An inquest into the death of two raiders shot dead by elite gardaí was dramatically halted today after the Garda Ombudsman revealed it was investigating one of the killings.
Colm Griffin, 33, of Canon Lillis Avenue, and Eric Hopkins, 24, of Lower Rutland Street, both Dublin were gunned down by the Emergency Response Unit as they attempted to hold up Lusk post office on May 26, 2005.
Griffin was carrying a semi-automatic handgun, Hopkins was unarmed.
Following a complaint the Ombudsman is investigating the shooting dead of Hopkins and sought to have the inquest into the two deaths stopped.
Dublin City Coroner Dr Brian Farrell said he would be seeking legal advice after the Ombudsman asked for the hearing to be adjourned.
After five days of detailed evidence from post office staff, customers and the gardaí who foiled the raid, one of the Garda Ombudsman's three commissioners Conor Brady asked for hearings to be halted.
The jury had already been deliberating on verdicts for the deaths for one hour.
Dr Farrell said he had been put in an unprecedented position and revealed he would be seeking independent advice from the Department of Justice and the Attorney General.
Mr Brady revealed an Ombudsman case officer received a complaint on August 30th over the killing of Hopkins claiming elite gardaí used inappropriate lethal force.
Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy was notified within two days but it took almost three weeks for the file to be passed it on to Mr Brady.
He revealed he read through the file last night and agreed with a decision to ask for the inquest to be halted pending an investigation by his office.
It is understood a member of the Hopkins family contacted the Ombudsman.
"The nature of the complaint was that inappropriate lethal force had been used in regard to the death at Lusk post office of Eric Hopkins," Mr Brady said.
Mr Brady accepted there was a delay in notifying the Coroner's Court.
"Coroner, I can't pretend I am pleased by it. I would point out we are a relatively new organisation we are little more than four months in operation," he said.
The Garda Ombudsman already has 1,500 contacts or complaints on its books.