Man who urinated in cell of Cork garda station has paid enough compensation, says judge

A man who was brought to a garda station for another matter and then proceeded to urinate in the custody cell he was placed in has avoided a criminal damage conviction in the district court.

Sergeant Trish O’Sullivan told Macroom District Court that Brian Shanahan, aged 49, of Nohoval, Rathmore, Cork, was arrested on the night of February 21.

He was brought to Macroom Garda Station where he was processed and placed in a custody cell. While in the cell the court heard that Shanahan urinated on the floor and on the cell door as well as soaking a blanket provided for him in urine.

Sgt O’Sullivan said that following the incident the cell and blanket had to be professionally cleaned by specialist cleaners to ensure the cell area was fit for occupation by another prisoner. 

The court heard that the total cost of cleaning the cell and the blanket was €284.

Shanahan, who represented himself in court, said he wanted to apologise for his behaviour, which was the result of having too much to drink. 

He also presented €285 to the court to pay for the clean-up after the incident. The court heard that Shanahan had 12 previous convictions.

Judge Joanne Carroll said that €284 seemed to be an excessive cost for cleaning up the mess. She said that as Shanahan had paid for the cleaning, she would not be imposing a further fine on him as he had already paid enough and the case was struck out.

Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.