Charges relating to Coolaney domestic incident dismissed

A COOLANEY man who was charged with using threatening and abusive behaviour and public intoxication had the charges dismissed in a contested case at Sligo District Court.

Michael Claffey, 42, from Forthaven, Coolaney, had pleaded not guilty to the charge that allegedly happened on February 22.

The defendant appeared in court with his mother.

Garda Denis Fitzgerald said gardaí were called to a domestic incident at the above address.

When the door was opened the defendant was very drunk and said to gardaí: “Ye c***s, f *** off.”

On exiting the house, the defendant put his fist up to Garda McGuinness, a female colleague of Garda Fitzgerald. He then lay down on the ground and Garda Fitzgerald arrested him on the two previously stated public order charges.

When he was arrested, he told the garda to “f *** off”, the court heard. The defendant was inside when he told the gardaí to “f *** off” on the first occasion.

Defence solicitor Mark Mullaney said it was the defendant’s brother who had rang the gardaí from Cork. Mr Mulaney asked the garda if Mrs Elaine Claffey was surprised to see them when she answered the door. The garda said he could not recall exactly but added that the defendant was drunk and shouting abuse. Mr Mullaney said Mrs Claffey would say that she was very surprised to see the gardaí as she had not called them. And she only found out later that it was another son that had rang the gardaí.

Mr Mullaney said she was apologising to the gardaí, and the defendant was upstairs in a bedroom either asleep or going to sleep.

The garda said he could not recall what the defendant was doing.

The solicitor said the defendant would accept he was drunk and obstreperous within the house which was not a public place.

He would say that he sat down on the bottom steps of the stairs and did not lie down on the ground.

Garda Fitzgerald said that he did not recall the defendant sitting on the stairs.

Mr Mullaney said that both mother and son would say the defendant came down the stairs, was obstreperous, sat on the bottom of the stairs and his mother persuaded him to go back upstairs.

The defendant would say he went back up the stairs and the garda went upstairs with his mother to check on him.

The garda said he did not recall being at the top of the stairs.

The defendant came back down the stairs a second time and he would say he was standing in the hallway and that Garda Fitzgerald forcibly removed him from the hallway and brought him outside.

The garda rejected this, saying they were at the front door and the defendant made a lunge at his colleague and he was arrested. Mr Mullaney said the defendant would say that Garda Fitzgerald then handcuffed him.

The garda said he did place handcuffs on the defendant as he was uncooperative.

Mr Mullaney asked the garda what Mrs Claffey was doing.

The garda said he was dealing with her son, who was highly aggressive. Mrs Elaine Claffey told the court her son had a difficulty with alcohol and gets obstreperous and emotional with alcohol.

He had been seeing a psychiatrist and was awaiting counselling for his drinking.

The defendant had been visiting that night and Mrs Claffey said she did not realise that he had taken some wine. He was on the phone to her other son and was denying that he had wine taken and they had an argument. Her other son rang back to see if she was all right, but she did not hear the call. She said she took the bottle of wine off the defendant, and she told him he would have to go to bed, which he did. The mother said the doorbell rang and there were three gardaí, two females and a male.

She said she explained that the defendant was upstairs in bed.

They said her other son had rang from Cork and was worried about him. She said: “I said there was no problem, we were not arguing, and he had gone to bed. I was talking to the female garda and I told her that he had gone to bed and he was fine.”

She added that her son then came down the stairs and was drunk and told the gardaí to f *** off.

She told him to go back to bed, which he did.

This witness said the male garda asked her to go up and check on him. She went up the stairs and the garda stood at the top of the stairs.

She added that when the defendant saw the garda he asked what the garda was doing there.

Mrs Claffey added that the three of them came down the stairs and her son sat on the bottom step of the stairs. Garda Fitzgerald then said that gardaí were taking the defendant to the garda station for the night.

The witness said she was shocked and did not say anything.

“Michael said he was not going so Garda Fitzgerald grabbed him by the jumper and dragged him outside. “I never told them to take Michael,” she added.

When asked if she saw the defendant raise his fist to a female garda, she said it all happened in a matter of minutes. “He was drunk but I did not see that there was a problem,” she said. Inspector Barry Doyle told the witness that the gardaí were “there properly”.

The court heard the defendant was seriously aggressive towards Garda Fitzgerald.

Mrs Claffey said she was not in any danger.

Inspector Doyle said that gardaí had to respond to calls.

Mr Mullaney said the defendant accepted his actions had been all within the house.

Judge Kevin Kilrane said gardaí were concerned for Mrs Claffey as she had called them on another occasion about her son. On this occasion he had got hold of alcohol, was drunk and had an argument on the phone with his brother in Cork. Garda Fitzgerald and two female members came, and Mrs Claffey said she was OK.

The judge said the defendant came down the stairs and was abusive to Garda Fitzgerald.

The judge added that gardaí were entitled to arrest someone in their own home if they are concerned about a breach of the peace.

But they were not making that case and were alleging that this happened outside in a public place.

The defendant came down the stairs and sat on the bottom step.

Garda Fitzgerald, through frustration, did grab him and brought him outside and then arrested him.

The garda would have been entitled to arrest the defendant under common law, but did not make that case. Accordingly, the court was dismissing the case.

The judge said: “I have every sympathy for Garda Fitzgerald. Gardaí go into tense domestic situations, and it is an invidious position”.

The judge added that provocation from the defendant was also a factor.