Garda shot during house search awarded €404,000 by High Court

A former detective garda who was shot and seriously injured during a search for drugs and firearms at a house in Dublin has been awarded €404,000 by the High Court. Paul McManus (46) was part of a 12-strong Garda Special Tactical Operations Command unit carrying out a search at a house in Ballymun on December 7th, 2017, when the incident happened.In October 2021, the shooter, Charles Moore (53), of Barnwell Drive, Ballymun, who had 18 previous convictions including for violent assault, was jailed for nine years.McManus later retired from the force.READ MOREIn a judgment under the Garda Síochána (Compensation) Acts, in favour of McManus and against the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Judge Leonie Reynolds said the former garda had sustained a “through-and-through” gunshot wound – where a bullet enters and exits the body – to his left arm. Moore unsuccessfully tried to fire a second shot. McManus suffered blood loss and lost consciousness, and was taken by ambulance from the scene to hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.The judge said McManus described the incident as a profoundly traumatic event and that had he recounted the circumstances surrounding the shooting “with understated courage”. He testified that, following the shooting, he experienced significant psychological difficulties, including symptoms diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).He had recurrent recollections of the shooting, hypervigilance, anxiety, panic attacks and ongoing psychological distress. He returned to work in February 2019 and resumed full operational duties but the effects of the shooting remained with him. [ Garda shot during Dublin raid thinks of slain colleagues daily, court hearsOpens in new window ]The judge said he attributed his eventual medical retirement from the Garda in late 2022 to those ongoing consequences. The former detective said he undertook his retirement “regretfully”, having been determined for many years to continue his Garda career and progress through the ranks.After his retirement, he became involved full time in a health and wellbeing business that had originally been set up by his wife some years earlier. He performed primarily clerical and administrative work, supervising the installation of corporate gym facilities.The judge said the principal issues to be determined by the court concerned the amount of compensation, particularly the extent of the psychological injury sustained, and the claim for future loss of earnings based upon alleged promotional prospects.Gardaí performed a unique and indispensable public service including responding to emergencies that often placed them in situations of significant personal risk, she said. This case arose from one such occasion. She gave judgment for €404,083 together with an order for High Court costs.