A man who locked a garda inside a gate following the arrest of his son for dangerous driving and who then abused the garda, was ordered to pay €250 to a Garda charity for children with special needs in the midwest this week in Ballyhaunis District Court, for obstructing obstructing a peace officer.
Martin Delaney, Kilknock, Brickens, Claremorris, pleaded guilty to the charge and apologised to Sgt Declan Casey in court.
In his evidence Sgt Casey said he was travelling back from Roscommon in an unmarked Garda van on May 4 2010 when he was passing through the Brickens area. He was also being followed by Garda Noel Crinnegan in a marked traffic corps car. He said that he saw a car in front of him which was drifting in and out of its carriageway across to the opposite side of the road. At 10.37pm he activated the blue lights and siren on the van, but the car failed to stop. He went on to say that the car kept driving for 300m before it pulled into the driveway of a house. When he got out of the van the driver of the car, Michael Delaney, Ballybanne, Brickens, Claremorris, made a run for it, but Sgt Casey was able to stop him and arrest him for dangerous driving.
Continuing his evidence, Sgt Casey said he put Michael Delaney in the back of Garda Crinnegan’s patrol car and as he was walking back to the van, the passenger in the car, Martin Delaney, got out and started verbally abusing him, before he locked one of two gates in the driveway, which prevented Sgt Casey from getting the Garda van out of the driveway. Sgt Casey went on to say that Martin Delaney kept abusing him and he was becoming very animated until his wife came outside and calmed the situation and convinced him to unlock the gate.
Sgt Casey continued his evidence, telling the court that Michael Delaney was transferred to Castlebar Garda Station where he was charged with dangerous driving and was also informed that Sgt Casey suspected him of drink driving and asked him to give a breath sample, which returned a reading of 41mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath.
Following legal argument by his solicitor Evan O’Dwyer, over the validity of Sgt Casey to arrest Michael Delaney where he did, Judge Mary Devins stated that the Gardaí did have the right to do so.
She convicted and fined Michael O’Dwyer €300 for drink driving and banned him from driving for one year. She also convicted him of careless driving rather than the more serious offence of dangerous driving.
