Latest news with #ColmHorkan
Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Irish Examiner
Mick Clifford: Defective pistol holsters a smoking gun for An Garda Síochána
The shooting accident occurred on June 11, 2020. The detective involved was from the special detective unit. He had been assigned to the Israeli ambassador's residence on routine protective work. At around 4.30pm, his gun was accidentally discharged. He suffered injuries to his lower body that were significant but not life-threatening. It then emerged that concerns had been expressed in An Garda Síochána about holsters issued to armed members before the detective shot himself. When Detective Garda Colm Horkan was murdered with his own weapon a week later, these concerns were elevated and multiplied. An issue arose immediately as to whether or not the accident was in any way attributable to the quality of the holster the detective was wearing. There had been mumblings among some armed gardaí about the holster. A batch of these holsters had been acquired from a saddlery in the east of the country. The leather material was softer, and a safety feature that was part of the previous issued holster was off-centre and didn't cover the handle of the firearm. As a result, the firearm could be grabbed from within the holster by somebody else or, in some instances, the firearm could fall out of the holster. On the day after the incident outside the embassy, the detective's firearm, hip holster, magazines, and loose and spent rounds were delivered to the Garda National Technical Bureau for forensic examination. This is standard practice. The bureau routinely examines firearms and ammunition in criminal investigations. It has accredited testing and calibration laboratories that have achieved the IOS 17025 standard. The Garda Technical Bureau examines firearms and ammunition in criminal investigations. Picture: Colin Keegan When that was awarded in 2016, then commissioner Nóirín O'Sullivan noted that 'achieving accreditation to this standard means that the Garda Technical Bureau is providing a high quality forensic investigation service to An Garda Síochána, the Criminal Justice System, and the public. This will help improve and ensure trust among the public in the criminal justice system'. So it was that the holster and other items were examined in conditions conforming to the highest standard. The ambassador residence incident occurred at least a year after a protected disclosure had been made over concerns about the holsters, among other issues. Included in that protected disclosure was an allegation about the method and reason for procuring the supplier of the controversial holster. There were also fears expressed about the safety of the holsters. Concerns were expressed elsewhere, including from the firearms training unit within the force and the corresponding unit in the training college in Templemore. On June 16, five days after the accidental shooting, an email was sent between officers from these respective units. 'As you are aware this issue was raised before with [another officer] about this particular make of holsters and pouch,' the mail read. 'This softer style was supposed in both Sig and Wather [makes of firearms] configuration. It proved dangerous… I concur with your recommendation that this make of holster and pouch should be withdrawn for safety reasons.' The following day, just before midnight on June 17, Det Garda Horkan stopped a man on a motorbike in the centre of Castlerea, Co Roscommon. The man, Stephen Silver, was apparently driving erratically. Just after the garda approached him, a struggle ensued. Det Garda Horkan's official firearm came loose from its holster and Silver managed to get his hands on it. He fired up to 15 shots, at least four of which hit Det Garda Horkan, killing him. Silver then waited until gardaí arrived on the scene five minutes later. He is now serving a life sentence for murder. Stephen Silver is serving a life sentence for the murder of Det Garda Colm Horkan. Picture: Colin Keegan Det Garda Horkan's holster was one of those acquired from the saddlery in Kildare. Early the following morning, a detective from the technical bureau examined the murder scene. He put the holster in a bag and tagged it as exhibit DOL2(a). For whatever reason, that holster was not sent to the bureau for examination. This was highly unusual. Following every shooting incident, it is the technical bureau, with its access to the IOS standard lab and practices, that is charged with conduction ballistic and associated investigations. Not in this case. Instead, the holster — but not the firearm or ammunition — was sent to another senior garda with an instruction to have it tested for serviceability. The reason for this is entirely unclear. This officer did pass it on to a sergeant who had experience with firearms training but was not an expert in either ballistics or firearms. A Garda spokesperson said the holster was tested by Forensic Science Ireland. The murder of Det Garda Horkan, in an incident where his attacker got access to his firearm, raised further concerns in sections of An Garda Síochána. One piece of correspondence from a senior officer is dated June 22, five days after the murder. 