Man fined €600 after being convicted of false claim clamper’s van hit him
Jason Flavin, aged 37, of Killeenreendowney Place, Ballyphehane, Cork, denied the charge against him. After hearing evidence in the contested trial at Cork District Court, Judge John King convicted him of the offence.
Flavin was fined €600 on a charge that, on June 16 last year at Togher Garda Station, he knowingly made a false statement tending to show that an offence had been committed. He falsely claimed that a clamper’s van had struck him on the knee.
Inspector Gary McPolin said Flavin contrived to make a case against Tomasz Lucas at Douglas Woollen Mills, where Marie Flavin’s car was clamped.
Judge King said of Jason Flavin: “The reality is that he ran out in front of the van. I do not accept Mr Lucas hit his knee. I am satisfied it is a malicious report made for the purpose of retaliation because his wife was clamped.
“The sinister thing about this is that a man is doing his job and someone makes a malicious report to get him into trouble. That is a terrible thing to do.”
He said he had no doubt that defence solicitor Joseph Cuddigan would have told his client that the offence of making a false report carried a possible jail term of 12 months. He said that, in the circumstances, he would fine Flavin €600.
Flavin told gardaí that, as he walked around the front of Mr Lucas’s van, it moved and struck his knee and that his knee was sore.
Mr Lucas went directly to Togher Garda Station, told Garda Mark O’Donovan what happened, and gave him a copy of the CCTV from his dashcam.
Insp McPolin said: “Quite clearly Mr Flavin feigned that Mr Lucas hit him [with his van] and went down as if he had been hit. That would indicate to anyone it was a false representation. Fair play to Mr Lucas, he had the dashcam.
“Luckily for him he had the dashcam coverage that blew Mr Flavin’s version of events out of the water.”
The footage was shown several times in court.
Flavin testified that he went to Douglas Woollen Mills that night, at about 10pm, after getting a phone call from his wife, who was crying and saying she felt intimidated by the clamper.
By the time he arrived, Ms Flavin had paid the fine to the clamper and her car had the clamp removed by Mr Lucas.
What then followed was the disputed event, which gave rise to Jason Flavin making the false report.
