An inquest has opened into the death of a father of three who suffered a fatal heart attack after being arrested and removed from the emergency department of Midlands Regional Hospital, Mullingar in 2019.
Mullingar man Danny McCormack (40) arrived at the hospital on the evening of March 23rd, 2019 complaining of chest pains. However, he became increasingly agitated and refused to co-operate with staff in the emergency department, the inquest heard.
Gardaí received reports of a disturbance shortly after 8pm and arrested Mr McCormack.
He was held in Garda custody for just 17 minutes, the inquest heard. Shortly after his release from Garda custody, he suffered a heart attack and was returned to the hospital by ambulance where he was pronounced dead.
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Hazel McCormack, the wife of the deceased, said when she arrived at the hospital, accompanied by her sister Tara Rhatigan, they observed Mr McCormack sitting on the ground outside with two gardaí standing beside him.
Ms McCormack said she told gardaí her husband was “on the verge of a heart attack” but said one of the officers told her he had “already been checked out” and that she should “bring him home”.
She and Ms Rhatigan both gave evidence that, as they were walking away, they heard gardaí mention boxing, suggesting Mr McCormack “wanted a box” and “sneering”.
Ms McCormack said: “Danny turned around and said very calmly: Do you want to box a man who is about to have a heart attack?”
She said one of the gardaí then “body slammed” her husband to the ground.
“You could hear the bang. It was terrifying,” she said.
When she spoke to one of the nurses who had encountered her husband, Ms McCormack was told that her husband had not been treated.
Giving evidence at the inquest, both gardaí denied sneering or saying Mr McCormack was “looking for a box” as he was walking away with his wife and sister-in-law.
Both said Mr McCormack turned around and said “Would you fight a man who is having a heart attack?” before telling one of them “I’ll box you in the face”.
It was at that stage that gardaí arrested him, they said. However, they denied “body slamming” him to the ground and insisted “reasonable force was used”.
They said that any abrasions on Mr McCormack’s person were caused by him resisting arrest.
CCTV played at the inquest showed a discussion with gardaí before Mr McCormack is tackled to the ground and arrested under Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994.
A Gsoc investigation was conducted and it concluded that there was no wrongdoing by any member of An Garda Síochána.
Regarding the short period of detention, it was put to gardaí this was because someone had realised Mr McCormack shouldn’t have been in custody in the first place. The inquest heard the man had “calmed down” and become “apologetic” following his arrest.
He was released and given a lift home. While his wife was on the way home, however, she received a phone call from her daughter, who told her Mr McCormack was “bleeding” and “dead”.
An ambulance brought Mr McCormack back to Mullingar. Ms McCormack was later told that, although a medical team “worked on him for 45 minutes”, her husband had died.
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The inquest continues on Tuesday at Mullingar courthouse.
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