Wednesday 28 October 2026Compiled from published reports. Every claim links to its source.

Ireland Crime

Every case followed from the first report to the sentence, or to where the reporting stopped.

Case No. 2835Death in custody (misadventure) · Co. Dublin · 29 Nov 2019

Inquest jury recommends gardaí training after Kevin Dempsey dies in custody in Dublin

An inquest jury returned a verdict of misadventure in the death of Kevin Dempsey, 39, who died in Garda custody in December 2019 from multiple drug toxicities, and recommended specialist training for gardaí on the effects of intoxicants and regular checks on CCTV in garda vehicles.

  1. Reported
  2. Arrested
  3. Charged
  4. In court
  5. Verdict
  6. Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet

Key facts

consolidated from all reports
20 statements extracted from the articles
  • whatKevin Dempsey was a 39-year-old father of one from Coolock, Co Dublin. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatGarda Ciaran Upton arrested, charged and transported him. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatHe had difficulty putting on his clothes and shoes before leaving Coolock Garda station. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatGardaí believed he had taken several Xanax pills, as stated by his partner. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatMr Dempsey and his partner denied taking other drugs. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatHe was snoring loudly and coming in and out of a deep sleep in the Garda van. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatA sleeping Mr Dempsey fell to the floor while sitting on a bench in the van. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatGarda Upton and Garda Murphy felt he was unfit to attend court. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatGarda Murphy said in 20 years as a guard he had never struggled to wake up a prisoner before. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatGarda Murphy noticed Dempsey had stopped snoring, was not physically breathing, and his face had lost colour. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatEmergency services resuscitated him before he was transferred to the Mater hospital. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatChief State Pathologist Dr Linda Mulligan said he had taken heroin, cocaine, cannabis, methadone and benzodiazepines. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatGarda Upton and Garda Murphy had received no training on the signs of illicit drugs or their effects. (irishtimes.com)
  • whatThe CCTV storage card in the van was faulty and had captured no footage of the incident. (irishtimes.com)
  • whereHe was brought to the Criminal Courts of Justice from Coolock Garda station. (irishtimes.com)
  • whenHe was arrested under a bench warrant on the morning of 29 November 2019. (irishtimes.com)
  • whenHe was pronounced dead on 3 December 2019. (irishtimes.com)
  • causeThe cause of death was recorded as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy due to cardiorespiratory arrest as a result of multiple drug toxicities. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationAn investigation was carried out by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. (irishtimes.com)
  • investigationNo actions were taken following the GSOC investigation. (irishtimes.com)

The reporting

newest first
  1. 29 Nov2024
    Otheririshtimes.com, first report
    Jury recommends gardaí training around influence of intoxicants after man dies in custody

    Inquest findings and jury recommendations regarding the 2019 death of Kevin Dempsey in Garda custody, including a GSOC investigation that found no actions were taken despite acknowledged lack of training.

    victim, Kevin Dempsey, 39, male, irish (judged from name)Kevin Dempsey