A Dublin woman who claims she was wrongly imprisoned, slandered and assaulted by gardai during a "Starsky and Hutch type" operation in the Dolphin's Barn area of the city has sued the State for damages.
At the High Court yesterday, Ms Paula Cassidy, a cleaner and mother of one, said that although she always had respect for the gardai she was never more degraded in her life than when, during a search for drugs, she was asked by two female gardai to take off her clothes at Kevin Street Garda station on November 22nd, 1996. She had been brought there in a Garda car after being arrested as she crossed the road near Dolphin's Barn.
She was 17 years old at the time, having earlier completed her Junior Certificate, in which she obtained seven honours, she said.
Ms Cassidy, formerly of Dolphin House, Dolpin's Barn, but now living in Ballyfermot, said the arrest happened as she crossed the road to buy food in a shop after returning from town with her father. An unmarked car drew up suddenly beside them and two men got out and told her: "We want you." They then put her into the car.
Mr Michael O'Higgins SC, for Ms Cassidy, said his client's father, Mr Liam Cassidy, was told she was being taken for a drugs search.
Counsel said his client was a young woman of impeccable character who worked at two jobs, one of which began at 6.30 a.m. She had a second cleaning job in the evening in a building adjoining the Four Courts.
The language used during her arrest was extremely abusive, counsel said. No drugs were found in her possession and she had never taken drugs.
In this case, counsel said, the gardai argued that they saw a known drug-dealer signal to the plaintiff. But, as they moved in, the dealer appeared to signal to her to keep walking by.
In the action, the State denies all the allegations and pleads that when Ms Cassidy was arrested there were reasonable grounds for gardai to suspect she was in possession of a controlled substance.
The action continues on Tuesday.