Man loses €60,000 damages claim over injuries allegedly sustained when vehicle stopped by gardaí

A motorist, who claimed he suffered back and leg injuries when forced to stop by gardaí who suspected he might be an armed criminal, has lost a €60,000 damages claim against the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

Judge Sinead Ni Chulachain heard in the Circuit Civil Court that gardaí mistakenly suspected Pawel Galazka was driving a getaway car following an armed burglary in September 2018 and collided with his vehicle when performing a “compliant stop”.

Mr Galazka (55), a maintenance worker of Clonard Road, Crumlin, Dublin 12, said armed gardaí jumped out of their vehicle and pointed guns at him in a scene that resembled something from a film.

He claimed he was ordered to put his hands on the dashboard and move slowly from his car with his hands in a position where they could be seen. When his wife, family and a friend were also ordered from the car, the gardaí realised they had made a mistake, the court heard.

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Mr Galazka told Judge Ni Chulachain he injured his lower back and exacerbated an old sports injury to his left knee during the incident.

He said he and his family were travelling from Tallaght towards Crumlin, followed by a friend’s car, when the incident happened near the Walkinstown roundabout late on September 25th, 2018.

He said a Garda Audi 7 tried to block him and it then collided with his 17-year-old vehicle, which had to be scrapped.

In a full defence to his claim, it was denied that any weapons were pulled out as gardaí approached the car. One member of the armed unit said he saw children in the car and realised they had made a mistake as soon as he exited his vehicle.

Gardaí admitted there was a collision but described it as “a gentle coming-together” of the vehicles, which were involved in a “nudge” during the stop.

Mr Galazka said the garda car smashed into the front of his vehicle and his body was shunted forwards and backwards, causing him injury to his lower back and left knee. His wife, his son and a friend, who had been driving behind him, all said they saw gardaí with guns.

Throwing out Mr Galazka’s claim and ordering him to pay the Minister’s legal costs, Judge Ni Chulachain said that while a law-abiding family had been involved in a very frightening incident, she preferred the evidence of the gardaí with regard to the significance of the impact.

She said a consultant who examined Mr Galazka had stated in a medical report that his injuries were not consistent with the manner in which he claimed to have suffered them. Judge Ni Chulachain was told by forensic engineer Stephen Flood that Mr Galazka would have been pushed sideways rather than forwards and backwards in the collision.