A garda hit a May 2002 "Reclaim the Streets" demonstrator over the head with a baton after dragging him back by the hood of his sweatshirt, a jury in Dublin's Circuit Criminal Court has been told.
Garda Donal Corcoran of Mountjoy Garda station is also accused of assaulting two other demonstrators on the same occasion.
He has pleaded not guilty to three counts of assault causing harm on May 6th, 2002, to Mr ÓisíBreen, Butterfield Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin; Ms Katie Crean, New Cabra Road, Dublin; and Mr Brian Hayden, Knockmore Grove, Tallaght, Dublin.
Mr Thomas O'Connell SC, for the State, said in his opening statement that there had been a great deal of publicity in relation to this case in the days following the protest. He advised the jury members to put anything they read behind them. He said that "any sentiments you have, whether they be pro-activist, pro-gardaí or anti-activist, anti-gardaí should not interfere with your judgment".
Mr O'Connell said the jury would hear evidence that the demonstration, described by the organisers as a "street carnival", assembled on Burgh Quay in Dublin city centre. It then made its way up the quays turning onto Parliament Street towards City Hall.
"The demonstrators were first confronted with gardaí at the Central Bank on Dame Street, where some gardaí wore plain clothes and some were uniformed."
The three people allegedly assaulted by Garda Corcoran were students taking part in the demonstration.
Mr Brian Hayden claimed he was struck with a baton on the head by Garda Corcoran and received eight stitches.
He said that when he got as far as the Central Bank on Dame Street, his attention was drawn to a man lying on the ground in the foetal position. The man was surrounded by two or three gardaí and they were "beating him all over with their batons".
It was at this point Mr Hayden tried to intervene, he said, and he asked the gardaí to stop. He said he was then hit with a baton in the neck. He moved away where he saw other people being hit with batons and tried to intervene again. He was hit on the arm by gardaí.
Mr Hayden said he moved back again but then he was dragged by the hood of his sweatshirt and he received a blow to the head from a baton. He told the court he did not see who hit him.
He covered his head with his hands and there was blood streaming everywhere. With his friends' help he moved towards Parliament Street and then onto Temple Bar, where they asked a senior garda for assistance.
The garda ignored their request for help, so they moved on to Christchurch, where they got an ambulance to St James's Hospital.
He had not been arrested by gardaí or charged because of his participation in the demonstration. In the days following the incident he made a statement to the Garda Complaints Bureau, where he was shown footage of the incident. From the video evidence, he identified himself and the garda who hit him to the jury.
A garda wearing a blue shirt appeared in the foreground of the first frame of the footage and then appeared to move into the background towards the witness. Mr Hayden was then seen to be pulled back from the crowd by this garda.
He denied that the video recording showed him jumping on top of the gardaí at the demonstration and that he had intervened in an aggressive manner and directed a kick at gardaí.
Ms Katie Crean said that as she turned onto Dame Street with other protesters they were met by a line of gardaí who approached them, forcing them to disperse and turn onto Anglesea Street.
She was one of the last people to be moved onto the side road and the line of gardaí was directly behind her pushing the crowd forward. There were so many people on the street the crowd was moving very slowly and a lot of people were tripping up.
At this point she turned around to the gardaí behind her and asked: "Why are you pushing us? We are all going in the same direction." She turned back to continue moving along the street when she received a blow to the back of the head and fell to the ground. The trial continues.