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Dublin officers did not have a non-lethal Garda tactic to disarm suspects carrying a knife on the day George Nkencho was shot and killed.
Mr. Nkencho (27) was shot dead by the Garda Armed Support Unit (ASU) in Clonee last week after assaulting a merchant and threatening Gardaí with a knife.
The Garda said officers gradually responded to the threat, first issuing verbal orders before using pepper spray and tasers to subdue Nkencho.
When these tactics did not work, an ASU officer, believing that Mr. Nkencho was about to take hostages, fired five shots with his official firearm, Gardaí said, fatally wounding the man.
According to Garda sources, there is another option for dealing with knife-wielding suspects that can be used before deadly force is used.
However, only the Garda Public Order Unit is equipped and trained in the tactic. A full-time law enforcement unit has been included in duty in Dublin for much of the Covid-19 pandemic and throughout the Christmas period. But no units were on duty in the Dublin Metropolitan Region on the day of the shooting.
“VDP exterior [violently deranged persons] Tactic ”involves six officers in full riot gear and shields who form in three groups of two and descend on a suspect with a pincer movement.
Pepper spray
Other officers behind them deploy Mark 9 pepper spray cans, a much larger version of the canisters carried by common members, and spray the suspect on top of the shields.
The suspect is then pinned to the ground by shields before being disarmed. The suspect “never receives more than one hit and is never seriously injured,” a source said.
Tactics can be modified if a suspect enters a house or climbs the stairs. Garda’s training in tactics, which can only be used on suspects with bladed or blunt weapons, is based on that used by the Scottish Police.
Sources said ASU members dealing with a knife-wielding suspect will sometimes maintain a perimeter and attempt to reduce the situation while waiting for the Public Order Unit to arrive and employ outdoor VDP tactics.
However, it is unclear whether such an option would have been appropriate at Clonee last week, even if the Public Order Unit had been available.
Nkencho, who suffered from mental health problems, was shot in the front yard after knocking on the front door. Gardaí, with direct knowledge of the incident, said officers were unaware that he lived in the house and feared he would take the occupants hostage if they did not act.
Deployed
Any review of Nkencho’s shooting is likely to examine whether VDP’s tactics should have been available and whether they would have been appropriate, the sources said.
Law Enforcement Units are typically deployed in three vans, known as “series,” with seven gardaí and a sergeant in each van.
In Dublin, one van covers the east region, one covers the west and the other the south central.
A Garda spokesperson confirmed the details of VDP’s tactic, saying that Public Order Units are not included in routine patrols.
The Garda said it would not comment on the details of the Nkencho shooting. An investigation by the Garda Ombudsman Commission is ongoing.
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