A garda who was cleared on appeal of assaulting a handcuffed prisoner has gone to the High Court to try and stop disciplinary proceedings against him.

Garda Thomas McKenna has been suspended for the past four years.

Garda McKenna received a three-month suspended sentence and a €750 fine at Waterford District Court for assault causing harm to a Polish man.

The court heard the man was punched and slapped in the head while handcuffed at Waterford garda station in 2010.

However, his conviction was overturned last year at a circuit court appeal.

Garda McKenna - who remains suspended - claims he was expressly informed by the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) that no further action would be taken.

In light of that alleged assurance, he is now trying to stop internal garda disciplinary proceedings against him.

He has managed to secure an order putting the investigation into his conduct on hold while the courts deal with his legal challenge.