An Irish police officer will this week face a disciplinary inquiry having been suspended for three years after giving an unclaimed bicycle to a “vulnerable and isolated” man in a rural area who needed help getting to the shops during the Covid pandemic.
The Irish Independent reports the unnamed garda only returned to work in late 2023 after the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI) deemed that he had “no criminal case” to answer. He will however face a sworn disciplinary inquiry on Tuesday and is facing a number of possible sanctions, including reprimand, a fine, a caution, or even dismissal from the force.
It is reported the garda has “significant support” from his peers over the matter, many of whom will be hoping he is cleared of all wrongdoing by the disciplinary inquiry.
The three-year suspension began following raids by NBCI gardaí at both his home in front of his wife and children, and at the home of the elderly man who had received the bicycle during the pandemic as a means of travelling to the shops, the resident described as “vulnerable and isolated” by sources and living in a rural area, his own bike no longer in working order.
The man had spoken to the officer about the issue. He decided to give the “isolated” resident an unclaimed bicycle that had been in the force’s possession for “some time previously” as nobody had come forward to claim it, often due to the fact a bike has been stolen but unclaimed (although the exact circumstances of the relevant bike in this case are not known).
> Police in Dublin find more than 100 stolen bikes worth €250,000
The garda had failed to fill out the appropriate paperwork, prompting investigation, the raids and his suspension, despite being described as an officer approaching retirement from an “exemplary” career.
The bike was taken from the elderly man during the raid on his home, the separate raid on the garda’s home undertaken in the presence of his family and causing “great distress”. It is reported he had “no idea” he was under investigation until the raid took place.
Tuesday’s inquiry will be adjudicated by a legal professional, a superintendent, and a chief superintendent who are unconnected to the case, the garda returning to “restricted duties” work since the back end of last year when he was reinstated having been found to have “no criminal case” to answer. His policing future will be decided upon tomorrow.
15 thoughts on “Irish police officer faces disciplinary inquiry for giving unclaimed bicycle to “vulnerable and isolated” elderly man for transport during the pandemic”
I understand that there
I understand that there *could* be officers who steal from the evidence room for personal gain and hide it behind philanthropy but if the information above is even approaching the whole story this isn’t that at all. This officer seems like they should be commended, not punished. At the most some additional training to ensure they know and follow processes properly in future would be more than enough punishment.
“They were trying to do some good for the community. We can’t have the police gaining a reputation for that sort of thing!!”
This all sounds very odd –
This all sounds very odd – three years suspension for a minor misdemeanor?
I wonder if there’s more going on than is reported here.
“Is it about a bicycle…?”
“Is it about a bicycle…?”
I’ll have to ask Policeman
I’ll have to ask Policeman Fox.
Is this April 1st?
Is this April 1st?
Seems like the days where
Seems like the days where employees are empowered to make decisions really are over. So much bureaucracy in businesses and public services these days, where every minor request needs to be signed off through some convoluted process. Fail to follow this process and the response is often massively out of proportion.
Unless, of course, the
Unless, of course, the officers motives aren’t as honourable, in which case they’ll be defended, senior ranks
Breaking rules for “good” –
Breaking rules for “good” – maverick, sack ’em.
Breaking rules for ill – you’ve a choice:
– If it’s strictly to make them look better at their job / suck up to superiors this shows ambition. Promote them.
– If their actions will clearly “bring the organisation into disrepute” but it looks like this was not uncommon / done by some senior staff / the bosses “knew but didn’t say” – close ranks and keep denying it up to the enquiry and beyond.
It’s not just the police / uniformed organisations of course; the Post Office / Fujitsu have given an object lesson in this.
If the facts are as presented
If the facts are as presented in the article, the punishment of the officer is a blow for kindness and compassion – not to mention a scandalous waste of public money.
Being suspended on full pay for years also sounds great in principle but the reality is that it often results in poor mental health.
open_roads wrote:
I’d love to be suspended from my job for a year with full pay… provided I could take a second job or do some meaningful volunteer work.
I think many people would.
I think many people would.
I wonder how much this
I wonder how much this bureaucracy costed over an unclaimed bike probably valued around 100 quid in the second-hand market
It was the Chief
It was the Chief Superintendent’s bicycle. Only explanation I can think of.
So an officer gets
So an officer gets reprimanded for showing some kindness. That’s very poor.
The worlds gone mad!
The worlds gone mad!