A judicial challenge has been launched by a female police officer in the High Court, following a ruling that she violated internal police discipline rules, including showing disrespect towards a senior officer.
The officer insists her accusations are the result of years of victimisation due to her voicing concerns in her workplace. She revealed that an internal investigation was initiated after she confided in a female senior officer about experiencing sexual harassment by another policeman.
It is alleged that while they were on mortuary duty, this male sergeant acted towards her in an inappropriately and sexually aggressive manner. She said that he even perceived to send sexually explicit messages to himself from her phone.
Reportedly, the sergeant’s comments included claiming to have slept with her, offering her massages and asking if she was attracted to him. She told her female manager about these uncomfortable experiences a few months later and wanted her reports to remain confidential, worries about how they may affect her career prospects.
The officer was left shocked when she discovered that her superior had relayed the report to the male sergeant. The court was told that the accused was distressed and mortified about the accusations.
Following that, she formalised her complaints of harassment against the male sergeant and voiced her concerns about the management of her unit. She also alleges her female boss was disgruntled about her formal complaint and tried to disrupt the process. She insists this resulted in the suspension of the male sergeant and, additionally, in the female senior officer being relieved of particular responsibilities.
Later on, she reported facing unwelcome and unjustified behaviour from the female boss, leading to feelings of humiliation and embarrassment for her after interactions. An internal disciplinary investigation then accused her of poor conduct towards her superior and posting police-related comments on social media platforms.
Following the disciplinary review, she was found guilty of breaking police law and discipline. Her appeal against this verdict was turned down. She firmly refutes the charges against her and is worried about the potential negative repercussions of the findings on her career.
The plaintiff is seeking to challenge High Court decisions made against her, arguing that the management of her disciplinary process did not take into account all relevant evidence gathered during the investigation. She asserts that her contention – that she was victimised by her supervisor after raising certain issues at work – was not given the necessary importance.
Moreover, it is alleged that those conducting the investigation did not sufficiently consider that the bulk of the witnesses who submitted documents in relation to the process did not corroborate the plaintiff’s version of events. Furthermore, the plaintiff contends that sufficient reasoning was not provided as to why she was adjudged to have violated Garda discipline.
The legal action initiated by her is targeted at the Garda Commissioner and the officers involved in her disciplinary proceedings. She is pursuing a court order to nullify the findings of her having violated Garda discipline. In addition, she is also seeking a court announcement attesting that the disciplinary proceedings were improper, illegally conducted, and violated the principles of fair practices.
The issue appeared before Ms Justice Niamh Hyland on Monday, who greenlighted the plaintiff’s permission to initiate the lawsuit based on her assertions. The legal proceedings are set to resume before the court in the coming month.