24 cops have day in court and get bollixing from judge

national | miscellaneous | news report Thursday August 08, 2002 15:11 by decoy

I got this story elsewhere, but it's a rich one. Sorry about the bad typing.... -decoy

> Occasionally you get a story from a Taxi driver that's worth retelling
> =20
> =20
> Tony the Taxi Driver
>
> I got a lift home from Nuromantek (the club) last night with Aileen. We =
> hailed this taxi on Tomas Street and got in. The driver was listening to =
> 98FM and I commented that the talk show did my head in and I couldn't =
> bare to listen to it.
>
> He said he was listening to it because people were on about the cops and =
> how they'd bungled the opportunity to catch the robbers who got away =
> with EUR450,000 from a heist at the Omnipark shopping centre in Santry. =
> Apparently there was 3 separate 999 calls that weren't even answered by =
> the Gardai.
>
> He said do you want to know where they were. The cops were all down in =
> Court 50 trying to get people put away on Public Order offences. By this =
> time we'd reached Mountjoy St. and were sitting in the car listening to =
> Tony's story.
>
> He was relaying the tales from Court 50 from that day. The cops had =
> tried to have two people prosecuted on public order offences and the =
> judge went bezerk saying that they had to have evidence in order to =
> bring cases. Tony was there for another reason.
>
> He was dropping someone off in Nassau Street. Another couple of people =
> jumped into the car. He was about to drive off when a flatfooted =
> youngster arrived on the scene and rapped on the window. The cop wrote =
> out a ticket for parking in Nassau Street. Tony didn't protest, he even =
> stopped his passengers from protesting and took the ticket and drove off =
> a couple of feet. Then the cop shouted after him and said "By the way - =
> Can you produce your passport?" Tony you see is black and speaks with an =
> African accent. "Excuse me Guard " he said after looking at him up and =
> down "where are u from?" Ireland of course he blustered asking why - =
> puzzled as to why this black man should ask him that. "Because you're an =
> Irish cop, and the last time I checked it was in police states like =
> Germany and Italy that they checked peoples papers." Cop lost the plot =
> and arrested Tony.
>
> He was carted off to Pearse Street station. There his colleagues for =
> "getting an asylum seeker" congratulated the young cop. When they found =
> out the facts of the case - the congratulations dried up. Tony had =
> produced his Taxi mans badge, and his laminated ID for being a =
> legitimate driver of a taxi but the guard had arrested when he couldn't =
> produce a passport.
>
> Tony went to his cell after being asked what he was being charged with. =
> The young cop came down after an hour and asked Tony to leave. He had =
> not found a reason or law that had been broken. Tony refused to leave. =
> He said - you arrested me - you have kept me here - you must now charge =
> me and I go to court and deal with this. After two and a half hours a =
> charge was brought and Tony would have his day in court. I think it was =
> under Public Order - as all other laws didn't apply. Aliens act didn't =
> apply.=20
>
> First day in court - the witness for the cop didn't show up. Yesterday =
> in court the witness did show up. Tony asked him how many passengers was =
> in the car when it was stopped in Nassau St. Witness didn't know. Tony =
> asked if the car looked parked (i.e. unoccupied). Witness said No. Tony =
> asked him how long the car was there for ? Witness didn't know. Tony =
> then had the cop in the witness stand. Why was he arrested ? The young =
> cop said that he arrested him after the ticket was given out. Why ? Cop =
> couldn't say why as he though there might have been some remarks passed =
> - (was the best he could come up with as there was no other law dealing =
> with this.) Tony asked him why he wasn't charged with anything until two =
> and a half hours later. Cop really was lost at this stage.
>
> The Judge - his third case under Public Order offences was apoplectic. =
> No evidence that any offence had occurred apart from the Parking =
> offence. He wanted to know why this man was before him in a court of =
> law. Of course the reason was because the ignorant little pig thought he =
> could arrest a black man for looking at him and not showing his =
> passport. He was wrong. The Judge lectured all 25 cops (that's where =
> they were yesterday when the lads were making off with EUR450,000 in =
> Santry - in court 50) that they had to make and prove a case. They were =
> supposed to be developing trust with the public and instead they were =
> wasting his time and damaging themselves with these numerous cases.
>
> The Case was dismissed. Tony holds a british passport and of course has =
> all the rights that go with that. Tony said that he was going to take a =
> case against the cop for unlawful detention. Young cop freaked and said =
> "Look Tony, I'm really sorry please don't take a case against me. Is =
> there anything I could do to avoid you taking the case ?" He didn't want =
> it on his career that he'd fucked up like this. Tony after the days =
> hearings went up to the Judge and said that he would drop his proposed =
> case on the basis that the young cop - as an individual, not as a cop, =
> not on behalf of the police or the state or his job, but as himself, =
> wrote a letter of apology. The Judge deemed this to be acceptable, and =
> so he was driving around Dublin last night with a smile on his face =
> knowing that somewhere in the Pearse street area a young racist recruit =
> was sitting down with pen and paper writing=20
>
> "Dear Tony,
>
> I........................."