One man has been arrested after assaulting a Garda during a huge operation in Dublin on Monday.
The hardworking member of the Gardai was assaulted by the shameless attacker just before 5pm in the Ringsend area.
The officer was responding to a public order incident near Canon Mooney Gardens on Pigeon House Road when the assault took place.
During the frantic search to find the man who fled the scene after the hit, Gardai mistakenly arrested another man who matched the description of the suspect.
This man was Ross Maher who told Dublin Live that he was "rugby tackled" to the ground in the hectic two-minute blunder by Gardai.
In the midst of the horrific attack on the Garda, another male - believed to be the alleged suspect behind the assault - was arrested at the same time just a short distance away and Ross was released.
Ross said he was immediately let go after telling the officers his name but did suffer some back injuries following his mistaken arrest along with bruising to his face.
He said: "I was shocked when it happened but I knew I did nothing wrong and kept telling myself that. I didn't resist and didn't react, I just played along.
"I thought if I started giving cheek or fighting back, I'd get a battering too.
"I've no convictions, I've never been arrested, I'm clean. If I had a dodgy past I'd say 'fair enough', but it's just a case of mistaken identity.
A spokeswoman for Gardai told Dublin Live: "Members of An Garda Síochána responding to a public order incident, during which a member of An Garda Síochána was assaulted, observed a male matching the description of a male suspected of the alleged assault."
"The male was stopped and temporarily detained.
"During the quickly evolving incident another male, the alleged suspect, was arrested a short distance away.
"The first male was immediately released.
"Anyone wishing to making a complaint about the actions of Gardaí can make a complaint to GSOC."
