https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/judge-dismisses-assault-charge-in-case-where-defendant-claims-a-lot-of-tension-in-clare-taxi-industry-834734.htmlJudge dismisses assault charge in case where defendant claims 'a lot of tension' in Clare taxi industry
A judge has dismissed an assault case against an African-born taxi driver after Gardaí failed to take a DNA sample of the alleged spit at the scene.
At Ennis District Court, Judge Patrick Durcan dismissed the charge against Francis Okeyenbulor (aged 52) of Dun na hInse, Ennis, who was charged with assaulting another taxi driver, Michael O’Connor by spitting at him at a taxi rank in Ennis last March.
Judge Durcan said that he was dismissing the case as Gardaí had failed to take a swab of the spit on the driver’s window of Mr O’Connor’s taxi for DNA analysis and had failed to put the issue of the spit on the window to Mr Okeyenbulor at the scene.
Solicitor for Mr Okeyenbulor, Tara Godfrey, said that “we don’t know what was on Mr O’Connor’s window - it could have been bird poo from a few days ago or his own spit. To take a swab of a dribble from the window should have been done by the Gardaí and that could have exonerated my client”.
Ms Godfrey said: “My client is an innocent man, a businessman who has had a serious accusation made against him. He absolutely denies it and is very hurt that the spit allegation has been made against him.”
Judge Durcan made his ruling after an application from Ms Godfrey to have the case dismissed due to the Garda failure to take the DNA sample and ask Mr Okeyenbulor at the scene about the spit.
In the case, Mr O’Connor said that Mr Okeyenbulor spat at him when coming up to his car on the taxi rank in Ennis on March 12, 2017.
Mr O’Connor admitted that after some of the spit landed on his face and some on his window, he called Mr Okeyenbulor “a black bastard”.
Mr O’Connor said that before Mr Okeyenbulor spat at him “he was shouting abuse at me and that I was an angry man and I should jump off the Cliffs of Moher”.
Ms Godfrey said that her client strenuously denies that he ever spat at Mr O’Connor or made comments that Mr O’Connor should jump off the Cliffs of Moher.
In response, Mr O’Connor said: “I wouldn't have wasted Garda time over a verbal altercation but when somebody spits on you, it is disgusting.”
In a statement to Gardaí, Mr Okeyenbulor denied spitting on Mr O’Connor.
He said that he approached Mr O’Connor because the previous night Mr O’Connor told him that he “should learn how to drive in this country, that the whole lot of us don’t know how to drive and go to the country we came from”.
Mr O’Connor denied this and said that he never had words with Mr Okeyenbulor before the incident on March 12.
In his interview with Gardaí read out in court, Mr Okeyenbulor said: “There is a lot of tension going on in the taxi industry in Co Clare."
He told Gardaí in an interview: “A lot of coloured drivers have reported incidents of intimidation, bullying, racial abuse to the Gardaí on several occasions without any meaningful action being taken.
He added: “Because of that, some bunch of Irish taxi drivers have decided to always bully, racially insult the non-Irish taxi-drivers to the extent that the non-Irish taxi drivers find it difficult to report such behaviour.”
In evidence, Garda Niall Cosgrove said that he arrived at the scene on the night and Mr O’Connor “was clearly shaking and upset over what had happened”.
Garda Cosgrove said that Mr O’Connor “showed us the remainder of the spit and I took two photos of it”.
Garda Cosgrove said that there were no independent witnesses or CCTV or forensic evidence in the case.
Garda Cosgrove handed the photos in to court. Garda Cosgrove said that Mr Okeyenbulor said that Mr O’Connor called him “a [] and a black bastard”.
In response, Mr O’Connor denied calling Mr Okeyenbulor a [] and stated: “I just called him a black bastard after he spat at me. I was in shock after someone came up to my car to tell me jump off the Cliffs of Moher and then spit at me.”
