The case of Jim X

Working as a security guard in Dublin City Centre, Jim became aware of a fracas outside his building on the main street. It was mid-afternoon, and two well-built men appeared to be assaulting a third man who was helpless on the ground. Thinking he was doing a helpful ‘public service’, Jim exited his building and began recording the assault on his mobile phone so that he could give the evidence to the Gardai when they arrived; the Gardai who were his ‘colleagues’ (he thought) in the business of maintaining peace and security for the public. Unfortunately, what Jim didn’t realise was that the burly men in civilian clothes (who had exited an unmarked car with extendable batons) were in fact plain-clothes Gardai. Jim Continued filming the assault from a distance, thinking that these violent perpetrators were surely going to get their comeuppance when the Gardai arrived. Sirens wailing, a couple of emblazoned Garda vehicles arrived and uniformed officers jumped out. To Jim’s great surprise and bewilderment, the Guards didn't immediately approach and arrest the violent aggressors, but instead advanced on Jim, demanding that he hand over his mobile phone! When Jim hesitated, the phone was snatched from him and the images and video were deleted, whereupon Jim produced a second mobile phone which was also duly taken from him and the images deleted - just before he was handcuffed and thrown into the back of the Garda vehicle. After a two-minute ‘consultation’ with their colleagues, Jim was informed by one of the Gardai that, “it was clear that Jim had been drinking” and that he was now under arrest for being drunk and disorderly in a public place. Despite being completely sober; despite being on active security duty in the middle of the afternoon; and despite NOT being asked to produce a breath or blood sample - seven individual Gardai would subsequently submit false statements testifying to the fact that Jim was ‘drunk and disorderly’.  Taken to the police station in handcuffs still protesting his innocence and his sobriety, Jim would end up, literally, begging on his knees for the Guards to give him the asthma medication which they had repeatedly denied him, thus putting his life genuinely in danger in circumstances that continued for several hours.

To date, Jim’s complaints to the various Irish authorities and the Garda Ombudsman have garnished no satisfactory responses whatsoever, and he is still fighting the false charges in Court. Hopefully - with the combined assistance of the I-I Membership - we will be reporting some good news in Jim’s case very soon.