According to Garda Commissioner Drew Harris, gardaí have seen video from RTÉ’s Investigates show on the rioting that occurred in Coolock two months ago today, reports RTE.
Commissioner Harris stated that the investigative team has to determine if the material pertains to previously known persons or to new suspects for serious offences such as assault and criminal damage.
He informed the Policing Authority that he did not support the decision to stand down the public order unit that morning before to the riots, and he restated his earlier admission that the action was a mistake.
In a statement, RTÉ said: “Following the receipt of a court order, RTÉ can confirm it has provided An Garda Síochána with footage it recorded inside the former Crown Paint factory for the recent RTÉ Investigates documentary, while fulfilling its journalistic obligations to protect sources. The RTÉ Investigates documentary demonstrated a clear public interest in highlighting the use of disinformation to initiate violence, showing the extent of how the state has, at times, struggled to respond when these protests have gotten out of control, and raises questions around freedom of speech and intimidation of immigrants, journalists, business people, volunteers and the An Garda Siochána themselves.’
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In addition, Commissioner Harris said that he had approved the purchase of two brand-new, 5,200-liter water-carrying water cannon trucks.
Compared to the same period last year, when there were 553, there have been 862 demonstrations so far this year, a 56% rise. The previous year there were 285; the great majority died quietly, reports RTE.
Dublin, the Eastern Region, and the Southern Region have seen the biggest rises.
A month before to the disturbances at Coolock, an RTÉ producer was sent away from a meeting between the contractor and the gardaí, according to the Assistant Commissioner overseeing Dublin during today’s meeting.
According to Angela Willis, despite police concerns, the contractor informed the gardaí five days before to starting work at the Coolock site on July 15, reports RTE.
The superintendent in the area, she added, voiced alarm at the “very short notice” and warned he “may not have appropriate resources” to handle the situation.
The contractor was “adamant” he was going ahead with his plan, she claimed, and gardaí devised a strategy to allow the transit of many vehicles despite conflicting policing needs that weekend, including events in Croke Park and at the 3Arena, reports RTE.
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