A GARDA who won a Scott medal for bravery was awarded £15,000 in the High Court yesterday following stress problems suffered as a result of a 1990 incident in which two armed robbers died.
Garda Michael Jordan (34) Cabra Garda station, Dublin said he did not seek compensation for that incident at the time but was now claiming over another matter in 1992 when three men beat him up.
Following the second incident he sought medical help and it was only then he learned he had been suffering from post traumatic stress from the first incident.
Mr Justice Budd, in his judgment, said that on July 7th 1992, Garda Jordan was the driver of a patrol car pursuing car thieves. The vehicles reached speeds of 115 mph. After the thieves abandoned the car near Dublin, Garda Jordan gave chase but when he tried to use his baton they seized it and beat him. Garda Jordan was covered in blood, was bruised on the chest and legs and had a nose injury which required surgery.
Underlying the episode was an incident in which the garda had been involved in the pursuit of armed robbers on July 6th, 1990, at Leixlip. Two men drove off at high speed and three bullets were fired at Garda Jordan's car.
Mr Justice Budd said he wanted to emphasise he was dealing with compensation for the aggravation of Garda Jordan's condition in 1992 causing by pre-existing post traumatic stress arising from the 1990 incident. The judge added that the garda had received the Scott medal for bravery after an incident in 1988. Earlier, Garda Jordan said in evidence the 1990 chase ended at Fairview, Dublin, where there was a shoot out between the robbers and detectives. The robbers were killed.