Man who 'gouged his finger into PSNI officer's eye' is jailed at Craigavon court
A Co Down man, who ‘gouged his finger into a PSNI officer's eye’, has been given a jail sentence.
Kieran George McCavana, aged 28, from Hill Street, Gilford, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court.
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He faced two charges of assaulting police, a further charge of resisting police and disorderly behaviour.
The court heard police received a 999 call from the reporting party on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, that her ex-partner Kieran McCavana was ‘currently in her home inebriated and refusing to leave’.
"He had allegedly been destroying items in her kitchen however no damage was apparent,” said the prosecutor, adding the injured party said McCavana had been shouting at her but at no stage did he assaulted her or was she in fear of being assaulted.
Police found the defendant nearby in Baird Avenue, Donaghcloney and at that point he tried to ‘make off’ from police.
“Whilst verbally trying to engage with the defendant he has shouted ‘f**k off’ in one of the PSNI officer’s face. The defendant then lunged towards another officer punching him in the face twice.
"He grabbed that constable, gouging his finger into his eye. The constable sustained substantial immediate bruising under his left eye,” said the prosecutor.
McCavana continued to be verbally abusive towards police and was “brought to the ground in a controlled manner”, the court heard.
"Whilst on the ground, the defendant grabbed one of the officer’s hands and would not let go despite multiple warnings,” said the prosecutor.
McCavana’s barrister, Mr Conor Coulter, said: “He fully concedes, and it is reflected in the (pre-sentence) report that his behaviour was appalling.
"He accepted the facts as outlined but Your Worship will see in the report that he has next to no recollection of the events in question. That is no excuse and he knows that and doesn’t want me to proffer that as an excuse,” said Mr Coulter, adding that ‘drinking to heavy excess is his main problem’.
“That is a feature of his offending,” he said.
Mr Coulter said his client has not consumed alcohol at all since these offences and is taking medication Antabuse to prevent him from consuming alcohol. The barrister said McCavana found it an achievement to spend a week on holiday without consuming alcohol.
He said the defendant had engaged in the alcohol programme of his own volition rather than come before the court seeking assistance.
Mr Coulter said McCavana is aware that the facts around the ‘eye gouging’ would lead the court towards a custodial sentence and pointed to the pre-sentence report which suggested Community Service would be beneficial to him.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan described the assault on police as “very, very serious” with the “deliberate eye gouging”.
"That is coupled with disorderly behaviour and resisting police,” he said. We are all aware of the pressures on police. They are there to do a job. They are not there to be assaulted.”
He pointed to McCavana’s record of 23 convictions for assaulting police. “I think someone who has now 25 assaults on police is not capable of rehabilitation,” said the district judge, sentencing McCavana to five months in jail for the eye-gouging assault. For the other assault, the resisting and disorderly behaviour he received four months concurrent sentences on each of them, plus the £25 offender levy.