Waterford sgt in court over alleged assault of suspect

A Garda Sergeant has appeared at Waterford District Court over allegations of assault and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

William Doyle of Waterford Garda Station, is accused of assaulting a man in the evidence room of the Ballybricken Station on 8 March 2022.

At Waterford District Court, Judge John O’Leary heard evidence from eight witnesses, including the man who was allegedly assaulted by Sgt Doyle.

The member in charge on the day of the incident, a junior member of An Garda Síochána at the time, told the court that she began her shift at 7am that morning, soon after a man had been arrested.

The man was arrested by gardaí on The Quays in Waterford shortly after 6am on suspicion of Section 3 assault.

At 7.55am, she called for a doctor to examine the suspect.

According to the prosecution, the doctor found red marks on the man but did not disclose their observations to her.

At around 11am, the Garda witness was in the front office when she heard “commotion and shouting” from the AFIS (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) room.

As she approached the AFIS room, she saw two male gardaí in the corridor by the door to the AFIS room, which was ajar.

She told the court yesterday that when she opened the door, she saw Sgt Doyle standing over the suspect, who was sitting in a chair.

“Sgt Doyle had him pinned against the window,” she said, “using his forearm pressed between his neck and chest area.”

She brought the suspect to the custody area.

As they were walking out of the AFIS room, she heard “what sounded like a slap” but did not see a slap occur.

According to the garda witness, inside the custody area, the suspect began shouting at Sgt Doyle.

Sgt Doyle is alleged to have then swung a closed fist at the suspect, but the witness could not confirm if contact had been made.

After the altercation, she went to see Sgt Doyle after being “taken aback” at what she had seen.

It was then that Sgt Doyle allegedly told her to “forget” what she had witnessed and to say that the suspect had been acting aggressively in the custody area. When asked if the suspect had acted aggressively towards her, she said no.

The alleged victim of the assault denied in court using abusive and aggressive language towards Sgt Doyle.

He said that Sgt Doyle assaulted him.

When asked if he was guilty of assaulting a woman at a time previous to the incident, the man replied: “Apparently yes.”

Judge O’Leary heard testimony from the two on duty gardaí who were tasked with interviewing the suspect on the day of the incident.

At 10.55am, the man was taken by the gardaí to a room in the station to have his fingerprints taken.

The room was referred to as the AFIS room.

Shortly after 11am, Sgt Doyle entered the room and asked the suspect “were you the man who assaulted your girlfriend?”

According to the two investigating gardaí, the suspect became aggressive towards Sgt Doyle and shouted “get your facts right”.

Sgt Doyle told both gardaí: “Two seconds there, lads”, which both officers believed to be a request by their superior officer to step out of the AFIS room.

Both men stepped out of the room, after which “a commotion” ensued inside which lasted around “30 seconds” according to the Garda witnesses.

In that time, the first garda witness heard the commotion from the public desk and went to AFIS room, where she saw the two men in the hallway and the door ajar.

When asked why they stepped out of the room, both officers cited Sgt Doyle’s seniority.

One garda witness said: “He’s a sergeant, I’m a guard.”

The trial will reconvene on 7 June.