The Director of Public Prosecutions will decide whether gardaí who shot dead a man in Dublin two and a half years ago should be prosecuted, reports RTE.
George Nkencho, 27, was shot dead by armed guards outside his family home in Clooney, Dublin, in December 2020.
Gardai were called to the scene after reports of a man armed with a knife in a nearby shop.
Unarmed gardaí then followed George Nekencho home, where a fatal shootout ensued following the arrival of an armed support unit.
The Garda Ombudsman Commission announced today that it had concluded its investigation and decided to refer the file to the DPP, reports RTE.
Nkencho’s family today welcomed the decision and expressed relief that charges could be filed over George’s death.
George Nekencho’s sister Gloria said the decision brought relief and hope.
She said the family was “encouraged by the prospect of a thorough examination of the evidence by the DPP” and that the family “implore them to carefully consider the strength of the investigation’s teams findings”, reports RTE.
The DPP is a state law officer which independently reviews case files and decides whether there is enough evidence to file charges against a person.
The family’s attorney, Phelim O’Neill, said today that they had not been told and did not know whether GSOC had recommended prosecution in their files.
At the time of the fatal shooting, gardaí said George Nekencho had been armed with a knife at a shop in nearby Harttown earlier in the day before going home and then threatening gardaí.
The Armed Response Unit was called to the family’s home, and gardaí said at the time that George Nkencho was shot because non-lethal weapons such as a Taser and pepper spray proved ineffective, reports RTE.
Today, his family said the insidious influence of racial bias had marred initial coverage of George’s case and criticized journalists, including RTÉ, for what they said were “inaccurate reporting fuelled by leaks” from the gardaí, reports RTE.
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