'Prior to the murder of Det Garda Horkan, the sergeants attached to firearms training were looking into problems with the official issue leather holster and magazine pouch. "I feel this now needs to be acted upon as a matter of urgency; I believe the issue had been flagged earlier and remedial work was carried out on the holster in order to make it more durable. "However, the problem still exists in that when weapons are being holstered, the leather gathers under the trigger guard and there is potential for an unintended discharge.' That letter was accompanied by further correspondence from officers in the firearms training unit recommending that 'these holsters and magazine pouches be removed from service on health and safety grounds'. Apart from all that, the technical bureau did its testing of the holster as per usual in the wake of the accidental shooting at the ambassador's residence. The murder of Detective Garda Horkan, in an incident where his attacker got access to his firearm, raised further concerns in sections of An Garda Síochána. Picture: Denis Minihane The results, while entirely removed from, and independent of, the correspondence referenced above, largely agreed with the conclusions that the holsters were dangerous. On March 4, Labour TD Alan Kelly, who has followed this story closely, read out in the Dáil what he said were the conclusions of the technical bureau examination. 'It was discovered by forensic experts attached to the Garda National Technical Bureau that the leather pistol holster issued to the member was so dangerously defective, the holster could actually engage the trigger and fire the weapon of its own accord,' Mr Kelly told the House. 'It was further identified by the ballistic experts, who operate under ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, which is the legal requirement for all forensic laboratories, that the holster was so poorly designed, the firearm could be removed from the holster with so-called retention strap fully fastened. 'This left the gun open to removal by individuals other than the Garda member carrying the firearm. This critical health and safety risk later became the subject of a warning notice from the acting head of the Garda National Technical Bureau, given the very real concerns for the safety of Garda members.' The investigation of the holster's safety was a damning indictment. It concurred with the opinions generated in the firearms unit and the training college. In addition, and again entirely separately, the protected disclosure made in 2019 raised very similar concerns. If all of this was found to be factually and forensically accurate, it would represent a major scandal for An Garda Síochána. Bad enough that one garda had accidently shot himself. If defective equipment, about which fears had been expressed, contributed to a dangerous individual getting his hands on the member's weapon and murdering him, there would be a huge scandal. Such a scenario would not just invoke controversy among the public and the political class. Crucially, it would in all likelihood spark outrage internally within An Garda Síochána. However, the forensic examinations and opinions of experts were not the final word on the holsters' safety. As stated above, Det Garda Horkan's holster was dispatched to a senior officer who gave it onto a sergeant in his division who had experience in firearms training. He did not have access to the kind of laboratory conditions used in the technical bureau. He compiled a report suggesting that while the holster was not ideal, neither did it represent any danger to officers using it. This was contrary to the opinions expressed by others, as seen above, involved in firearms training. There was one more opinion or conclusion to throw into the mix. After the technical bureau returned its damning verdict on the examination of the holster in the ambassador residence accidental shooting, something unusual occurred. It was ordered from the upper echelons of the force that a second report be compiled. This was to be done by personnel in the Garda armoury, the unit that stores weapons, and the same unit that entered into a contract to acquire the holsters from the Kildare saddlery. No criticism The Irish Examiner understands that no criticism was ever made of the technical bureau's examination of the holster. Neither was there any suggesting that any individual officer in the bureau had erred, had any kind of conflict of interest, had done anything other than their professional duty, as per every other incident that they examined. Yet a second report was ordered. This was to be conducted by a unit that arguably was open to, at the very least, a perception of a conflict of interest. There is no reason to believe that this second report was conducted other than with the utmost integrity. In any event, the outcome was an opinion that the leather in the holster was more malleable than the model previously used, and there was an issue with a part of the stitching. Neither of these factors would render the holster dangerous in the manner that had been expressed by the technical bureau's examination or the opinions offered by personnel in the firearms training unit. There was now, within the force, a stark conflict of