Gardai say an investigation into alleged criminal damage during an incident where nine people were forcibly evicted from a Dublin home is under way.
Video footage of the incident shows damage at the house in Phibsborough, Dublin including shattered windows, missing doors, smashed toilets, and busted walls, Dublin Live reports.
Gardai said they attended the scene following a 999 emergency call and remained on site to “prevent breaches of the peace and ensure the safety of all persons involved”.
They have now issued a statement saying that a report will be made into “lessons learned” from the incident, which has come under intense scrutiny.
A garda spokesman said: “An Garda Síochána is very aware of current public discourse around an incident on Berkeley Road on the 12 August 2020 and as an organisation we must listen and learn from our experiences.
“A criminal investigation into alleged criminal damage at the premises on the 12 August 2020 is currently being carried out.
“Our purpose at events of this type, which are essentially civil legal matters, is not to be an integral part of the event but to prevent breaches of the peace and ensure the safety of all persons involved.
“In the ever increasingly complex policing environment front-line members of An Garda Síochána must make dynamic and real-time decisions based on the information available to them at any particular time.
“An Garda Síochána management must support frontline members and ensure that they have the correct guidance and support in attending similar developing, dynamic evolving incidents.”
They confirmed that Deputy Commissioner John Twomey, Policing and Security has appointed an outside Superintendent to examine all the circumstances of the incident from a ‘lessons learned’ perspective.
Deputy Commissioner Twomey said: “An Garda Síochána is a learning organisation. I have requested an urgent lessons learned report on this recent incident.
“If, where An Garda Síochána can learn from this experience, we will do so to ensure that we continue to provide the best policing service going forward based on our tradition of policing by consent.”
