'Society has changed' - Waterford drunk driver punched lone Garda
Nagle was taken into custody after the hearing in Waterford Courthouse.
A drunk driver punched a lone Garda in the face and ran off into a field in Waterford.
Sam Nagle (32), of Cul Rua, Aglish, Cappoquin, appeared at Waterford Circuit Court on charges of assaulting a Garda officer contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Act, escaping from lawful custody and drunk-driving.
Detective Garda Alan Crowley outlined the facts of the matter before Judge Eugene O’Kelly.
In the early hours of October 7, 2023, an on-duty Garda officer was driving between Aglish and Cappoquin when he stopped a white van driven by Nagle. The officer saw Nagle throw an object out on the right hand side of the road, which was discovered to be a retractable baton.
There were several other men inside the van. The Garda apprehended Nagle and suspected that he was intoxicated. Nagle repeatedly said, "I need to take a p**s" to the officer. As the Garda went to handcuff him against the car, Nagle punched him in the face and ran off into a nearby field. The Garda went to his vehicle to call for back-up but the emergency button didn’t work. The officer made a radio call for assistance. His face was swollen and he temporarily lost vision in one eye.
When Gardaí went to arrest Nagle at his home, he tried to escape out of a "back window" of his home. He was arrested and conveyed to Dungarvan Garda Station. He told Gardaí that on the evening of October 6, he had "6 or 7 Heinekens" at a pub in Cappoquin.
He denied feeling drunk inside the bar and "wasn't falling around the place". He claimed he felt drunk only when he stepped outside. He said: “The fresh air is what got me. It was like getting hit by a truck.”
Nagle claimed he asked the officer to "go toilets" three times. He said: “I just turned around and pumped him.
“Who goes out and hits someone like a p***y? He pissed me off and it tripped my fuse.”
Defence counsel Brian P. O'Shea asked Judge O'Kelly to take into account the "magnanimous" statement from the injured party, which contained criticism towards An Garda Síochána.
In his victim impact statement, the officer explained how the attack left him with a black eye and he had to tell his children that he "ran into a tree". The officer has been in the service for 20 years and was critical of the faulty gear he was provided with on the night of the attack. He wrote: “I feel fortunate that all the parties ran off as I pressed the emergency button and it didn’t work. I’ve no confidence in the equipment provided by An Garda Síochána. Society has changed where people have no respect anymore.”
The Garda accepted Nagle’s apologies.
Nagle had nine previous convictions, including drunk driving and no insurance. He was sentenced to 22 months in prison for the assault, three months for escaping from custody and three months for drink-driving. He has been disqualified from driving for six years.
