Woman falsely imprisoned by Irish Rail staff awarded €16,000

Irish Rail made “unwarranted slurs” in court against a marketing executive who sued the company for assault and false imprisonment, a Circuit Civil Court judge has said.

The company used “unattractive comments” posted on Twitter by Sarah Doupe to establish she was a violent and crude person who had abused members of staff at Pearse Street Station on the night of the 2013 Trinity Ball, Judge Francis Comerford said.

“This was a line deliberately taken by the defence which was not made out and compounded the harm done to the plaintiff by the false imprisonment on the night,” he said.

Ms Doupe (26), of Maryville, Skerries Road, Lusk, Co Dublin, was among but not part of a black-tie crowd who stepped off a packed Dart train at Pearse Station on 5th April, 2013 into the middle of a dispute over tickets.

She had a ticket but became involved in an altercation with Irish Rail employee Darren Williams, who had fined a man who did not have a ticket.

This man shouted: “F**k you, you bald f***ot. Get a real job” at Mr Williams

Judge Comerford said that when Ms Doupe was not given Mr Williams’ name she reached for his identity badge which on a lanyard around his neck. She claimed she was pushed backwards by him.

Photograph

Ms Doupe took a photograph of Mr Williams on her phone and refused to delete it. As she attempted to leave the station a number of staff and security men were instructed to, and did, detain her on the ramp. She denied calling Mr Williams “a fat Nazi b***ard” and threatening to bite him.

Judge Comerford told Fergal Fitzgerald Doyle, Mr Doupe’s barrister, that he accepted she had been detained for refusing to delete the photograph and had been held until gardaí arrived minutes later. He dismissed her claim of assault.

The judge, in a significant reserved judgment, said Irish Rail employees dealing with late night crowds, bus and taxi drivers, nightclub bouncers, gardaí­ and staff at A&E Departments were subject to abuse ranging from offensive comment to grave assaults. He said Irish Rail had advertised that it would not tolerate abuse of staff, and this was clearly a laudable policy.

Mr Williams was complying with company policy in issuing the man with a fine when he became involved in the altercation with Ms Doupe who wanted to know his name. She was in no way intoxicated, abusive or out of control, as alleged by Irish Rail. Had she been given Mr Williams’ name, she most likely would have left but instead took the photograph of him.

“Gardai, parking wardens or security staff would have legitimate concern about being photographed and would have a desire that any photographs taken of them while engaged in their work would be deleted,” the judge said.

Bandied

It was a real concern that such photographs would be bandied about on social media with hurtful and insulting comments and clearly Mr Williams thought wrongly that once gardaí arrived the picture would be deleted.

“We have to bow to the realisation that none of us have any right not to be photographed in a public place…a feature that has become more pronounced now that so many people carry a camera in their phone,” the judge said.

He said a law stopping the taking of photographs in public places would create more problems than it would avoid and a prohibition by Irish Rail against photographs being taken in their stations would be a very bad rule if introduced and would give an impression of a cloak being drawn over fault.

“I am of the view that a law restricting the use of photographs by disseminating them without consent of the subject for the purpose of causing harm or embarrassment would be a far better and more workable rule than one which barred the taking of photographs in a public place,” Judge Comerford said.

He was satisfied Ms Doupe had been detained because she had taken the photograph and that Mr Williams had not been adequately identified to her.

A difficult to remember identity number had been given to Ms Doupe but he felt hiding a name carried tinges of something that was discreditable or needed to be hidden.

Awarding Ms Doupe €16,000 damages for false imprisonment, Judge Comerford said if there was a policy of keeping identities confidential there had to be a system allowing a member of the public to be able to identify the person they were dealing with. Costs were also awarded against Irish Rail.