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The Police Authority will question Garda Commissioner Drew Harris about the Gardaí, who allegedly “pushed back” the counter-protesters when they tried to protest an anti-mask demonstration in Dublin last month.
It has also emerged that more than 30,000 pub inspections were carried out between July 3 and the last Friday September 11.
About 60 percent of the pubs visited were recorded as “closed,” according to the latest Police Authority report on the Garda police operation during the pandemic.
On the issue of the Garda’s actions at the anti-mask protest at Customs House Quay on August 22, in which four people were arrested, the authority said it would question Mr. Harris on whether the actions of some Gardaí prevented them from the counter-protesters will exercise. your right to public protest.
In the report, in a section titled “Monitoring to protect and respect human rights,” the authority said it was “aware of the recent violent clashes between protesters and counter-protesters at the anti-mask rally.”
It also learned of “allegations that the Garda Síochána pushed back the counter-protesters in an attempt to prevent further violence, which had the effect of preventing the counter-protesters from exercising their right to protest.”
The authority said it would “explore the issue in more depth with the commissioner” at its next public meeting with Harris and his team.
Before the demonstration against the masks, a group of counter-protesters gathered at the junction of Butt Bridge and Customs House Quay, some remained there and others forced their way into the cordon where the demonstration was taking place.
There were clashes within the cordon between a group of people who attended the rally and a small number of counter-protesters, two of whom were injured. Some of those involved in the fighting were armed with sticks or truncheons.
Video footage also emerged of Garda members pushing a group of counter-protesters to the entrance of the rally site at Butt Bridge, in an apparent attempt to prevent them from entering the venue.
Spithoods
The authority, which is Garda’s main oversight body, has also insisted that the review of spithoods currently underway should not be used to justify their continued use beyond the Covid-19 police operation.
He said the hoods, which are placed over the heads of suspects to prevent them from spitting on the Gardai after their arrest, had been used five times on children and in other cases on vulnerable people, including those with perceived mental health problems. The authority had also contacted the bell dealers to ask questions.
“The distributors stated that the anti-spit hoods have not been tested for their ability to prevent respiratory or airborne droplets that spread Covid-19,” the authority said.
In the first weeks of the police operation against the pandemic, the hoods were worn up to 15 to 16 times a week and last month they were worn between once and twice a week.
Elsewhere in the report, the authority praised the Garda’s response to the rise in domestic violence during the pandemic, calling it “the double pandemic.”
He said NGOs working with victims had noticed a very significant change for the better in Garda’s approach to victims and in understanding the dynamics of violence and other forms of coercive control. There have even been examples of gardaí recognizing coercive control when investigating gang crimes.
Furthermore, despite concerns that the initial response to domestic violence under Operation Faoiseamh may decline over time, there was no evidence of this. Instead, there had been a “paradigm shift” in the “increasing pervasiveness of good practices”.
However, there were still some concerns about how some Gardaí treated criminals who violated protection orders issued against them by members of their own family.
“Concerns were also expressed about the level of support available when the victim is a member of the Garda Síochána,” the authority said.
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