The jury in the inquest into the death of George Nkencho has returned a narrative verdict.
The 10 members of the jury were charged on their responsibilities by Dr Myra Cullinane, the coroner overseeing the inquest on Friday afternoon and returned just after 4pm.
In their verdict, the jury made a number of recommendation including that the use of body cams by armed gardaí should be rolled out and that these cameras should be activated by members of the Armed Support Unit as soon as a call is responded to, less lethal equipment could be more readily available so as to provide more options to responding Gardaí dedicated training on “the wide range” of mental health issues that might be experienced should be provided to members of the force.
In a statement delivered outside the Coroner’s Court in Dublin on Friday evening, his family said their George “should never have died.
His brother, Emmanuel said “the last few weeks have been a very tough time for me and my family.
“We’ve had to relive the trauma of the events that occurred on the 30th of December 2020. So today now represents some form of closure for my family.
“At the end of the day, my brother shouldn’t have died, but we’re grateful to the coroner and the jury and for everyone who has supported us. It’s a debt we’ll never be able to repay.
“We hope that this inquest leads to meaningful change and for this to never happen to another family again.”
The jury was earlier told it could not apportion any blame for the death of the 27-year-old when it delivered its verdict.
Dr Cullinan told them there are strict rules under the terms of the Coroner’s Act which limit the scope of the verdict they could deliver in the case.
The jury, she said, had two options open to it, to deliver a verdict of death by misadventure or a narrative verdict in which it could include observations or recommendations. However, she said it was not open to it to either apportion blame for the death of the 27 year-old or to exonerate anyone.
Mr Nkencho died after being shot multiple times by gardaí outside his west Dublin home in December 2020.
Members of An Garda Síochána’s Armed Support Unit had gone to the house following an earlier incident at a local shop and reports that Mr Nkencho had a knife and was a threat to others.
Dr Cullinane said the verdict of unlawful killing was not open to the jury to consider. She said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had concluded that there should be no criminal prosecution in the case and the inquest had heard no evidence that had not been considered by the DPP.
She said the inquest was not a trial but “a fact-finding” exercise.
She said a verdict of death by misadventure would reflect the jury’s view that Mr Nkencho’s death had been the unintended consequence of an “intended and lawful action”.
Earlier, Dr Cullinane had heard an application in the absence of the jury from Eanna Mulloy SC, for the family, asking that the verdict of unlawful killing be allowed to be considered. The application was refused, however.
An inquest into Mr Nkencho’s death has been running at Dublin District Coroner’s Court over the last three weeks.
The inquest has heard from shop workers and customers who described seeing Mr Nkencho punch an assistant manager at a Eurospar in Hartstown, and members of the public in the shop that day.
The members of the jury also heard evidence from Mr Nkencho’s mother, Blessing, his brothers and sisters, and some members of the public who witnessed the incident outside the Nkencho home.
They were also shown a mobile phone video taken by a passerby and transcripts from emergency calls and Garda dispatchers.
Gardaí told the inquest of their interactions with Mr Nkencho as he walked home, and told the inquest how he had waved a knife towards them and that they feared for their lives.
The Garda who shot Mr Nkencho, referred to as Garda A at the inquest, said he believed he would be killed if he did not use lethal force.
The incident was the subject of an independent criminal investigation by a Garda oversight body, which concluded in June 2023 with the submission of an investigative file to the DPP.
A decision was made not to pursue any criminal prosecution in relation to the shooting. – Additional reporting PA