In one incident, gardaí used a spit hood on a suspect with “obvious signs of a learning disability”. Human rights bodies and the Policing Authority criticise the use of spit hoods. It has previously been reported that spit hoods have been used on five people under the age of 18. In the vast majority of cases, spit hoods were used for less than 20 minutes. The Garda is reviewing the continued use of spit hoods with a report expected at the end of the month.

Source: The Irish Times September 22, 2020 01:07 UTC