Man jailed after he knocked elderly pedestrian to the ground in random unprovoked assault

By Declan Brennan

A man who knocked an elderly pedestrian onto the ground in a random unprovoked assault has been jailed for 16 months.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that on the morning of June 21, 2024, Somalian national Dek Abdi Hassan (31) met the victim on the footpath in Dublin city centre and for no reason pushed him hard.

The victim fell backwards onto the street, badly fracturing his hip as a result.

The injuries from the assault forced the then 66-year-old man to retire early and with lasting consequences for his physical health and emotional well being, the court heard.

In his victim impact report, read out in full by Judge Martin Nolan, the 68-year-old said the injuries continue to cause him stiffness and pain and have restricted his overall independence.

He said the pain is very sensitive to weather so that in “bad weather” he may go for days without stepping outside his home.

He said he can no longer mow the lawn at his house for fear that he might fall.

He was in full time work before the assault but his limited mobility forced him to take early retirement.

He said he has lost a sense of purpose and social connection and has had to rely on his sister for daily assistance.

Hassan of Basin view, Dublin 8 pleaded guilty to assault causing harm at North Frederick Street, Dublin 1 on June 21, 2024. 

Judge Nolan remarked that Hassan’s behaviour appeared to be “arrogant”.

“His intention was to push him. Obviously if you push someone with force that person can fall over. It goes without saying that he didn’t intend to cause those injuries, but his actions were intentional and you could say he was reckless as to the consequences of those actions,” Judge Nolan said.

The judge said that the victim had been seriously impacted by what Hassan had done.

“I am very sorry for him,” Judge Nolan said referring to the victim, “He was an active man, reduced in this way because of this wanton act of arrogance”.

He accepted that Hassan had “a pretty tortuous life from his time in East Africa making his way to this country” before Judge Nolan added that the trip had “probably involved uncertainty, a lot of violence and trauma”.

“He is culpable in the sense that he pushed this person over, and the victim was a man of certain age and obviously he fell awkwardly. If you do what he did you must accept the consequences,” Judge Nolan said.

He said he was reluctant to jail Hassan because he is aware of what he has endured over the years – “but I don’t think anyone walking along the street can behave in such an arrogant way”.

Defending counsel said Hassan hadn’t slept for a number of days and had gone drinking.

He was intoxicated and doesn’t remember the incident, counsel said.

Garda Michelle Hetherton told the court that when shown CCTV footage of the assault the defendant denied it was an assault and said “I pushed him to move out of the way”.

He said something must have led him to push the man. Counsel told the court that his client “still doesn’t know why he did it”.

Counsel had asked the court to take into consideration the difficult background of Hassan.

Counsel said his client was a Somalian national who had been left with PTSD from witnessing summary executions during civil violence in his home country.