No safe way to de-escalate George Nkencho standoff, garda firearms expert tells inquest

Seán McCárthaigh

There was no safe way to de-escalate the situation where George Nkencho was fatally wounded by armed gardaí outside his home in west Dublin five years ago, according to a senior instructor with the Garda Firearms Training Unit.

Sergeant John Heaney told the inquest into the death of Mr Nkencho that a firearm had only been used when tasers and pepper spray had no effect, and the deceased had threatened gardaí aggressively with a knife.

Sgt Heaney said the use of such less lethal weapons had not caused Mr Nkencho “any pain or discomfort.”

“In my opinion, this scenario could not have been de-escalated,” said Sgt Heaney.

Mr Nkencho (27) suffered fatal gunshot wounds after a member of the Garda Armed Support Unit (ASU) – known only as Garda A – fired six rounds from a sub-machine gun in an incident outside his home at Manorfields Drive, Clonee, Co Dublin, on December 30th 2020.

The deceased had carried out an unprovoked assault on a manager at the nearby Eurospar store in Hartstown a short time earlier as well as threatening staff with a knife.

The deceased’s family claim the level of force used against him was disproportionate.

However, the DPP directed that no prosecution should arise over the circumstances of Mr Nkencho’s death following an investigation by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (now known as Fiosrú).

The tenth day of the inquest at Dublin District Coroner’s Court heard that Sgt Heaney designed and delivered the pre-deployment course for ASU members.

The witness explained that ASU candidates were required to obtain a mark of at least 8 on a scale of 1-11.

Sgt Heaney said Garda A had obtained a rating of 4 at the start of the training course, which was “normal enough” as candidates were expected to gradually score higher marks as the course progressed.

He confirmed that Garda A had scored an 8 across all areas by the completion of the course and stated there had not been any significant concerns about his performance.

“If there had been any concerns at all, he would have been failed,” he added.

In reply to questions from coroner Myra Cullinane, Sgt Heaney said the ASU training course had a high failure rate with 8-9 candidates out of a group of 20 expected to fail.

He said fully qualified ASU members were also required to engage in continuous refresher courses, which were twice a year for firearms and once a year for judgmental scenarios.

Sgt Heaney outlined how ASU members receive training in various modules, including firearms, less lethal weapons, tactics and crisis incidents.

He told counsel for the Nkencho family, Eanna Molloy SC, that the training would involve scenarios involving people with mental health issues, although they were most related to “self-harmers.”

Sgt Heaney said such scenarios were about containing the situation.

He pointed out that mental health covered “a wide spectrum” and it was impossible to arrange scenarios that covered everything.

Sgt Heaney said ASU candidates would be required to face eight scenarios on their own within a house including one relating to mental health.

In reply to questions from counsel for An Garda Síochána, Ronan Kennedy SC, the witness said ASU candidates were required to justify any use of force.

While the use of lethal force was meant to be a last resort, Sgt Heaney said it could be justifiable “straight away” if an officer was faced with an immediate threat to their life.

Having watched a video taken by a passer-by of the fatal incident in which five of six shots fired by Garda A were recorded, Sgt Heaney said there would be a delay between the shot being fired and when it was heard on the recording.

He said the scenario would not have been suitable for the use of a less lethal 40mm launcher, which is one of the devices available to ASU members, as it would have been “completely the wrong weapon to bring out.”

The witness said there was a problem with tasers being able to penetrate heavy clothing but he understood it would be eliminated with the latest type of tasers, which will “go through jackets.”

Sgt Heaney observed that knives are lethal weapons and kill more people than firearms.

He said an individual with a knife could take out 3-4 people very quickly, causing them serious injury or death.

The inquest before a jury of five women and four men is continuing this afternoon.