Simms says she was asked ‘intrusive questions’ at Letterkenny Garda Station

 

The partner of a Garda whistleblower says she was suspicious when social services contacted her soon after she withdrew a Garda statement.
Marissa Simms is giving evidence to the Disclosure’s Tribunal about her partner Garda Keith Harrison.
The Tribunal is looking into contacts made between Tusla and gardai about him.
Marissa Simms says gardai sought her out in October 2013 to make a statement about her partner Garda Keith Harrison.
She said she was asked intrusive and irrelevant questions – while giving this 8 and a half hour statement at Letterkenny Garda Station.
The two officers who took the statement have previously said Ms Simms made allegations about Keith Harrison threatening her – which were her own words.
But Ms Simms told the Tribunal she believed her partner was being portrayed as a monster – that she never said he was aggressive or abusive and small things she said in the statement had been magnified.
She subsequently withdrew the statement- three months later – but stated the contents of it were true.
When asked why she signed off on the statement still being true, she claimed an inspector had warned her there were no guarantees social services wouldn’t contact her.
She said soon after this – she heard from social services -and she thought the timing was suspicious.