A garda who was convicted of assaulting a vulnerable teenager while arresting him has apologised to the victim and to his colleagues.

Lorcan Murphy, 32, of Pearse Street Garda Station had pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault causing harm, but after a trial last July, a jury found him guilty by unanimous verdict.

The trial heard that excessive force was used when the garda had “spear tackled” and used a “leg sweep” to bring the teenager to the ground while he was in handcuffs.

It resulted in the teenager hitting his head and suffering a fractured skull.

Prosecuting counsel John Gallagher said the force used was unreasonable and “inherently dangerous”.

After he was taken to Pearse Street Garda Station, the garda also assaulted him by pulling his hair and applying pressure to his chest.

The sentence hearing at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard a number of members of the public witnessed the assault on Dublin’s Essex Street, and had come forward to offer statements to gardaí as there had been some degree of disquiet about what had happened.

Garda Murphy had claimed the leg sweep was a legitimate containment technique he was trained to carry out and that the “chest rub” applied in the station was a first aid technique, but this was rejected by the jury.

At the sentence hearing, the Circuit Criminal Court was told the guard now accepts responsibility for his actions and wanted to publicly apologise to the teenager and the force “who he recognises he let down on the day”, his defence counsel Justin McQuade said.

Mr McQuade said his client was deeply remorseful for what had happened as a result of “a split second decision”.

Sentencing was adjourned until February to allow time for the injured party to consider an offer of €10,000 compensation and for the garda to engage in restorative justice.

The court was told the injured party, who is in custody on an unrelated matter, did not wish to give a victim impact statement.

The assaults on the then 17-year-old took place on Essex Street, Dublin 2 and at Pearse Street Garda Station on 1 June, 2021.

Gardaí had been trying to control crowds drinking on the street towards the end of the Covid restrictions and were under pressure on the night, the court was told.

The matter was referred by a Superintendent to the Garda Ombudsman now known as Fiosrú, after another garda said he was concerned there may have been an assault and the teenager had suffered a head injury.

The victim spent three days in hospital but made a good recovery. He has no memory of events on the night.

Garda Murphy has been suspended since the matter was referred to Fisorú.

During that time he studied for a law degree, the court was told.

Judge Pauline Codd said it was clear from the CCTV footage that there was “no requirement whatsoever” to carry out the maneuver as the victim had been lying face down with his hands in cuffs behind his back and was then “dragged up” by Garda Murphy and dropped back down again.

The judge said it was a serious matter for a member of An Garda Siochána and she was not making any promises in relation to what sentence she would hand down.

She adjourned the case to 3 February next to allow time for the victim to be consulted on the offer of compensation and restorative justice; a process which brings offenders and their victims together.

In closing arguments at the trial earlier this year, defence counsel McQuade told the jury the force used was a leg sweep, and it was an “unfortunate secondary impact” when the complainant hit his head on the ground, adding that his client “did not have the luxury of picking a softer landing point”.

Mr McQuade suggested that if gardaí are going to be criminalised for using force, they may be slower to use it in the future and that benefits no one.