opinions on the safety of a holster that was used by officers involved in two shootings, one fatal. It would have been open to management within the force to seek an external expert opinion. If they were not happy with the result from the technical bureau, there was nothing to stop sending the holster to its equivalent unit in the PSNI, or one of the British policing divisions. That was not done. The holster was withdrawn later in 2020. In 2023, Mr Harris confirmed to then minister for justice Helen McEntee that all of the holsters in question had been withdrawn and shredded beyond use. Last Thursday, the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee heard that the contract for the holsters was valued at €500,000. Two postscripts to the matter that threw up other questions. A senior officer was appointed to investigate the protected disclosures made by the garda back in 2019. As part of the investigation, this officer required expert opinion on the holster. The Irish Examiner understands the officer was referred to the sergeant who had compiled the report on Det Garda Horkan's holster, the report that, to a large extent, gave the equipment the all-clear. Later again, the State Claims Agency, which oversees legal actions against state bodies like An Garda Síochána, wanted an opinion on the holster. Independent investigation call Again, it was referred to the same sergeant. A very simple question raises its head once more. Why, in both these cases, not to mind following Det Garda Horkan's murder, was the equipment not referred to the recognised authority on these matters, the technical bureau? Mr Kelly says that the whole issue around the holsters requires urgent independent investigation. Labour TD Alan Kelly says that the whole issue around the holsters requires urgent independent investigation. Picture: Stephen Collins 'I have been raising the issue of defective leather pistol holsters on issue to Garda members, for months now,' he said. 'I believe the safety of Garda members was put at risk. "Furthermore, it is abundantly clear that the concerns of those who spoke up about these defective leather pistol holsters were not welcome at the highest levels in An Garda Síochána. "Those who attempted to push this issue up the reporting structure to safeguard their colleagues have been treated appallingly. "This significant issue isn't going to go away for justice minister Jim O'Callaghan. He needs to address it and he needs to do so immediately. "There's no point in sticking his head in the sand and hoping it will go away. It won't.' A spokesperson for the Garda ombudsman Fiosrú said it cannot comment on anything to do with protected disclosures. A series of questions were submitted to the Garda press office. Each question, in general terms, received a response that An Garda Síochána would not or could not comment on the particulars. Read More Labour's Alan Kelly exposes alleged garda failures in gun safety and drug storage
Extra.ie
7 days ago
- Extra.ie
Family of slain Detective Garda Colm Horkan meet with whistleblower
The family of murdered Detective Garda Colm Horkan has met the Garda whistleblower who has revealed shocking information about the defective gun holster he was wearing on the day he was killed, can reveal. The meeting was facilitated by Labour TD Alan Kelly, who has brought revelations made by this newspaper about the defective nature of Garda-issued leather holsters, one of which was used by Det Gda Horkan on the day he was murdered, to the floor of Dáil Éireann. This meeting piles pressure on Garda Commissioner Drew Harris to fully disclose what the force knew about the faulty standard issue holsters and what exactly they did when warned by officers within the force of their danger. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris. Pic: Leah Farrell/ In October 2023, revealed that another, more junior Garda whistleblower – a former member of the Defence Forces – had warned management and the Garda watchdog that leather gun holsters used by officers were 'not fit for purpose' before tragedies that led to the death of Det Gda Horkan and left another officer with life-changing injuries. In 2019, nine months before Detective Horkan's murder, this first whistleblower raised safety concerns about Garda HQ-issued holsters with automatic pistols used by armed detectives. Holsters specifically designed for the 9mm Sig Sauer P226 and Walther P99c guns make it very unlikely that an assailant can take the weapons or that they will fire accidentally. Garda Colm Horkan. Pic: File also published the content of Protected Disclosures from this person that revealed the presence of a huge unregistered, recklessly handled cache of firearms at Garda HQ. This whistleblower subsequently claimed he had been targeted by superiors and left An Garda Síochána. However, earlier this year, began publishing the content of protected disclosures, revealing another more senior serving Garda officer who has been in a leadership role in some of the force's most elite units. Pic: File This whistleblower revealed the details of gross mismanagement of biometric data in the form of fingerprints and DNA, but also was in a position to corroborate and widen our knowledge of the information provided