Fiosrú to investigate safety of Garda Colm Horkan’s holster before his murder

The Garda watchdog has been asked to investigate claims that Garda Colm Horkan, who was murdered with his own gun, was issued a faulty firearms holster. Horkan was shot and killed by Stephen Silver in Castlerea, Co Roscommon, on June 17th, 2020. Garda whistleblower allegations about unsuitable holsters featured in an RTÉ Investigates programme that aired in September. It was alleged the holsters became loose over time and the leather creased around the trigger of the gun, creating the threat of accidental discharge. READ MOREConcern was also raised that fingers could reach into the holster, even when it was closed, and the trigger be pulled.Political pressure has since been mounting for an investigation into whether this contributed to the murder of Horkan. Fiosrú on Wednesday confirmed it had received a request from Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan to open an independent investigation into “matters concerning the safety and suitability of the firearm holster used by Det Garda Colm Horkan at the time of the incident in which he was murdered”. O’Callaghan made the request in a letter to Police Ombudsman, Emily Logan, on Monday. “The Police Ombudsman has been in contact with Garda Horkan’s family,” Fiosrú said in a statement. “Fiosrú will now commence its independent investigation, and will make no further comment at this time.”[ Security operation ‘bigger than a US presidential visit’ for EU presidency meetings next weekOpens in new window ]The Department of Justice has been contacted for comment. Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy, chairman of the Oireachtas justice committee, said the referral to Fiosrú was a “cop out” and no substitute for holding an independent public inquiry into the matter. “At the heart of this issue are serious questions raised by Garda whistleblowers as well as the Horkan family’s unprecedented demand for answers regarding the circumstances that led to the killing of Det Garda Colm Horkan,” he said in a statement. He criticised past public interest inquiries carried out by Fiosrú’s predecessor, the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, which he said “became synonymous with delays and frustration of truth-seeking processes”. He cited the case of Shane O’Farrell, who died in a hit-and-run incident in Co Monaghan in 2011, saying the public interest report carried out was never provided to the O’Farrell family and that Fiosrú had refused requests from the Oireachtas justice committee to release it.