Garda accused of refusing to answer query

The chairman of the Barr tribunal has accused the Garda negotiator at the Abbeylara siege of refusing to answer his questions in relation to the dangers of crossfire at the scene.

Mr Justice Barr told Det Insp Michael Jackson yesterday: "I will have to draw my own conclusions" - if the negotiator continued to evade his questions.

Det Insp Jackson (detective sergeant at the time of the siege) was recalled to the tribunal to address matters which have arisen since his appearance as a witness last October.

The examination of subsequent witnesses identified a potential high risk of "blue on blue fire", or crossfire, between gardaí at the time Mr John Carthy was shot dead outside his home in Abbeylara, Co Longford, in April 2000.

When Mr Carthy emerged on to the roadway outside his house carrying a shotgun, he placed himself in between two groups of gardaí; Emergency Response Unit officers to his right and local armed officers to his left.

He then turned in the direction of the local gardaí, putting the ERU officers at his back. It was in this position that he was shot dead by members of the ERU.

Members of the local armed force, including Det Sgt Aidan Foley, have told the tribunal they believed their lives were in danger from Mr Carthy, in the moments before he was shot. Sgt Foley said he was about to open fire on Mr Carthy before the shooting.

Mr Justice Barr put it to Det Insp Jackson that if an officer feared for his life, he might not be a very accurate shot and this would increase the risk of crossfire.

Det Insp Jackson said the risk of crossfire was "minimal". Local members had been instructed that they were to act only as a back-up to the ERU.

Mr Justice Barr said there was "an issue of panic" among the local gardaí who were running for cover. "Would it add to your, or have had an effect on your, assessment that there was a minimal risk of crossfire, if armed officers were in a state of panic?"

Insp Jackson replied it was not his understanding that any officer had panicked.

Judge Barr said that was an issue for him to decide and asked Insp Jackson to answer his question.

Counsel for the Garda Commissioner, Mr Diarmuid McGuinness, interjected there was no evidence that gardaí had panicked.

Mr Justice Barr said he did not agree with that and he was entitled to ask the question, "and I will do it".

Counsel for the gardaí, Ms Margaret Nerney, said none of her clients had difficulty answering questions that were "based on the fidelity of the transcript".

The chairman said he would ask Det Insp Jackson again: "Do you wish to answer, yes or no?"

Det Insp Jackson said issues of crossfire were addressed in training. "I would be surprised if members did show panic," he said.

"It is quite clear that you are not prepared to answer the question. If you do not want to answer I must draw my own conclusions," Mr Justice Barr said.