by his more junior colleague. The detailed Protected Disclosures in the area of An Garda Siochána's management, storage and treatment of firearms and gun equipment were wider and more disturbing. This second, more senior Garda, who is still serving, was present in the incident room in Castlerea Garda Station on the night Det Gda Horkan was gunned down with his own firearm on June 17, 2020. The family of Garda Colm Horkan. Pic: Collins Courts It is this second Garda whistleblower who met with the Horkan family, can reveal. Those present did not want to disclose the interactions at the meeting, but it is believed internal Garda knowledge of the holsters and the failure to act were discussed. This whistleblower – who headed up the Garda National Technical Bureau (GNTB) – says in a Protected Disclosure published by in May, that senior officers withheld Det Gda Horkan's defective gun holster from the control of GNTB officers charged with forensic investigation of the crime. In May, the whistleblower detailed a first-person account of his attendance at the incident room in the hours after Detective Horkan's murder. In the account, he claims he was told that Det Gda Horkan's murderer, Stephen Silver, initially told investigators he had pulled the slain garda's gun from his holster. Stephen Silver. Pic: Michael McCormack/PA Wire The whistleblower wrote: 'Crucially, it was also stated at one point that Silver had opened up and provided an initial account as to what had occurred after Colm exited his official Garda vehicle and approached him. 'We understood that Silver had stated that during his confrontation with Colm he had managed to get behind Colm, on Colm's back and that as Colm shook from side to side, in an effort to remove Silver from his back, that Colm's jacket had also swayed from side to side in line with his body movements and that as it did so, it presented Stephen Silver with a view of Colm's official firearm, which was housed or contained in his official issue leather holster on his hip. 'Having observed Colm's firearm, Silver stated that he reached down and that he was literally able to pull the weapon straight up and out of the holster, without issue, after which, he started to shoot Colm.' Garda Colm Horkan. Pic: File It means that at the very early stages of the investigation, Garda Horkan's holster was identified as a key piece of evidence. The whistleblower goes on to detail that, despite the holster being bagged and tagged as a ballistic exhibit, it was not returned to the GNTB for forensic examination. Instead, it was taken into the possession of another uniformed Chief Superintendent, at the direction of Garda management, who then had the holster examined by a non-forensically trained officer. This sequence of events was confirmed to Deputy Kelly by Garda Commissioner Harris at a recent meeting of the Oireachtas Justice Committee. Alan Kelly TD. Pic: Dáil Éireann The explosive allegations are among those contained in new protected disclosures made by a senior serving officer to former Labour leader Alan Kelly and Others include that: The whistleblower's 'warning campaign' about the holsters caused 'frustrations at the highest level' of the force. A previous incident where a Garda received life-changing injuries outside the Israeli Ambassador's residence when his gun went off accidentally saw that holster being examined forensically, with a report concluding the holster was significantly defective. Video footage from live-fire training events, prior to the murder of Det Gda Horkan, clearly evidenced the defective nature of the holsters and the dangers they posed. An 'alternative report' into the holster taken from the Israeli Ambassador's residence incident – when a garda received life-changing injuries after his gun accidentally fired – ordered by Commissioner Harris and carried out by the Firearms Stores Section that procured the holsters, was a 'clear conflict of interest' that undermined Garda 'forensic and ballistic experts'. This second report was compiled some months later, while the whistleblower was on annual leave. The senior officer was deliberately targeted for raising the concerns. The senior officer involved in the investigation into Det Gda Horkan's murder claimed that the 'initial account' about the gun provided by Silver in custody was that he was 'able to reach down [from behind] and remove it from Garda Horkan's official issue leather pistol holster'. But, he notes in his disclosure: 'Court reporting later provided by RTÉ showed that the narrative [provided by Silver] had changed. 'It was now being reported that it was actually Det Gda Horkan who moved to draw his official issue firearm and that Stephen Silver placed his hand on top of Det Gda Horkan's hand resulting in both men drawing the pistol together, with Silver somehow managing to take the firearm from Garda Horkan even though his [Silver's] grip would have been significantly weakened as a result of it being widened by the grip that Det Gda Horkan allegedly already had on the pistol grip of the firearm.' At the time, Mr Kelly called for a full investigation by the Department of Justice into the allegations, which include serious claims made against the force and Garda Commissioner Harris.
