‘Possessed’ pharma worker sank teeth into a garda’s leg

A TARELTON woman who sank her teeth into the left calf of a garda in the back of a patrol car during the Kinsale 7s last year ‘seemed almost possessed,’ a court heard this week.

Shauna Buckley of Tarelton, Macroom pleaded guilty at Bandon District Court to three charges, namely obstructing gardaí, assault causing harm and using or engaging in abusive or threatening words or behaviour.

Sgt Brian Harte told the court that on May 5th last year during the Kinsale 7s rugby event, gardaí were called to Oscar Madison’s Bar following a complaint.

‘The accused was attempting to bite people and she was so drunk that she couldn’t stand up and was arrested,’ said Sgt Harte.

While en route to the garda station, she continued to be aggressive in the back seat of the patrol car, kicking Gda Tommy Boland on the head, neck and shoulder.

‘They said she seemed to be almost possessed and she then bent down and bit Gda Boland on his left calf. She had to be physically yanked off his leg and due to her high level of aggression, she was taken to Togher Garda Station in a patrol van.’

Gda Boland suffered punctures to his skin which caused extreme upset and worry for him.

The court heard the accused, a graduate in process and chemical engineering from UCC, who works in the pharma industry, has no previous convictions.

Defence solicitor Patrick Gould said two witnesses to the incident outside the bar said the defendant ‘seemed almost possessed’ and was the ‘polar opposite’ to what she is normally like. He added that a toxicology report taken three days later came back clean for drugs.

‘She has no memory of the incident and when CCTV was shown to her she couldn’t believe it was her.

She apologised to gardaí in Kinsale immediately and she went to counselling  after the incident and her parents have €5,000 for Gda Boland,’ said Mr Gould.

Judge McNulty, who remarked that there may have been a ‘snowstorm of cocaine’ in Kinsale that weekend, queried if she had taken something that didn’t agree with her, but Mr Gould could not say.

‘There was a radical transformation and something didn’t agree with her,’ the judge said.

Judge McNulty directed Ms Buckley to pay €5,000 and he told her to come back in a year’s time for a review and a plea in mitigation.

The case was adjourned to next May.