A Dublin man whose arm was broken after he was arrested by members of the Garda Emergency Response Unit on his return from Northern Ireland after buying fireworks has been awarded €40,000 damages by the High Court.
The court ruled that gardaí had used "excessive force".
Joseph Maher (30), Landen Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin, sued the Minister for Justice, Ireland and the State over an incident near the Blanchardstown exit on the M50 motorway on October 7th, 2002.
The defendants denied the claims and alleged Mr Maher was arrested after gardaí were informed that an attempt was being made by dissident republicans to move explosives south of the Border.
They said Mr Maher's car and another car, owned by a member of the Real IRA and driven by "a dangerous criminal", were under surveillance at the time.
The court heard that Mr Maher, an unemployed father of one and a recovering heroin user, had borrowed a pick-up van to buy fireworks in the North and sell them in the Republic.
A number of other individuals, travelling in a Ford Focus, were involved in the venture and Mr Maher drove behind their car to the Border.
Mr Maher claimed that, around 10pm on the night in question, the pick-up he was driving was driven off the M50 motorway by a Garda vehicle and that armed gardaí ordered him from his car and told him to put his hands in the air.
Mr Maher said he complied but claimed a gun was put to his head by one garda.
He also claimed he was struck twice on the back of the head with a weapon, was also struck on the arm and, while on the ground, a garda held his face down with his foot.
Mr Justice John Quirke said the level of force used by gardaí to apprehend a suspect must be reasonable. In this case the level of force applied "was not warranted".
He noted that Mr Maher was involved in an illegal activity on the night of the incident.
The judge said that he in no way wished to diminish the role played by the gardaí in an operation like this where their own and the public's lives could have been in danger.