A Waterford based garda who suffered months of stress and anxiety after four men attacked him, and one threatened to kill him with an iron bar, was awarded fifteen thousand euro damages in a High Court Garda compensation hearing.
The Irish Times reports Garda James Fenton had gone to a house at Lemybrien, Co Waterford, in May 2011 where a man had been threatening people with a knife.
He answered a 999 call alone after two women had called for help. He met them in considerable stress on a roadway at about 5am.
He left the two women in the safety of the unmarked Garda car and walked towards a house.
Three men attacked him and a pit bull dog started biting at him.
He repeatedly pressed the emergency button on his radio and the men ran off as Garda reinforcements arrived. The men were arrested.
Garda Fenton said he had been working in the detective unit, but had since transferred to the traffic corps. Recently he had passed his exams for promotion to sergeant.
The judge said the men had threatened to kill Garda Fenton and he had been in fear of his life. Awarding €15,000 the judge said Garda Fenton had broadly recovered from his injuries.
