A civil rights watchdog has called for a review into possible systemic racism in the Gardai following the fatal shooting of George Nkencho.
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties echoed calls from the 27-year-old’s family solicitor as to why they have not been interviewed by the Ombudsman.
Mr Nkencho, who was armed with a kitchen knife, was shot dead in Clonee, West Dublin, by the Garda Armed Support Unit on December 30.
Doireann Ansbro, ICCL’s head of legal and policy, said: “We’ve called on GSOC to interview the Nkencho family as soon as possible to restore confidence the investigation will be thorough.
“We’ve also called on them to take into account all of the gardai’s human rights obligations including the prohibition on discrimination. There is a need to ensure they investigate explicit and implicit potential bias”
The Nkencho family solicitor told Dublin Live: “George ’s family welcomes this significant intervention from the ICCL.”
A GSOC spokesperson said: “We assured the ICCL that GSOC is aware of the State’s obligations under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.”
