A Judge at Fermanagh Magistrates court dismissed a case against a man who had been charged with resisting arrest.

36-year-old Patrick McDonnell was charged with resisting a police officer in the execution of his duty.

In all, three police officers gave evidence based on events that took place on September 28, 2018.

In their evidence the police officers stated that McDonnell had moved his hands from behind his back to his front and had acted in a confrontational nature.

However, Defence barrister, Ciaran Roddy refuted these claims and said that the body worn footage taken by officers on the night showed that “this was not the case”.

When passing judgement District Judge Michael Ranaghan said that “no police officer had tried to mislead the court” but that the evidence, and in particular that of the body worn footage taken by police on the night, did not amount to a “clear evidence” that the “defendant resisted arrest”.

Officer Nigel Carscadden, who McDonnell was charged with resisting arrest from, gave evidence to the court that on the night in question he had attended a property in Beechill, Enniskillen after reports that a man, who had been involved in another incident at another Enniskillen address on the same night, was at the property.

It was revealed during Officer Carscadden’s evidence that the police had set up “containment” around the property as they waited for back up from other officers as “there was concerns that the man had a knife”.

The officer told the court defendant leaving the house “it became clear that he was not co-operating” and that “his fists were clenched”.

The police officer stated that McDonnell had been handcuffed but had complained of the handcuffs being too tight at which point Officer Carscadden revealed that he took off the handcuffs and reapplied his own.

“He was very uncooperative, and I was afraid I was going to be headbutted,” the police officer stated.

Mr. Roddy in his cross examination asked Officer Carscadden if he had viewed the body worn footage recently to which the officer replied that he had not watched it back since shortly after the incident.

Two other police officers, Officer Doherty and Officer Johnston, also gave evidence.

Officer Doherty stated that he had observed his colleagues walking the defendant towards the police car and that it was clear to him that McDonnell was “trying to pull away” from the police officers as the handcuffs were being reapplied.

Mr. Roddy stated in his cross examination that officer Doherty had not “mentioned anything about body movement” concerning the defendant.

In summation Mr. Roddy said that it was clear from the body worn evidence that the defendant had not resisted arrest.

“The allegation was made that he moved his hands from behind his body to in front of his body.

“This is simply not corroborated by the body worn footage” he said before adding that the evidence at best was “tenuous”.

The prosecution stated that the body worn footage shows a man acting in “an aggressive manner that easily puts the case over the low threshold for resisting arrest”.

Mr. Ranaghan, in passing judgement, agreed with the defence’s summation.