A Garda who sustained serious injuries after he was head-butted and violently assaulted by a prisoner in the back seat of a patrol car was awarded more than €230,000 in compensation at the High Court yesterday.
In an affidavit, Garda Denis Mulligan (34), with an address in Lucan, Co Dublin, said he was on duty in Dublin city on September 14th, 1997. He and a colleague arrested a man for drink-driving and placed the man in the back of the patrol car, with Garda Mulligan seated beside him.
The man tried to escape and when the garda moved to prevent that, the man hit him in the face and head-butted him with such force he was propelled back into his seat.
Garda Mulligan said the man also tried to bite him in the arm and shouted: "I'm an addict, you're a dead man." The prisoner also kicked him repeatedly on the right side of his body and stamped on his foot. Eventually, with the assistance of other gardaí, the man was restrained. The garda said he suffered serious injuries, including to the neck and shoulder. He also suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome and became depressed after the incident. His injuries were subsequently compounded by two road accidents in March 1999 and September 2000. Legal proceedings were ongoing as a result of those accidents.
Mr Richard McDonnell SC, for Garda Mulligan, said his client had been out of work for 3½ years since the incident in September 1997, and his future in the Garda was uncertain.
Giving his decision, Mr Justice O'Neill said the garda had had an "appalling time" since the 1997 assault. He had received various treatments and had been on a pain management programme over the past two years. There had been some improvement and the prospect of more in the future. The two road accidents which he was involved in later had exacerbated the neck injuries. He awarded €230,638 in compensation.
