This article is from page 2 of the 2007-05-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 2 JPG
A CLARECASTLE woman its seek- ing damages from the State and the Garda Commissioner over her al- leged false imprisonment at Ennis Garda Station five years ago.
The woman is also seeking dam- ages in respect of a Garda making an “unfounded” complaint to the Mid- Western Health Board over the care she provided for her then four year old daughter who was also detained at the station.
The woman’s partner was stopped at a Garda road checkpoint in Clare in August 2002. The woman and her daughter were also in the car.
The partner admits that he turned
his car in the direction of Limerick before he was stopped by a Garda patrol vehicle. The man _ refused to give the garda his address. The Garda found that the tax disc and the insurance disc were apparently out of date. The partner was physically restrained, arrested and brought to Ennis Garda Station.
The woman and her daughter were brought to Ennis Garda Station in a separate Garda vehicle. The man was processed at the station and then placed in a cell, while the woman and her daughter were placed in another room. Legal documents allege that although the woman wasn’t arrested, she was detained at Ennis Garda Sta- tion for a number of hours.
“Arising from the foregoing, the woman was improperly and unlaw- fully detained and falsely imprisoned by the Gardai.”
The affidavit lodged by the woman notes that the State denies that the woman was unlawfully arrested.
Two months later, the woman was contacted by a social worker from the Health Board, setting out that gardai had made contact with the health board outlining concerns they had regarding the woman’s care of her daughter.
In October, the Health Board in- terviewed members of the partner’s family, the woman’s doctor and teachers in her daughter’s school. They interviewed the woman and her
partner on a number of occasions.
The woman subsequently found out that the Garda who made the com- plaint was the Garda who stopped the car driven by her partner the pre- vious August.
The woman claims that the allega- tion made by the Garda was mali- cious and without foundation. She also claims that the allegation was an abuse of position.
The woman is seeking damages for the alleged breach of constitutional rights, damages for abuse or misuse of public position and damages for defamation.
The case is due to come before the civil sittings of Ennis Circuit Court today (Tuesday).