156 cops assaulted on duty so far this year

MORE than 150 gardai have been assaulted while on duty so far this year, according to figures from the Justice Department.

- BY GRAINNE NI AODHA

A total of 3,440 gardai have been assaulted while on duty in almost 12 years.

There has been a higher than average number of reported assaults since 2022 than in previous years.

There were 299 assaults on gardai while on duty in 2014; 301 in 2015; 282 in 2016; 264 in 2017; 224 in 2018 and 266 in 2019.