The fatal shooting of 27-year-old John Carthy in Abbeylara, Co Longford, six years ago could have been avoided, the judge who carried out a two-year inquiry into the events has said.
However, Mr Justice Robert Barr also said he accepted the evidence given that the officer who shot Mr Carthy, who was carrying a loaded shotgun, had no alternative because he was saving the lives of officers on the road ahead of the young man.
Mr Justice Robert Barr
Speaking following the publication of his final report into the Abbeylara siege, which came to a tragic conclusion when Mr Carthy was shot by armed gardai, Mr Justice Barr called for a radical restructuring of how gardaí deal with siege situations involving people suffering from mental illness and recommended the use of non-lethal weapons such as Taser stun guns.
The tribunal chairman also ruled that it was proper that the state should pay the legal costs of third party witnesses, which it is believed could amount to 18 million euro.
When asked by reporters if Mr Carthy's death could have been avoided, Mr Barr replied 'yes'.
The judge also referred to media reports criticising the delay in publishing his findings and explained that he had been incapacitated by illness for up to six weeks around Easter and printing difficulties were also encountered.
Mr Carthy, who suffered from manic depression, was shot four times by two members of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) outside his home in Abbeylara, Co Longford, on April 20th 2000. He was shot from behind as he walked in the direction of Abbeylara village while holding a shotgun loaded with a single cartridge. His death followed a 25-hour stand-off with gardaí during which he fired several shots from the window of his house.
Mr Barr heard evidence from 169 witnesses including gardaí, Mr Carthy's family, doctors and weapons experts during 208 separate tribunal sittings. The hearings concluded in December 2004.
The retired High Court judge also said that the officer who killed Mr Carthy had no alternative and was protecting his colleagues.
He said: "Mr Carthy was shot because there was a target and the person who fatally shot him believed, and I have accepted the veracity of his evidence, that he had no alternative in saving the lives of officers on the road ahead of Mr Carthy, that he had no alternative to do what he did and fatally shoot him."
"That is the essence of the tragedy."
The judge also criticised the number of officers stationed at the siege.
"The real difficulty was that the road was covered by officers, armed and unarmed, uniformed and plainclothes, a number of which should not have been there at all," he said.
"In fact, none should have been there. The road should have been kept clear. There should never have been a possibility of a target being there which John Carthy might elect to fire at.
"If there was no target, there would have been no need to shoot him," he continued. Mr Barr also said he believed major lessons needed to be learned from what happened at Abbeylara.
"John Carthy didn't sacrifice his life for nothing."
In his recommendations, Mr Barr called for a reorganisation of special services such as the ERU and the Garda Technical Bureau. He also called for refresher training for senior gardai on an annual basis on duties like intelligence gathering, liaising with negotiators and management of siege operations. He also advised that garda recruits should receive basic instruction on mental illness and how it affects a person involved in garda operations.
The employment of psychologists to assist the gardai on a regular basis, trained police dogs and appropriately equipped specialist command are also suggested.
PA