Longford man brands garda ‘an absolute pig’ before telling judge ‘tiocfaidh ár lá’

A man in the Midlands who crashed into a wall while attempting to flee gardaí at high speed inside a local housing estate while under the influence of cannabis  called a prosecuting garda “an absolute pig” in court last week  before telling a judge: “Tiocfaidh ár lá”. 

Darren Dowler, 70 Abhainn Glas, Edgeworthstown, Co Longford, made the remarks moments after Judge John Brennan convicted him of careless driving, drug driving and of being found at the wheel without insurance.

That came after gardaí had to forcibly arrest the accused with officers even going as far as to advise him pepper spray would be used unless he complied by exiting his black Ford Mondeo car.

Mr Dowler, who appeared with no legal representation, saying that despite his attempts to secure a solicitor, his family who he claimed were homeless had fallen foul of a “bit of a conspiracy”.

Mr Dowler sat alongside his partner who initially indicated she would be representing him, an admission which was quickly shot down by Judge Brennan.

Instead, the District Court judge told him his partner was not permitted to address the court directly and could only advise Mr Dowler on what questions to put to Sgt Vincent Healy when the prosecuting garda was in the witness box.

Sgt Healy said the incident arose shortly after 8:30pm when he, together with a colleague were carrying out a Mandatory Intoxication Testing (MIT) checkpoint at Knockahaw on June 8, 2021.

Sgt Healy said he noticed a 12 registered Ford Mondeo carry out a u-turn while at the checkpoint and head back in the direction of Longford town at speed.

He said after beckoning a colleague to go off in search of the suspect car, the pair came across the vehicle travelling at high speed from the Leader Park area and through a stop sign before colliding with a car and crashing into a wall.“Both cars were written off,” said Sgt Healy.

He added after speaking to the driver of the other car who was uninjured, he approached the other car and spoke to a female passenger who gave her name as Chloe McNamee, Mr Dowler's partner.

He said he also noticed a young seven month old child in the back, who it was later revealed was the couple's son.

Sgt Healy said he then approached Mr Dowler who was sitting in the front seat of the other car.

He revealed Mr Dowler refused to get out of the car and despite repeated attempts, had to be told he would be pepper sprayed if he continued to act in such a fashion.Just before 9pm, Sgt Healy told the court he arrested the accused.

He said owing to Mr Dowler's conduct, he informed him he would be placed in handcuffs and transferred to Longford garda station where he was later processed and tested for driving under the influence by a doctor.

On August 10, Sgt Healy said a certificate of anaylsis was returned which showed Mr Dowler had cannabis in his system when found at the wheel of his car.

Mr Dowler took to his feet a short time later to make a number of admissions to the court.He claimed both cars were not written off, as Sgt Healy, had earlier indicated.

He said the right driver's side had borne the brunt of the shunt, but had been since corrected at a cost of €1,200.

When that claim was put to him, Sgt Healy replied: “I can't dispute it, but they (cars) were extensively damaged.”

Mr Dowler also put it to Sgt Healy and the court that he did not put up a struggle during the course of his arrest.

Rather, he said his sole and only concern after asking his partner if she was unharmed, was his son, who was in the rear of the vehicle.

“I jumped through the middle of the car, between the driver's and passenger's side to (get to his son),” he said.

“The first thing I said to her (partner) was: 'Are you ok?' Then I  jumped through the driver's and passenger's side and lifted my son up to see if he was okay.”

Mr Dowler said he took great exception to how gardaí, or “this crew” as he alluded to in court, then threatened to use pepper spray on him, an article which he said was considered a prohibited weapon under the 1925 Firearms Act.

He said his main priority was to ensure his seven month old son was not exposed to it. 

“If that toxic gas got in his face, he would have been blinded for life.“It is an illegal substance. It is prohibited and cannot be used whatsoever and yet it is used by these boys on a daily basis.”

Mr Dowler also took issue at the State's assertion that he had been initially observed driving through an industrial estate.

“It is a housing estate and there was no damage done to the wall,” he told the court.

In the wake of Mr Dowler's submissions to the court, Judge Brennan said he was cognisant both he and his family were going through a particularly tough period.

He also said given the fact Mr Dowler collided with another vehicle he was simply unable to reduce the dangerous driving charge to one of careless driving.

Prior to handing down sentence, Judge Brennan was told Mr Dowler had two previous convictions, both of which dated back over a decade ago.

Judge Brennan described the episode as a ”nasty enough incident”, terming Mr Dowler's lack of cooperation on the evening as “unnacceptable” while also defending the Gardaí's response as being “professional”.

As he addressed and prepared to rule on the drug driving charge, the court was informed Mr Dowler acted as carer to his partner who suffers from scoliosis.

“We do try and go for walks to the park and we do depend on the car a lot,” he said. Upon hearing that, Judge Brennan said as he was reducing the dangerous driving to one of its careless equivalent, there would be no disqualification imposed.

He said his hands were tied on the drug driving charge and imposed a €200 fine alongside a one year driving ban.

He did, however, state the start date for that disqualification would not commence until May 28 next year.

He told Mr Dowler there was an opportunity open to him to return to court and apply for the reinstatement of his licence once he had completed two thirds of the disqualification period, a statement which prompted Mr Dowler to remark: “It's not worth the paper it's written on.”

Further charges of failing to produce insurance within ten days and of being driving with no licence were struck out and taken into consideration respectively.

A further €100 fine was issued for a no insurance charge with Mr Dowler being given six months to pay.As those fines were handed out, Mr Dowler said he intended appealing the verdict.

The Longford man went even further and launched a scathing attack on Sgt Healy in a move which led to his departure from the courtroom.

“It's an absolute disgrace,” he said. “He (Sgt Healy) has his paperwork all wrong. He has it (licence) down as a full licence. He is a proven liar. He is an absolute pig.”

At that juncture, Judge Brennan told Mr Dowler he would have to be removed from the courtroom unless he withdrew the remarks made.

Leaning forward with his head momentarily in his hands, Mr Dowler stood up with his partner and made his way to the exit door before shouting: “I will go a different route with this conspiracy, Tiocfaidh ár lá, as they say.”