Uzi wouldn’t have saved Garda Donohoe, says Callinan

GARDA Commissioner Martin Callinan has rejected claims that murdered detective Adrian Donohoe could have survived if he was carrying a submachine gun recently taken away from members of the force.

The police chief said anyone who knew the facts about Mr Donohoe’s killing outside a credit union at Lordship, Co. Louth, in January would know that the withdrawn weapon would not have helped him.

Mid-ranking gardaí are demanding the Uzi submachine gun be reissued to authorised detectives around the country. Inspector Walter Kilcullen, based at Lucan, Co. Dublin, told the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors annual conference: ‘Maybe that night, if he [Detective Donohoe] had an Uzi submachine gun, what happened might not have happened.’

But Mr Callinan said anyone ‘equipped with the salient facts’ would realise that an Uzi ‘would not have made the slightest bit of difference’. He added: ‘And I do think it was an inappropriate comment, particularly as that family is still grieving.’

Inspector Kilcullen, a senior member of the AGSI national executive, said the Uzi had been used by gardaí since the late 1960s. Taking them away from officers was like telling traffic police to return their motorbikes and use Segways instead, he told delegates.

‘The visual appearance of an Uzi submachine gun is more intimidating and powerful than a Sig handgun,’ he said.

Delegates at the conference also vowed to resist any cuts to their pay or allowances, warning that cutbacks agreed under the Croke Park II deal were causing ‘deep distress’ to officers. Sergeant Kevin Bolger from Co. Wicklow said they had nothing more to give. ‘The camel’s back is about to break,’ he said. ‘We cannot take any more.’

Mr Callinan also criticised four delegates from the Carlow/Kilkenny branch who walked out of the conference during Justice Minister Alan Shatter’s address last night, and again when the commissioner got up to speak today.

‘That shouldn’t have happened,’ he said. ‘It was inappropriate and I have indicated that to the president of the AGSI executive.’

AGSI general secretary John Redmond distanced himself from the walkout, saying it was ‘a step too far’.