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Death after police custody in Ireland From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Terence Wheelock, a 20-year-old Dublin native from Summerhill in the city's north inner district, died on 16 under manslaughter charges against Store Street Garda Station. [citation needed] Wheelock's death occurred following his arrest alongside three others on suspicion of car theft, a charge from which he was subsequently exonerated. [citation needed] After being detained at Store Street Garda Station, he was discovered unconscious in his cell just two hours later. [citation needed] The complexities surrounding his custody and subsequent death led to an inquest, culminating on 13 May 2007, when a coroner's jury concluded that his death resulted from suicide. [citation needed] The events leading to and following Wheelock's untimely demise have continued to raise questions about the treatment of detainees and the protocols followed by law enforcement, highlighting a critical moment of scrutiny and calls for reform within the Irish justice system.[1]
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Garda Tadhg O’Leary, from Fitzgibbon Street Garda station, said Gardaí received a phone call from a woman on that day to report a car being brought into a back yard at Sean O’Casey Avenue and being covered with a sheet.
Garda O'Leary had a check run on the black Toyota Yaris, and the owner in Donnybrook confirmed it had been stolen. He later spotted four young men in the car.
Gardaí confirmed all four were surrounded in the square at the front of the house by officers and gave themselves up shortly after midday. The inquest heard Wheelock and another man were brought to Store Street Garda station. At that point, O'Leary said he discovered two bench warrants were in existence for Wheelock and he would have to be held to appear before the District Court. “At the time of the arrest of the youths they were caught red-handed”, he said.[1]
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Wheelock died in hospital on 16 December 2005 after he was found unconscious in a cell in Store Street Garda Station two weeks earlier.
An inquiry by the Garda Ombudsman into Wheelock's death found he was not mistreated in any way in Store Street Garda Station. While no individual Garda was found to be culpable in relation to Wheelock's death, the report identified a number of system failures including the failure to remove the cord from his tracksuit and to properly record details in custody. In addition, the entirety of the GSOC report was not published to the public, in the "public Interest".[2]
The Garda Síochána stated that Terence committed suicide while in his cell, hanging himself with a ligature which "was secured to a fixture which is countersunk into the wall".[This quote needs a citation] Kieran Bisset, a member of Dublin Fire Brigade who provide ambulance cover in the Dublin area, said a number of Gardaí were performing CPR on the unconscious man when the Fire Brigade were called after 2:30 p.m. "There was an obvious ligature mark around the front of his neck", he said, adding it was deep and previous experience would indicate it was from a cord or a shoelace.[1] The Gardaí stated that on observing Terence in the cell they took him into the open cell area where CPR was performed.[2]
Wheelock's family contested the idea that Terence had hanged himself. His family believes Wheelock died as a result of injuries received from the gardaí while in custody. Larry Wheelock, one of Terence's 10 siblings, claimed his brother was a victim of police brutality.[2]
There were protests in favour of an independent inquiry into the death of Terence Wheelock in many locations including Store Street Garda Station, Dáil Éireann, and the Minister for Justice.[7]
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