A former MMA fighter assaulted two Irish police officers as they attempted to deal with a collision on Dublin’s M50 motorway on Thursday evening. The martial artist in his late 20s is currently unnamed and has spent time in hospital for minor injuries that they suffered as officers attempted to subdue him.
He is alleged to have punched one of the officers whilst attempting to bite them all whilst being in the middle of busy traffic. The female office tried to calm down and reason with the man who threatened to attack her. After her male colleague got involved, the former fighter repeatedly punched him in the head.
The Garda Representative Association’s Mark Ferris gave a statement on the assault after speaking to both of the officers who have since been discharged from hospital.
“While actively patrolling the M50 they came across a single vehicle road traffic accident. In an effort to prevent the male occupant of the car running into oncoming traffic, the female Garda bravely tried to confront the highly-agitated man in the midst of heavy motorway traffic.
“Even under the threat of serious assault, the female officer tried to reason with the agitated driver when he suddenly began to attack her. Her male colleague then tried to assist her, and he also received multiple punches to the head, and had part of his personal protective gear ripped from his body.
“He told me that he didn’t know which was more dangerous; the vicious assault or the prospect of being hit by a passing car. As the confrontation escalated, the driver even made attempts to bite both officers. It was only with considerable difficulty that he was eventually subdued and a greater disaster averted.”
Ferris went on to talk about the increasing amount of assaults on the Irish police, calling for greater attention from the government. He claimed that the police currently have “less of a voice” than other public service fields despite the growing risk that they face. No arrests have been made at this time and an investigation is currently underway.
