VIDEO: McEntee condemns ramming of Garda patrol car
Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has condemned an incident in Dublin which saw a Garda patrol car rammed.
Minister McEntee was responding to video footage shared widely on social media which showed two cars being driven erratically in the Cherry Orchard area of Dublin with one driving at the patrol car.
A large group of people can be seen and heard cheering when the car collides with the garda vehicle.
"Any assault on Gardaí is unacceptable and utterly disrespectful of the rule of law and the law abiding community," said the Minister.
"Those showing contempt for Gardaí and decent communities last night will be investigated, and I urge anyone with information to contact An Garda Síochána.
Reacting to events in Cherry Orchard last night on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors President Antoinette Cunningham said social media is a "huge factor" in these types of incidents.
"The worry here for the people we represent is that this encourages copycat type incidents and that these young people and onlookers feel empowered by these videos, and it encourages more of the same type of behaviour," she said.
"So it’s not only about condemning what happened out there last night but it's also about finding a solution to these issues to try very hard to ensure that there's no recurrence of them.
"They are completely unacceptable. They're unacceptable for society and they're unacceptable for the gardaí in the area."
Gardaí last night said they were responding to reports of dangerous driving at the time of the crash, and that two vehicles were observed "driving erratically", failing to stop when requested.
Gardai have issues an appeal for witnesses to the incident.
"Shortly after 7:30pm this evening, Monday 19th September 2022, Gardaí responded to reports of dangerous driving in the Cherry Orchard area. Upon arrival Gardaí observed two vehicles driving erratically. Both vehicles failed to stop when requested to do so by Gardaí and one vehicle collided with an official Garda vehicle. No injuries were reported during the incident.
"Gardaí are appealing to any member of the public who may have witnessed this incident to come forward. Gardaí are also appealing to anyone who was travelling in the Cherry Orchard area at this time, who may have camera (dash cam) footage to make this available to investigating Gardaí.
"Anyone with any information in relation to this incident should contact Ballyfermot Garda Station on 01 666 7200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
"No arrests have been made, investigations are ongoing."