Garda who fired fatal shots that killed George Nkencho says shots were 'proportionate'

Seán McCárthaigh

The garda who fired the fatal shots which killed George Nkencho in the driveway of his family home in west Dublin five years ago has claimed he had no option but to use lethal force in the situation he faced.

The witness – a member of the Garda Armed Support Unit identified only as Garda A – told the inquest into Mr Nkencho’s death that he believed his use of his Heckler & Koch MP7 firearm to discharge six shots was “necessary” and “proportionate.”

Garda A told the sixth day of the inquest at Dublin District Coroner’s Court that he justified his use of lethal force because he feared for his life after Mr Nkencho lunged at him with a knife at close quarters.

The highly-trained specialist described how the deceased tried to stab him on four occasions in the space of around 30 seconds.

Kitchen knife

The jury of five women and three men was shown a photo of a kitchen knife with a 12cm (5-inch) blade.

Garda A said he did not know that the incident was taking place outside the victim’s house and believed Mr Nkencho was “walking around randomly.”

He was also unaware during the tense situation that Mr Nkencho’s family had appeared at the front door of the house during the incident.

The inquest previously heard that the deceased’s sister, Gloria, had tried to alert gardaí that her brother was unwell and had mental health issues.

Mr Nkencho (27) died after suffering fatal gunshot wounds in the incident outside his family home at Manorfields Drive, Clonee, Co Dublin on December 30, 2020 shortly after he had been involved in a disturbance at a nearby supermarket.

The young man, the eldest of five siblings whose family originally come from Nigeria, was pronounced dead a short time later at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown.

The inquest previously heard evidence that Mr Nkencho had carried out an unprovoked assault on a manager at the Eurospar store in Hartstown as well as threatening staff with a knife shortly before the fatal incident.

The deceased’s family claim the level of force used against him was disproportionate.

However, the DPP directed that no prosecution should arise over the circumstances of Mr Nkencho’s death following an investigation by Fiosrú, (formerly known as the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission).

Garda A told the hearing that his two-member ASU unit was alerted to assist local gardaí with the incident at the Eurospar store.

He recalled how he first came across Mr Nkencho close to his home when he was holding a knife and being shadowed by about 10 gardaí.

Standing about 10-15 metres away, Garda A said he pointed his firearm at Mr Nkencho so that he could see it and directed him to drop his knife.

He claimed the deceased, who was “highly alert and focused” and acting in an aggressive manner, ignored his instructions.

The inquest heard he then followed Mr Nkencho, who was “angry-looking and had a snarl on his face,” into the driveway of a house on Manorfields Drive.

Garda A described how his colleague deployed a taser after Mr Nkencho had suddenly lunged at the witness with his knife.

Taser

He said he moved towards Mr Nkencho as he fell on the ground, but was surprised at how quickly he tried to get up, still clenching his knife.

Garda A said he deployed his own taser while screaming at the deceased to drop his knife in the hope that he would be able to kick the weapon away from Mr Nkencho.

However, he said Mr Nkencho attempted to stab him in the leg while making a lunge getting up off the ground, but the knife missed although he felt some contact.

Garda A said pepper spray, which was then deployed by his colleague in an attempt to temporarily blind Mr Nkencho, also appeared to have no effect.

Lethal force

At that stage, he felt he had no other option but to consider lethal force as he feared Mr Nkencho was trying to kill him with his knife.

Garda A said his first shot was not designed to kill, but it had no effect as Mr Nkencho continued to come at him.

He believed it was “absolutely necessary” to fire a second shot, but Mr Nkencho continued to swing his knife wildly and narrowly missed the witness’ head.

After firing a third shot, he observed: “Nothing had changed.”

The inquest heard Garda A fired three more shots as Mr Nkencho did not appear to be injured and still posed a threat.

“He was going to kill me if he got the chance,” he remarked.

The witness said the final shot was fired after he was in a position close to a hedge where he could move no further.

After Mr Nkencho fell seriously injured to the ground, Garda A said he heard screaming from the front door of the house before his colleague kicked the knife away from Mr Nkencho and first aid was provided to the victim.

Mental Health issues

Speaking from behind a screen, Garda A told the coroner, Myra Cullinane, that he was unaware that Mr Nkencho had mental health issues, but he did not believe it would have made any difference if he had.

The witness, who was only visible to the coroner, jury and legal representatives, said he felt a need to contain the situation in case Mr Nkencho, who was a young, fit, strong male “absconded.”

In reply to questions from Dr Cullinane, he said he had followed Mr Nkencho into his garden as he did not know who else was in the area, and he had an obligation to protect them.

“I had no idea where he was going. We were not going to allow him wander off,” he remarked.

Asked why he did not try to immobilise the deceased by shooting him in the arm or leg, Garda A said it was international best practice to aim at the “central mass of the body” when faced with an absolute threat.

Garda A also confirmed that they did not want Mr Nkencho to go inside the house because he did not know who was inside and he feared for their safety.

He stressed that Mr Nkencho was extremely aggressive and that “his actions were dictating my response.”

Asked if the deceased’s actions were a response to the witness’ presence at the scene with a firearm, Garda A replied: “I can’t say.”

Questioned if he had consulted with his colleague about what to do after the taser failed to have an effect, the witness said it was impossible to have a conversation in the “fractions of seconds” in which the situation unfolded.

He told the coroner that alternative weapons included a 40mm launcher – a firearm capable of firing rubber bullets – which was locked in the boot of their ASU jeep, was not considered.

He denied firing his weapon while Mr Nkencho was facing away from him.
Garda A told counsel for the Nkencho family, Eanna Molloy SC, that time did not allow for him to ask other gardaí at the scene if they had any information about the suspect.

He also observed that there was no opportunity to hold back to observe Mr Nkencho because of the “physical layout” of where he was.

Garda A acknowledged that it “could have been a different scenario” if Mr Nkencho had been on a green when the ASU members arrived on the scene.

He told Mr Molloy that other options could have been explored if time was on their side but his first obligation was to contain the situation.

Garda A observed that every single callout he attends has some sort of mental health aspect, but noted that ASU members do not have the luxury of “analysing the minutiae” of such matters

“It’s a cruel situation. You try to make the best decision you can in the heat of the moment,” he added.

Garda A said mental health considerations “did not dictate the scenario.”

The witness said he did not see any of his shots hit Mr Nkencho in the back after Mr Molloy pointed out that one and possibly two bullets had struck the deceased in the back.

However, Garda A replied that Mr Nkencho was flailing around with a knife and he had to make “a split-second” decision.

Offering condolences to the deceased’s family, Garda A stressed that he had no other option but to fire his weapon because “it all happened so fast.”

Mr Molloy remarked that the six shots fired by the witness were “six sledgehammers to deal with one nut.”
Garda A replied: “I can’t agree with that.”

The inquest heard that the fatal incident was the first time that Garda A had discharged his weapon, although he attended on average around a dozen similar scenarios each year.

His colleague, known only as Garda B, provided similar evidence about the confrontation with Mr Nkencho.

He also confirmed that he was unaware that the deceased had mental health issues or that some people had appeared at the front door of the house.

Garda B said he did not know at the time that his pepper spray was past its use-by date.