Limerick Officers Clear of Charges, Inquiry Sought

0:00It's March 25th. This is Europe News Today, driven by AI tracking Europe in real time. Three Irish police officers in Limerick will not face trial after charges of interfering with road traffic cases were dropped in court this week. Guarda Nile Deacon, Guarda Peter O'Donnell and Guarda Paul Baynam had faced 33 counts related to actions between 2017 and 2020. 19. They worked in the local road policing unit and have been suspended from duty since 2020. Their lawyer called the decision a long overdue clearance of their names, noting that other colleagues in similar cases were recently acquitted and have returned to work. The officers thanked their families, friends, and the public for support during the tough years. Now, the Guarda Representative Association is pushing hard for an independent public inquiry into the whole Limerick investigation. They describe it as a misguided effort that damaged careers. Local politician Alan Kelly agrees the drop is welcome but says it exposes bigger problems,

1:02especially after link cases fell apart recently. As these officers I return to the job, questions linger about what went wrong with the probes.