Gardaí fear footage of assault on officers will be circulated on social media

Gardaí were beaten with a baseball bat and bitten by a vicious dog when they targeted a criminal linked to suspected drugs dealers.

Both officers were taken to hospital after the assaults on the Ballyogan estate, Carrickmines, over the weekend.

The assault was recorded on mobile phones and gardai now fear the footage has been circulated on social media.

All the men linked to the attacks are believed to be Nigerian.

One of them, a 58-year-old, was arrested on suspicion of assault, however, he was released last night, and a file is to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The Herald has learned that a uniformed male garda was beaten with a metal baseball bat as a large mob attempted to attack a female officer on Saturday evening.

A number of mobile phones belonging to the suspected drug gang members were seized. It is believed they may have been used to record the assault on the garda.

Last night, a senior source told the Herald that the videos may have been sent to other people and that there is a fear they will appear on social media.

A spokesman for the Garda Representative Association (GRA), John O’Keeffe, said the incident further enforced the union’s calls for members to be armed with Tasers, which produce an electric shock.

“We have called for the rollout of non-lethal Tasers for some years now,” he said.

“Such a device would almost certainly have prevented the horrific injuries that have left one garda in hospital after he was hit with a metal baseball bat.

“Another garda is now recovering from a vicious dog bite.”

Assault

The female garda was not injured during the incident.

The violent scenes began at 7.30pm when gardai attached to the local drugs unit attempted to search a known criminal on the Ballyogan estate.

However, the suspect fled and ran into a nearby property in Ballyogan Avenue. As a garda attempted to arrest the suspect, the door of the house was slammed shut.

Moments later, two teenagers emerged with a male in his 50s who was armed with a black metal baseball bat.

The garda was struck at least three times around the head, face and body as a large mob arrived at the scene and tried to assault the injured officer and his female colleague.

Unarmed assistance arrived a short time later, but gardai were forced to retreat due to the size and viciousness of the hostile mob.

At 10.45pm, gardai secured a warrant at a special sitting of the district court to search the property in Ballyogan Avenue Members of the ASU were called in to help with the raid and seize evidence linked to the baseball bat attack on the garda.

Shortly after midnight, armed officers entered the house, but were confronted by a number of men who attempted to attack them.

All the men were restrained, but one ASU member was bitten on the leg by a snarling dog. He later required hospital treatment.

The 58-year-old man who is suspected of beating the garda with the baseball bat was in the house and was arrested on suspicion of assault.

He was taken to Dun Laoghaire Garda Station where gardai last night continued to question him under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.The Nigerian national, who is known to gardai, has links to suspected drug dealers in the locality.

It is understood that the black metal baseball bat used in the assault was recovered during the raid early yesterday morning.

The garda injured in the baseball bat attack was taken to Tallaght Hospital where he was treated for a broken finger and severe swelling to the head.

It is understood that his left eye was swollen shut and that his left shoulder was also severely swollen.

The full extent of the injuries will not be known until the swelling goes down, which may take several days, said the hospital.

He also underwent a number of CT scans at the weekend, but his injuries have been described as non-life-threatening.