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Solicitor called gardai ‘robocop’ and ‘red ginger c**t’ on Christmas night out

Judge John Hughes found him guilty of public order offences and adjourned the case at Dublin District Court for a probation report.

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A SOLICITOR on a Christmas work night out called a garda “robocop” before violently resisting arrest in a street disturbance in Dublin’s Temple Bar.

Before his encounter with the gardai, Pauric Heraghty (50) had himself earlier been robbed and battered by a group of “gougers” in a “savage attack”, a court heard.

Denying resisting or abusing the gardai, the father-of-three claimed he was arrested after he complained to them about the assault he had suffered.

Judge John Hughes found him guilty of public order offences and adjourned the case at Dublin District Court for a probation report.

Heraghty, an insurance firm lawyer from Kill Abbey, Deansgrange, had pleaded not guilty to threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour and garda obstruction.

Garda Darragh Frewen said he was on duty at Eustance Street at 3.30am when he saw Heraghty place his hand on top of the head of a Dublin city council worker.

The worker alleged Heraghty had put a cigarette out on top of his head, but declined to make a complaint, Gda Frewen said.

The garda went to speak to Heraghty who was acting aggressively, saying to members of the public, “f**k you, you shower of bastards.”

Gda Frewen requested him to desist and he turned his abuse on the garda.

“He shouted ‘robocop c**t, abusing your f**king power, shower of c**ts’”, Gda Frewen told the court, adding that Heraghty’s fists were clenched and he was grinding his teeth.

He also shouted “where were you shower of wankers?” and “Red ginger c**t”, referring to another garda.

When Gda Frewen arrested him and placed his hands behind his back, Heraghty “became highly aggressive and violent”, lashing out with his hands and attempting to kick a garda.

He believed the accused was “under the influence of drugs or alcohol or a combination of both.”

Heraghty told he had been at a Christmas dinner with colleagues and had had around one and a half glasses of Guinness, three to four glasses of wine and two gin and tonics on the night.

As he returned, he stopped to give money to a homeless man who “swiped more money” from his hand before another man took his phone from his pocket.

Realising he had been “hoodwinked,” he said he tried to “negotiate” with the thief to return his phone but he was surrounded and the man punched him in the face. Heraghty continued to plead for his phone before he was punched again “really hard” which “floored” him.

When council bin men arrived, he asked them for help, but they just said “Pearse Street (garda station) is down there.”

Heraghty, thinking he was “getting through” to the group, persisted with his pleas.

“They surrounded me, blowing smoke in my face, and one of them took a cigarette and put it out on my forehead,” he said.

Heraghty maintained when the gardai arrived, he told them he had been assaulted but they said “I want you to get out of here or I’ll arrest you.”

“I said ‘that is great to know, you’re no help to me, good luck’ and I went off,” Heraghty said.

He alleged the gardai then grabbed him and arrested him. He thought “how the hell did I end up here? It was surreal, I had gone out for a nice night.”

He accepted he was “like a dog with a bone” trying to get his phone.

“Looking back on it, I probably should have headed straight home,” he said.

Defence barrister Fergal McMorrow handed in photos of Heraghty’s injuries and CCTV of the “prolonged 20-minute assault” on the accused was played to court.

Judge Hughes said there was a “stark conflict” in the evidence but found the prosecution’s case proven. He said the public order charges were the only ones before the court.

The accused had no previous convictions.