Harry’s family call for CCTV to be examined

Aaron Doherty (24), also known as Harry, was attacked on the Skeoge Road in the early hours of July 12. He had gotten out of a taxi to try to stop a gang of youths attacking a dog.

Mr. Doherty was seriously injured and transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital where he received treatment but has now been discharged. His stepfather Gerry Doherty told the ‘Journal’ yesterday that his family are delighted to have him home. He faces a long road to recovery due to the extent of the injuries inflicted by his assailants just over two weeks ago.

“He has a pool of blood from both of the brain bleeds and it’s at the base of the skull. So imagine a gold fish bowl and its swirling about so when it hits the brain it sends these pains down.

“What will happen is that will drain away very slowly. It will literally drip down through the spinal column and as it travels through the body it will give you pain. If it hits the shoulders you will have pain in the shoulders. It will hit the back and the hips. That’s the process he’s in at the minute and he’s in a bit of agony with it,” said Gerry.

While he has been discharged from hospital with no aneurysms and no blood clots it will still take some time before he is back to himself. A lot of rest and recuperation will be involved in the healing process.

“He now has to go to a brain rehabilitation centre to be assessed, just to have his balance, his walk and his cognitive skills and all that checked. He’s got a long road of recovery ahead of him,” said his stepfather.

After the attack the PSNI said they had received a report that Harry had been punched in the face and fell to the ground banging his head.

But Gerry does not believe this was a characteristic so-called ‘one punch attack.’ He is convinced his stepson was struck from behind with a blunt implement and that his injuries are consistent with this scenario.

“People were reporting it like it was a ‘one punch attack.’ A ‘one punch attack’ is a thing that could happen between you or me. You hit me a dig in the mouth and I fall and hit my head. That thing can happen and no-one really means to do it other than: ‘I’m going to shut him up.’ And it’s an assault.

“But what happened to Harry was he was whacked in the back of the head with an implement, a piece of four by two or something. He fell onto his knees and fell forward which gave him a smaller bleed on the front of his head. This was grievous bodily harm with intent. This boy intended to do damage and intended to do it when Harry didn’t see it coming. It was a cowardly attack.

“The doctor said in the hospital that night there is some residue on the back of his head, i.e. pieces of wood splinter and he has been hit savagely on the back of his head and fallen forward.”

Gerry is seeking a meeting with the PSNI to discuss the case and ask them to cast the net wider for evidence. He thinks a trawl of CCTV from the Skeoge Road area on the evening of the assault would be likely to yield solid leads in the investigation.

“The businesses on the Skeoge Road have cameras on them. The yard where the group were apparently stealing pallets before the assault has CCTV.

“All they have is the dash-cam of a taximan and the dash-cam of a guy who was coming up the road who administered first aid. His was very grainy and the taximan only saw the back of him [one of the suspects].

“My argument is that if you saw the back of him it doesn’t matter because what you do have is clothing. The thing about clothing now is that these guys run around in clothing that is dearer than all the clothes you and I are wearing. Designer stuff. If this was married in with footage from the businesses and they put it all together and put out an appeal surely someone that knows them will recognise them. It would be a clue, a yardstick to go on.”

Although Harry suffered a potentially life-changing setback it could have been far worse.

“When this guy hit him with a lump of timber he could have killed him. The police should be approaching this as a serious assault. This guy has got two bleeds on his brain,” he said.