THE GARDA Ombudsman Commission is to carry out a preliminary examination into the wounding of a man who became involved in a siege incident with gardaí on Monday.
The man wounded himself in the throat with a knife when gardaí moved in to end the siege after protracted negotiations failed to convince him to end his protest peacefully.
He barricaded himself into a vehicle in Swords, Co Dublin, after going to a business address in the area to protest over the outcome of a business deal he was involved in. It appears he was waiting in the area to remonstrate with an employee of a local company with whom he had a grievance.
Gardaí believed he was armed and tried to negotiate with him for over five hours. He threatened to harm himself during the stand-off and refused to end his protest. When members of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) used a stun grenade and tried to overpower him, the man stabbed himself.
He was treated at the scene by Garda members before being taken by ambulance to Beaumont Hospital. His condition was described last night as stable and he is expected to survive.
When the extent of the victim's injuries became clear the matter was referred by the Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy to the Garda Ombudsman.
The agency, which investigates complaints against Garda members and all loss of life and serious injury involving gardaí, is conducting a preliminary investigation into the matter. The injured man is said to have been in a distressed state and there is no suggestion his wound was anything other than self-inflicted.
A statement from the Garda Press Office said the incident began at Swords Business Park at 3.30pm and ended at 9pm. The statement confirmed the injured man had threatened to self harm.
When the alarm was raised the Garda put in place a critical incident management plan. Trained negotiators were called in and medical personnel were present.
The victim and gardaí involved will be interviewed by Garda Ombudsman investigators before the next stage of their investigation, if any. The stun grenade used is one of a number of less than lethal weapons in ERU use. They are designed to shock a target by temporarily overpowering the senses, leaving gardaí with a short opportunity to subdue the target.
