A witness has claimed that two off-duty gardaí became aggressive when they couldn't find prostitutes while on a Christmas party night out in Limerick.
James Morrison (22), was giving evidence at Limerick District Court in the case of two off-duty gardaí accused of assaulting him and his brother outside a pub in Limerick city last year.
David Naughton, (33) with an address in Lucan, Dublin, and Wesley Kenny (33) of Sandyford, Dublin - both based at Garda stations in Dublin - deny assaulting Luke Morrison and his brother James Morrison (19), at Catherine Street, Limerick on December 5th last.
Luke Morrison told the court the off-duty officers tried to force their way way into his home at Upper Cecil Street in Limerick, and later assaulted him and his brother after inquiring where they could find prostitutes.
In his evidence today, his brother James Morrison recalled meeting the accused men as he was walking with his brother to a fast food outlet.
He said they were walking by the side of Jerry Flannery’s bar on Catherine Street when they were stopped by the off-duty gardaí, who started explaining why they had earlier tried to gain access to his brother’s house.
“They said it was a complete misunderstanding and they were only looking for ‘brazzers’ or women,” Mr Morrison told the court.
The witness said he told the defendants they could find prostitutes another block up the road adding: “They seemed to get aggressive that they couldn’t find any.”
He recalled in his evidence “being wrestled to the ground” and being struck in the face and the side of the head.
Mr Morrison claimed he was hit a couple of times before the accused men identified themselves gardaí.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel Breffni Gordon, James Morrison admitted he had warned the off-duty officers that “there was a car-load of his friends coming”, but claimed he was only bluffing.
He denied he had a knife behind his back and said he would “never bluff about a weapon”.
In his evidence, Garda Kieran Curtin said when he arrived at the scene a male told him the Morrison brothers had attacked the defendants with a machete, and this had led to the dispute.
Garda Curtin separated the parties and David Naughton told him that Luke Morrison had a weapon.
He said he searched the 19-year-old but didn’t find a weapon and nothing was found following a search of the immediate area.
Garda Curtin said he offered everyone present on the night the opportunity to make a statement of complaint, but the defendants declined.
The case is continuing at Limerick District Court before Judge Grainne O’Neill, where legal argument is currently under way.