A serving detective was promoted to a higher rank in the force, allowing him to carry a gun, while he was investigated over domestic violence claims.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan sought a report from Garda Commissioner Drew Harris into the serious allegations against the detective.

An investigation was launched after allegations were made against the Leinster-based member of the force by his ex-partner, who is also a garda.

A senior source said that the case has raised questions over how allegations of domestic violence are treated within the force if they are against a serving member.

Please log in or register with Independent.ie for free access to this article.

Log In

New to Independent.ie? Create an account

The Irish Independent has learned among the allegations being levelled at the detective is that he allegedly choked his ex-partner while she was pregnant and threatened to kill her.

It is also alleged that he pinned his former partner to the wall and threatened to “finish her off”. It was alleged that he locked her out of the house with their children, and that he locked her into the house by taking her keys and phone, leaving her trapped in the house.

It is alleged that the detective embarked on a campaign of threats and harassment against his partner after the end of the relationship lasting several years, during which time he sent abusive emails and calls.

Among the allegations being probed is that the serving member carried out searches of his ex-partner’s personal data during work hours, as well as accessing phone records and emails to see who she was in contact with.

In 2018, a Dublin-based Inspector met with the complainant in relation to the allegations. Later that year, the complainant was interviewed by the Garda National Protective Services Bureau unit.

A file was submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions two months ago and a decision is pending. An email sent from Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan’s office in May 2019, to an individual connected to the complainant, said he was not in a position to intervene as the matter was before the courts. It said that maintaining the independence of the courts is paramount to ensuring fair process is observed in all matters.

But the email said that there were aspects of the allegations which were “troubling” to him and on this basis the minister had asked the Garda Commissioner to provide him with a report into the complaints.

A statement from the Department of Justice said: “It would not be appropriate for the Department of Justice and Equality to comment on the individual case raised, as it is understood that the matter continues to be investigated, including by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc).”

Last year, Women’s Aid in its submission to the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland raised the issue of gardaí as offenders or friends of offenders saying: “In a small but important number of cases, the woman either felt she could not call the Garda, or having called got an unhelpful response, because the perpetrator was either a garda, a garda informant or a relative/close friend of a garda.

“We are also concerned by discovering in the Garda Inspectorate Report that there is an issue with Pulse privacy of records, as records are accessible to all gardaí, not just the investigating ones.

“A garda perpetrator of domestic violence would have access to Pulse records about his partner and any incidents and apparently be able to modify such records.

“There needs to be clear guidelines on how a garda would deal with this situation, and these guidelines need to be made public, so that women can be reassured and not prevented from coming forward,” the report said.

Source: Read Full Article