Car free day activist Paddy Baxter was cleared of all charges in Richmond court in Dublin today after being arrested on car free day last September for peaceful protest. His defence centred around the arresting officer as written on the charge sheet not being the actual arresting officer on the day. The judge said this mistake by the Gardaí was understandable due to the confusion and the amount of people arrested. However, the defence still had to prove this to be true.

THE CASE REVOLVED AROUND VIDEO EVIDENCE.

The defence solicitor argued that Paddy was arrested by three officers wearing flourescent jackets, yet the officer whose name appeared on the charge sheet was wearing only a blue shirt. He also claimed Paddy was wearing a distinctive blue jacket and a face mask, items which were produced in the court today. These helped identify Paddy at the point of arrest.
The court first watched traffic camera footage from two points on O'Connell St, (in black and white). As the moment of the arrest was displayed, the judge questioned whether the blue jacket was in fact the same as that produced by the defence in court. The defence then produced further video evidence, in colour and close up, filmed right beside the event by an activist, clearly showing Paddy wearing blue jacket, face mask and three officers in dayglo orange.

The judge immediately dismissed the case, stating the video evidence to be "fatal to Section 8 and section 9", under which Paddy had been charged. This same piece of video has been online since car free day, and you can watch it at:
 http://www.connect.ie/dcc/media/video/carfreeday2001/police_bike_theft_1.avi

This shows that video cameras at events/protests are vital. Don't think about organising an event without having at least three people filming, preferably more. Quality not important, old vhs cameras are just as useful in court as any other.