The inquest into the deaths of two post office raiders who were shot dead by a member of the Garda Emergency Response Unit was unexpectedly adjourned yesterday evening on foot of a complaint received by the Garda Ombudsman Commission that "inappropriate lethal force" had been used in relation to one of the raiders.
Garda ombudsman commissioner Conor Brady made a surprise application to the Dublin City Coroner to adjourn the inquest into the death of one of the raiders, Eric Hopkins.
He said he was making this application pending the outcome of an investigation by the commission into a complaint received by the office that "inappropriate lethal force" had been used in respect of the death of Mr Hopkins at Lusk post office.
Colm Griffin (33), Canon Lillis Avenue, and Eric Hopkins (24), Lower Rutland Street, both Dublin, were shot dead by a member of the Garda Emergency Response Unit (ERU) on May 26th, 2005, during an attempted post office robbery at Lusk.
The inquest into their deaths was in its fifth day and was expected to conclude today, the jury of seven men and three women having retired to deliberate a verdict at lunchtime, when the coroner's office was made aware of the unexpected application.
Mr Brady, who is one of three Garda ombudsman commissioners - sought leave from the coroner to make an application under section 25.1 of the Coroner's Act 1962 in light of the complaint which was received by the commission on August 30th.
It was explained that usually the Garda Ombudsman Commission, which was established on May 9th, can only investigate complaints relating to matters within a six-month timeframe.
However, if it is a matter which is believed to merit investigation in the public interest, the commission can choose to extend that period.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell said that he would not rule on the application until he sought urgent legal advice on the matter from the Department of Justice, the Chief State Solicitor and from the Attorney General's office, among others.
He said he would be seeking advice in relation to authority of the Garda Ombudsman Commission to seek such as adjournment, as well as the "procedure adopted and the delay in the application".
He said he would not be dismissing the jury, but would instead be asking them to desist from considering the evidence until they were back in court on Tuesday.
Mr Brady told the inquest that the commission originally received the complaint on August 30th, but the file did not reach the senior case officer until last Friday who deemed the complaint admissible and who brought it to Mr Brady's attention yesterday evening.
Mr Brady said he wished the case had been identified sooner.
"I can't say I'm pleased, but we're a relatively new operation. We have 1,500 complaints with a backlog of 200 complaints. It's taken a little time to bed down."
Counsel for the gardaí Shane Murphy requested that the coroner reject the application and said it was an abusive process on behalf of the commission.
"This is an application which is tardy, unjustified and unnecessary," he said.
Counsel for the Hopkins and Griffin families, John Byrne, welcomed the application on behalf of the Hopkins family and said he believed the Griffin family also welcomed the turn of events.
He called on the coroner to ensure that any order made in respect of Mr Hopkins be also made in respect of Mr Griffin, as the cases were inextricably linked.