Man dies after prolonged security restraint on Henry Street in Dublin, Ireland.

Man dies after prolonged security restraint on Henry Street in Dublin, Ireland.

NEWS:

Yves Sakila, a 35-year-old Congolese man, died after being restrained face down by several men on Henry Street in central Dublin, Ireland, following an alleged shoplifting incident on May 15, 2026.

Video recorded by a bystander shows Sakila lying prone on the pedestrianized street while several men hold him down. At least some of those involved were security personnel. The recording lasts almost five minutes and directly documents the prolonged physical restraint before police arrived.

The footage shows one man briefly attempting to place a knee on Sakila's head or neck. The same man and another person then use their hands to hold his head or neck against the pavement while other men restrain his torso and legs. Sakila can initially be heard making sounds of distress. Toward the end of the recording, he appears motionless.

No uniformed Garda officers are visible during the recorded portion of the restraint.

Gardaí said they were alerted shortly after 5 p.m. after security personnel detained a man on Henry Street in connection with an alleged shoplifting incident at a retail store. Sakila subsequently became unresponsive at the scene. He was transported by ambulance to Mater Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The scene was preserved and forensically examined. The Office of the State Pathologist conducted a post-mortem examination, while Garda investigators collected CCTV and social media footage.

The initial post-mortem did not publicly establish a definitive cause of death. Gardaí later said its findings would not be released for operational reasons. Subsequent information indicated that toxicology testing and additional forensic analysis were required before investigators could determine why Sakila became unresponsive.

The manner in which Sakila was restrained became a central element of the Garda investigation. Investigators examined whether the force used and the position in which he was held contributed to his death, but no final medical conclusion establishing that connection was publicly disclosed in the later material reviewed.

Sakila had been suspected of stealing perfume from Arnotts department store on Henry Street. Information later provided to his family by investigators alleged that three perfume bottles had been taken from a concession inside the store earlier that day. Investigators said Sakila returned two after being approached by security and left with another bottle. He allegedly returned to the store later in the afternoon, shortly before the confrontation that ended on Henry Street.

Those shoplifting allegations are separate from what the street video establishes. The recording begins after the events inside the store and cannot prove what Sakila did inside the premises.

An elderly man in his 80s was also knocked to the ground during the pursuit and was taken to hospital with injuries. Early official information said the man was injured as Sakila attempted to flee.

A later review complicated that account. Sakila's family was informed in June that investigators examining CCTV had determined that Sakila and two security guards were involved in a collision with the elderly man, described in later coverage as a pastor.

The pastor's wife also withdrew part of her original account. She told investigators she could no longer say with certainty whether Sakila, a security guard or a combination of people involved in the pursuit caused her husband to fall.

Investigators identified six security guards who were present during the restraint and began interviewing them about their actions, training and applicable safety procedures. The family was also told that investigators were attempting to identify another man described as having played a major role in holding Sakila on the ground.

The Garda investigation was assigned to a Senior Investigative Officer with the Serious Crime Unit at Store Street. An incident room was established, and a Family Liaison Officer was appointed to work with Sakila's relatives.

The death was separately referred to Fiosrú, Ireland's independent police ombudsman. That investigation concerns the interaction between Garda officers and Sakila, not the actions of civilian security personnel.

Fiosrú explained that the referral does not mean any Garda officer has been accused of wrongdoing. Irish law requires an independent referral when a person dies or suffers serious harm in circumstances where an act or omission by police personnel may potentially have contributed.

The Garda investigation deals separately with the conduct of the security personnel and the other civilian circumstances surrounding Sakila's death.

Sakila's family later commissioned British forensic pathologist Dr. David Rouse to conduct an independent examination. The family said the independent pathologist raised concerns that Sakila's heart had not been sent to a cardiac pathologist and his brain had not been referred for specialist neurological examination during the original process.

The Office of the State Pathologist rejected the suggestion that its procedures fell below appropriate standards, saying it operates according to international best-practice guidelines and could not comment on an individual case while coronial and Garda investigations remained active.

Investigators later told the family that an injury to Sakila's neck had been identified during the post-mortem process and might have been a contributing factor. They also stressed that it was not a strangulation injury and that an exact cause of death had not been established.

The family was awaiting toxicology findings and other forensic examinations before a final determination could be made.

The footage prompted calls from civil rights and anti-racism organizations for scrutiny of the level of force used during the restraint. The Irish Network Against Racism expressed concern that excessive force may have been used. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties also described the level of restraint visible in the footage as disproportionate and excessive.

Ireland's Special Rapporteur on Racism and Racial Equality called for a full, independent and timely examination of Sakila's death. Taoiseach Micheál Martin described the circumstances as a matter of deep concern and said they required a thorough investigation.

Sakila was originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and had lived in Ireland since 2004. His death led to vigils and demonstrations in Dublin, including gatherings on Henry Street and outside government buildings.

His family obtained permission for the independent forensic examination before his remains were released from the Dublin city morgue at the end of June.

By July, arrangements had been made to return Sakila's body to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for burial. Two post-mortem examinations had been performed, one by the state pathologist and another at the request of his family. Public updates at that stage still did not provide a definitive medical cause of death.

News story written by DarkGore.

For more on this case:

If you want to know more about this case, just visit the following URL: https://www.independent.ie/county/dublin/concerns-over-excessive-force-used-against-man-who-died-after-alleged-shoplifting-incident-on-dublins-henry-street/a/152090937.html