Senior garda admits mental health training 'quite minimal', Nkencho inquest hears

Seán McCárthaigh

A senior garda in charge of armed officers involved in the fatal shooting of George Nkencho has admitted that their training for dealing with people with mental health problems would have been “quite minimal.”

Inspector John Holland of the Special Tactics and Operations Command told an inquest at Dublin District Coroner’s Court that the main priority of members of the Garda Armed Support Unit (ASU) during the incident was the threat posed to members of the public and gardaí by an individual with a large knife.

Insp Holland said he believed the advice to try and keep a situation involving a disturbed person calm was not possible in the circumstances because of the immediate threat posed by someone with a knife and the risk to other individuals.

He told the inquest at Dublin District Coroner’s Court that he understood information about dealing with people with mental health issues was given as part of basic training for unattested gardaí attending the Garda College.

However, Insp Holland said he believed it was “quite minimal.”

Mr Nkencho was fatally wounded by gardaí who had responded to emergency calls after the deceased had carried out an unprovoked assault on a manager at the nearby Eurospar store in Hartstown, as well as threatening staff with a knife.

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 the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (now known as Fiosrú).

As a qualified negotiator and on-scene commander, Insp Holland told the coroner, Myra Cullinane, he received advice from the director of the Central Mental Hospital about dealing with individuals with mental health problems.

However, he did not believe such advice would have been given to members of the ASU.

The witness said gardaí were now trying to incorporate some learnings from incidents into judgmental and situational training, which would include mental health issues.

Nevertheless, Insp Holland stressed that the immediate threat posed by someone with a knife and the risk to people on the day took precedence over putting any protocol or procedures on mental health issues into practice.

He told counsel for the Nkencho family, Eanna Molloy SC, that he believed such advice would normally arise for use in “a protracted incident” where there was either a hostage or suicide situation.

Insp Holland pointed out that the situation involving Mr Nkencho was “evolving” and “very fluid.”

He noted that the time between the ASU's arrival on the scene and a firearm being discharged was less than a minute.

On hearing that the ASU had fired shots, Insp Holland told the inquest that he had directed another garda to take possession of their weapons and to get the two armed gardaí to make contemporaneous notes without conferring with each other.

Asked by Mr Molloy why gardaí failed to resort to less lethal devices, Insp Holland replied that tasers (and pepper spray) had been deployed.

The witness said he believed firearms were used because of “the urgency of the situation” and ASU members had “to deal with the threat in front of them.”

He reminded the hearing that Mr Nkencho was still in possession of a knife and advancing at gardaí when the firearm was discharged.

Insp Holland stressed that the deceased’s intentions were “unknown.”

He said the ASU members, who put themselves in harm’s way to protect others, were the best-equipped and best-trained gardaí to deal with the situation.

He also claimed that the immediacy of the danger when the ASU arrived on the scene with Mr Nkencho continuing to walk toward members of the public meant there was an urgency which did not allow them to go to the boot of their vehicle to get other equipment, such as a protective shield and a 40mm launcher which fired “sponge rounds.”

In reply to a question from Dr Cullinane, Insp Holland said shields were generally used during planned house searches by a garda who would not generally be carrying a firearm.

The witness said that having a garda carry a shield, which required both hands, removed the possibility that they could also carry a weapon.

The inquest heard that the ASU in Dublin dealt with around 4,200 incidents in 2020, of which 72% were “of substance”.

Insp Holland told counsel for An Garda Síochána, Ronan Kennedy SC, that the incident involving Mr Nkencho was the only one where lethal force was deployed.

He said most incidents involving an individual with a knife were resolved by the mere presence of gardaí from the ASU.

Insp Holland said there was a fear of a hostage situation if someone with a knife was able to get into a house, which creates “a different risk.”

The witness said he was unaware that Mr Nkencho was outside his own house until he arrived at the scene about 30 minutes after the fatal shooting.

He said he believed the ASU members had deployed “the most effective tools” on Mr Nkencho.

Asked about the pepper spray used on the deceased being about a month out-of-date, Insp Holland said ASU equipment was subject to an audit every six months, but the normal timescale for biannual checks had probably been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic at the time.

In other evidence, the deceased’s aunt, Grace Anyanwu, described the events of the day her nephew was killed as “torture.”

However, Ms Anyanwu, who formally identified her nephew’s body to gardaí, said she felt at peace at seeing him because he was “sleeping like an angel.”

Ms Anyanwu said her heart “calmed down” after seeing his body in the Dublin City Mortuary in Whitehall on the day after the fatal shooting.

The witness explained that she is not the biological sister of the deceased’s mother, Blessing Nkencho, but that they were best friends and like sisters.

The inquest before a jury of five women and four men will resume on Wednesday.