions. Mr O'Sullivan described his client as a married father of six children, adding “he is not a bad fellow, a very likeable fellow”. Counsel said Mr Stokes finds himself in “a difficult financial situation” as CAB has seized his bank account and his wife's credit union account. He said Mr Stokes is relying on handouts from a cousin.

Taking the facts of the case into consideration Judge O'Reilly imposed a fine of €300 for the charge of impeding a Garda in the execution of his duty, a further fine of €200 along with a two month custodial sentence for engaging in threatening and abusive behaviour and and a fine of €200 for failing to comply with Garda directions.

Recognisances were set in the event of an appeal on the defendant's own bond of €1,000, €200 of which is in cash and two independent surety's, each of €1,000.