Five-year ombudsman inquiry blocks action on defective garda holsters
All pleas for answers by Garda Colm Horkan’s family and whistleblower stonewalled as Harris and McEntee wait for GSOC f indings
THE Minister for Justice says she is awaiting the results of a fiveyear GSOC investigation into revelations by a Garda whistleblower about defective pistol holsters before she takes further action.
Helen McEntee wrote to the whistleblower’s legal representatives, who have expressed frustration at the pace of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission’s investigation.
Last year the Irish Mail on Sunday revealed how a whistleblower warned management that Gardaissued holsters were ‘not fit for purpose’ before tragedies that led to the death of Detective Colm Horkan and left another officer with life-changing injuries.
And last month, we revealed that the family of Detective Horkan, in the wake of our stories, have demanded answers from Garda Commissioner Drew Harris about what he knew about defective gun holsters before the high-profile killing of the serving officer, who was shot dead with his own firearm. It appears, from documents that have been seen by this newspaper, that Government agencies – the Department of Justice, GSOC and An Garda Síochána – are passing responsibility between one another.
Meanwhile, the family of Detective Horkan and the whistleblower are demanding urgent action. The solicitors of the whistleblower have called for a public inquiry.
On February 14 Ms McEntee’s office wrote to the whistleblower’s solicitors in reply to a letter sent on October 30, 2023, in relation to the protected disclosure.
The letter said: ‘As noted previously in correspondence with your client, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) is statutorily independent of the Minister and no minister can interfere in its considerations, investigations, or any findings arising.
‘The Minister awaits the outcome of the investigation of [name deleted] protected disclosure before considering whether any further action is required. The Minister has, however, requested an update from GSOC on the progress of its investigation.’
The Irish Mail on Sunday understands the legal representatives of the whistleblower have reminded the Minister that their client made their first protected disclosure to Garda in June 2019 and they made their first disclosure to GSOC in September 2019.
As the Minister confirms in her correspondence, the GSOC inquiry has not been completed.
The family of Detective Horkan also sent legal correspondence to Mr Harris a month after the MoS revealed how a whistleblower warned management that Gardaissued holsters were ‘not fit for purpose’.
Solicitors representing the Horkan family told the Commissioner they are ‘entitled to know precisely what the Garda authorities knew about the equipment Detective Horkan was wearing on the date of his murder and whether it contributed to the circumstances surrounding his death’.
Detective Horkan was murdered by Stephen Silver, who shot the plain-clothes garda 11 times with his own weapon after disarming him in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, on June 17, 2020.
Silver was sentenced to a minimum of 40 years in prison last April after he was found guilty of capital murder of the officer.
Nine months before Detective Horkan’s murder, a whistleblower raised serious concerns about holsters issued with automatic pistols used by gardaí, in protected disclosures to management and GSOC.
Holsters specifically designed for the 9mm Sig Sauer P229 and Walther guns make it impossible for an assailant to take the gun or for them to fire accidentally.
On June 11 – just six days before Detective Horkan’s killing – another garda on protective duty outside the Israeli Embassy in Ballsbridge, Dublin, sustained ‘life-changing’ injuries when his Walther pistol fired accidentally.
Both officers were carrying their pistols in leather holsters made by a supplier, which the whistleblower – a firearms expert – claimed were not approved by the gun’s manufacturers.
We also reported that Mr Harris believes the focus should remain on Detective Horkan’s murderer.
In response to questions by MoS, Mr Harris said: ‘To be blunt, Colm Horkan in the execution of his duties was murdered, so that is where the crime actually lies.’
The family were not happy with
this response. In correspondence that has been seen by the MoS their solicitor wrote: ‘Allow us also to be blunt, Commissioner, this response is not adequate.
‘It [the response] does not deal with the question of responsibility for the surrounding circumstances, and it does not address whether or not you failed one of your serving Garda members as the leader of the organisation with responsibility for that member’s safety at work.’
The correspondence also reminded Mr Harris he told the Policing Authority he was ‘not aware of these earlier complaints’ but he had ‘directed that those holsters be replaced with a modern holster’ after Detective Horkan’s murder.
The letter said: ‘The foregoing response belies the fact that these complaints had been made and that, therefore, the potential risk was known to the Garda authorities.’
In one hard-hitting passage, the correspondence tells the Garda Commissioner: ‘You are responsible for the organisation and the safety of the equipment provided to its members and it would be false, erroneous and indeed improper for you to seek to absolve yourself of that responsibility.’
The opening of legal correspondence between Detective Horkan’s family and the Commissioner could have serious ramifications for An Garda Síochána and Minister McEntee. Shortly after her appointment in August 2020, the whistleblower made a further disclosure to Ms McEntee in relation to the defective gun holsters.
The latest correspondence from her office states: ‘You request a number of documents from the Minister in your correspondence. The Minister notes that, while [name deleted] has made a protected disclosure, this does not entitle [name deleted] to the documentation sought.’
‘So that is where the crime actually lies’