Garda who shot and killed George Nkencho felt he had no other option, inquest hears

Seán McCárthaigh

The garda who fired the fatal shots which killed George Nkencho in the driveway of his family home in west Dublin five years ago has claimed he had no option but to use lethal force in the situation he faced.

The witness – a member of the Garda Armed Support Unit identified only as Garda A – told the inquest into Mr Nkencho’s death that he believed his use of his Heckler & Koch MP7 firearm to discharge six shots was necessary and proportionate.

Garda A told the sixth day of the inquest at Dublin District Coroner’s Court that he justified his use of lethal force because he feared for his life after Mr Nkencho lunged at him with a knife at close quarters.

He described how the deceased tried to stab him on four occasions in the space of around 30 seconds.

The highly-trained specialist said he did not know that the incident was taking place outside the victim’s house and believed Mr Nkencho was “walking around randomly.”

He was also unaware during the tense situation that Mr Nkencho’s family had appeared at the front door of the house during the incident.

The inquest previously heard that the deceased’s sister, Gloria, had tried to alert gardaí that her brother was unwell and had mental health issues.

Mr Nkencho (27) died after suffering fatal gunshot wounds in the incident outside his family home at Manorfields Drive, Clonee, Co Dublin, on December 30th, 2020 shortly after he had been involved in a disturbance at a nearby supermarket.

The young man, the eldest of five siblings whose family originally come from Nigeria, was pronounced dead a short time later at Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown.

The inquest previously heard evidence that Mr Nkencho had carried out an unprovoked assault on a manager at the Eurospar store in Hartstown as well as threatening staff with a knife shortly before the fatal incident.

The deceased’s family claim the level of force used against him was disproportionate. However, the DPP directed that no prosecution should arise over the circumstances of Mr Nkencho’s death following an investigation by Fiosrú, (formerly known as the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission).

Garda A told the hearing that his two-member ASU unit was alerted to assist local gardaí with the incident at the Eurospar store.

He recalled how he first came across Mr Nkencho close to his home on Manorfields Dale after his ASU jeep turned a corner.

Garda A said he saw that Mr Nkencho, who was being shadowed by about ten gardaí, was holding a knife.

Standing about 10-15 metres away, Garda A said he pointed his firearm at Mr Nkencho so that he could see it and directed him to drop his knife.

He claimed the deceased was acting in an aggressive manner and pointing his knife.

The inquest heard he then followed Mr Nkencho, who was “angry-looking and had a snarl on his face,” into the driveway of a house on Manorfields Drive.

Garda A described how his colleague deployed a taser after Mr Nkencho had suddenly lunged at the witness with his knife.

He said he moved towards Mr Nkencho as he fell on the ground but was surprised at how quickly got up, still clenching his knife.

Garda A said he deployed his own taser while screaming at the deceased to drop his knife in the hope that he would be able to kick the weapon away from Mr Nkencho.

However, he said Mr Nkencho attempted to stab him in the leg but the knife missed although he felt some contact.

Garda A said pepper spray which was then deployed by his colleague in an attempt to temporarily blind Mr Nkencho also appeared to have no effect.

He said he felt at that stage he had no other option but to consider lethal force as the use of the taser and pepper spray had not worked, and he feared Mr Nkencho was trying to kill him with his knife.

Garda A said his first shot was not designed to kill but it had no effect as Mr Nkencho continued to come at him.

He believed it was “absolutely necessary” to fire a second shot but Mr Nkencho continued to swing his knife wildly and narrowly missed the witness’ head.

The inquest heard Garda A fired four more shots as Mr Nkencho did not appear to be injured and still posed a threat.

The witness said the final shot was fired after he was in a position close to a hedge where he could move no further.

After Mr Nkencho fell to the ground, Garda A said he heard screaming from the front door of the house before his colleague kicked the knife away from Mr Nkencho and first aid was provided to the victim.

Speaking from behind a screen, the witness, who was only visible to the coroner, jury and legal representatives, told counsel for the Nkencho family, Eanna Molloy SC, that time did not allow for him to ask other gardaí at the scene if they had any information about the suspect.

Garda A said he did not see any of his shots hit Mr Nkencho in the back.

Mr Molloy said one and possibly two bullets had struck the deceased in the back.

However, Garda A replied that Mr Nkencho was flailing around with a knife and he had to make “a split-second” decision.

Offering condolences to the deceased’s family, Garda A stressed that he had no other option but to fire his weapon because “it all happened so fast.”

He told the coroner, Myra Cullinane, that he was unaware that Mr Nkencho had mental health issues but he did not believe he would have handled the situation differently if he was.

The inquest heard that it was the first time that Garda A had discharged his weapon, although he attended on average around a dozen similar scenarios each year.