The Director of Public Prosecutions has said that a Garda who shot a 27-year-old George Nkencho in 2020 should face no prosecution.
The instruction follows on from considerations made after a lengthy investigation into the circumstances of Nkencho’s death.
An Garda Síochána said in a statement that “Commissioner (Drew) Harris re-iterates today his and the organisation’s sympathy with the family of George Nkencho.”
It added that, “An Garda Síochána will await further information from GSOC on its next steps before commenting further.”
In a statement the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) said that it has “further notified the Nkencho family of their entitlement under the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Act 2017 to a summary of reasons from the DPP for its decision not to prosecute, as well as their statutory entitlement to request a review of the decision.”
“While GSOC can make no further comment at this time, it will continue to engage with the Nkencho family in the context of Coronial proceedings and any other statutory processes that may arise.
“GSOC further reiterates its undertaking to make the substantive detail of its investigation publicly available as and when other statutory processes permit it to do so.” it said.
The Nkencho family said in a statement that they are “disappointed” with the DPP’s decision and intend to appeal.
As Gript previously reported in the aftermath of Nkencho’s death “According to eyewitnesses, Mr Nkencho punched a manager in the store, and threatened staff with a knife. Gardaí followed him out of the shop to his home, repeatedly asking him to drop his weapon. The Armed Support Unit fired fatal shots after Mr Nkencho lunged at them with the knife.”
The Irish Sun reported that a staff member at the Europspar Nkencho entered was left with a broken nose and jaw.
It was reported that Nkencho lunged at a Garda with the knife before his fatal shooting and that pepper spray and tasers had also been used in efforts to bring him under control.
Minister Roderic O’Gorman linked Nkencho death to “racism” as Gript’s Ben Scallan reported “without evidence” commenting after a meeting with the Garda Commissioner that there was an “urgency” to tackle “racism and the work of An Garda Síochána to protect victims of racism and encourage people to report racist incidents to the Gardaí.”