Detective could not believe George Nkencho still swung knife after being shot

Seán McCárthaigh

A detective has told an inquest that he could not believe how George Nkencho was still able to continue to swing a knife at armed gardaí after several shots had been fired at him at close range.

Detective Garda Brendan O’Hora told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner’s Court that he had drawn his own firearm after thinking Mr Nkencho had stabbed a member of the Garda Armed Support Unit (ASU) with his knife.

Det O’Hora said he believed there was an immediate threat to life as he feared Mr Nkencho had made contact with the ASU member known only as Garda A.

Mr Nkencho (27) died after suffering fatal gunshot wounds in the incident outside his family home at Manorfields Drive, Clonee, Co Dublin on December 30th, 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).

Det Garda O’Hora gave evidence that he had removed his own firearm from its holster when he feared Garda A would fall to the ground and that Mr Nkencho would turn on other gardaí at the scene.

He told the coroner, Myra Cullinane, that he “genuinely believed” the deceased was going to kill the ASU officer.

Det Garda O’Hora outlined how he first came across Mr Nkencho walking on a green area near his home a short time earlier.

He said the deceased continued to walk towards him and other gardaí in a determined manner, despite being instructed to stop.

The witness said he tried to engage with Mr Nkencho but he would not drop his knife.

Det Garda O’Hora said he kept a safe distance away from Mr Nkencho while shouting at passers-by to get out of the way as gardaí created “a moving cordon” around him.

He described how he asked Mr Nkencho who he was and to stop and talk but got no response.

Det Garda O’Hora said he stood at the entrance to the driveway of Mr Nkencho’s home after the ASU members had arrived at the scene and called on him to drop his knife.

He recalled how Mr Nkencho continued to lash out even after falling to the ground after a taser had been deployed.

At that point, he remembered screaming at people who had come to the front door of the house to go back inside out of fear for their safety.

Det Garda O’Hora said Mr Nkencho was “still slashing” even after shots were fired at him.

“I couldn’t understand how he was still going,” he added.

The witness said Garda A had only discharged his firearm after issuing repeated warnings to Mr Nkencho to drop his knife.

Det Garda O’Hora said he heard four shots with a distinct pause between each one.

In reply to questions from counsel for Mr Nkencho’s family, Eanna Molloy SC, the witness said he had noticed the people at the door of the house were black.

Asked if he had not recognised that they might be relatives of the deceased, Det Garda O’Hora said he could not “put two and two together at that stage.”

He said he did not hear them saying Mr Nkencho was their brother who had mental health issues.

Det Garda O’Hora said he was focused on removing them “from the threat area” as they might also be possible targets for Mr Nkencho.

The seventh day of the inquest heard evidence from several other gardaí at the scene of the fatal incident.

A member of a second ASU to arrive shortly after the fatal incident, Garda Stephen P Walsh said he counted four gunshot wounds to the centre of Mr Nkencho’s chest with a possible fifth wound close to the nipple area.

He noted that both Garda A and his colleague, known as Garda B, were in shock.

The jury of five women and four men also heard that tasers were deployed on four occasions over the space of 21 seconds before the fatal shooting.

The former head of the firearms training unit at the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tipperary, Sergeant James Ryan, provided detailed analysis of the deployment of tasers by the two ASU officers.

Data downloaded from the devices showed Garda B first activated his taser for five seconds at 12:35:13 and twice more over the next 21 seconds.

It also revealed that Garda A – who fired the fatal shots with a Heckler & Koch MP7 firearm – had deployed his taser for seven seconds at 12:35:18.

It was the second of four attempts to apply an electric shock to Mr Nkencho in an attempt to disarm him from a knife he was using to threaten gardaí.

Evidence was heard earlier this week that the first use of the taser knocked Mr Nkencho to the ground for a brief period while the other uses appeared to have had no effect on him after he got back on his feet.

Sgt Ryan gave evidence that tasers were “very unlikely” to have an effect if the target was wearing bulky clothing

In reply to questions from Dr Cullinane, he said gardaí should consider resorting to other resources “depending on the level of threat,” if tasers were proving ineffective.

Sgt Ryan said tasers were visibly effective if “a good connection” was made with a target when they would be expected to fall to the ground.

The witness said he could not comment on the effectiveness of the pepper spray used during the incident which the inquest heard was past its use-by date.

Sgt Ryan told the hearing that bullets used with the MP7 firearm were designed to go through body armour but to stop within a target’s body.

The inquest heard that four of the six bullets fired at Mr Nkencho had exit wounds from his body.