Nenagh garda tells court he had 'wrestling match' with suspected drink driver

A garda told Nenagh District Court that he ended up in a wrestling match when he tried to arrest a man on suspicion of drink driving.

Garda Paul Hogan was giving evidence in the case against Patrick Reynolds of 68 Yewston Estate, Nenagh, who pleaded not guilty to drink driving at Yewston on September 5, 2020.

Garda Hogan said that he was on mobile patrol when he noticed a vehicle which appeared to be under poor control at Ashe Road, and he indicated it to stop but there was no reaction.

He followed the car, which eventually stopped at Yewston.

However, when he went to get out of the patrol car, the vehicle took off at speed.

He believed the driver was trying to escape.

The vehicle pulled into 68 Yewston, and Garda Hogan said that he pulled up outside the house.

As he got out of the patrol car, Mr Reynolds was attempting to exit his vehicle.

Garda Hogan said he entered the curtilage of 68 Yewston and arrested Mr Reynolds on suspicion of drink driving.

Due to Covid regulations, he told Mr Reynolds there may be a delay before a Garda van arrived as he couldn’t put Mr Reynolds in the patrol car.

However, while waiting for the van, he said Mr Reynolds became aggressive and argumentative and tried to push past him.

“We had a wresting match. I had to tackle him to the ground and put him in handcuffs,” he said.

A subsequent test showed Mr Reynolds had 102mgs of alcohol per 100mls of breath.

Cross-examined by Kenny Kerins, BL, Garda Hogan said that while Mr Reynolds had initially been co-operative, when he heard he was being arrested he became “hard to deal with”.

Garda Hogan said Mr Reynolds believed he did not have the right to arrest him at his house.

Mr Kerins submitted that the difficulty was that Garda Hogan, who, he accepted, was "exceptional at his job", had only seen the driver from the back and could not have formed an opinion that the driver had been drinking.

Insp Amanda Reynolds countered that it was because of Garda Hogan's experience that he had formed his opinion.

However, Judge Elizabeth MacGrath said Garda Hogan had based his opinion on Mr Reynolds’s driving and before he had arrested him.

She fined Mr Reynolds €400 and disqualified him from driving for three years.

She set recognizance in Mr Reynolds's own bond of €250.