Garda who sued State after he was shot by his own machine gun settles action

High Court reporters

A garda who sued the State after he was shot in the leg when his submachine gun discharged after he claimed it snagged on his bulletproof vest has settled his High Court action.

The garda brought an action against the Garda Commissioner, the Minister for Justice and the Attorney General.

The garda’s ankle was shattered after he claimed he was required to manoeuvre himself within the confined space of a patrol vehicle, leading to the safety selector switch and the trigger of his firearm allegedly snagging on his bulletproof vest and the gun discharging one round.

In evidence, the garda told the court he had never experienced pain like it and nearly passed out.

On the third day of the hearing, the garda's counsel, Richard Kean SC instructed by solicitor Brigid O'Donnell, told the court the case had been settled and could be struck out.

In the proceedings, it was claimed that there was a failure to provide the garda with a safe place of work, and he had been caused to carry his firearm in close proximity in a confined space while wearing allegedly inappropriate personal protective equipment.

Ms Justice Denise Brett ruled that the garda and any Garda witness in the case could not be identified.

At the opening of the case this week, the court heard that liability was admitted.

In his evidence, the garda, who was in the force over 15 years at the time of the incident, said he had been on patrol in July 2019 with colleagues in an area where there had been serious incidents including shootings.

He said he was the driver of the jeep and he was wearing a bulletproof vest. He had a pistol in a holster and a submachine gun in a sling around his neck pointing down.

He said he turned around to check the back seat when his submachine gun discharged.

“I felt immediate excruciating pain and I saw smoke from the weapon and blood squirting up to the seat,” he said.

He added: “The pain really kicked in; it was so bad, I nearly passed out. I never experienced that type of pain,” he said.

He said his colleague made his weapons safe and he was brought to hospital.

“The ankle was shattered. I remember the doctor saying my leg was a mush before I went into surgery,” he told the judge.

The bullet had gone through the back of his left leg and ankle joint and his left ankle had shattered. He had to have surgery and later physiotherapy and he was out of work for 18 months after the incident.

The garda told the court he did everything he could to build up his leg afterwards “but the pain never really left.”