Brett Clifford SINCLAIR – V.A.

( late of Eastwood )

New South Wales Police Force

[alert_yellow]Regd. # 21771[/alert_yellow]

Rank:  Constable

Stations:  ?, Parramatta HWP

Service:  From  8 December 1984  to  25 October 1988 = 3+ years Service

Awards:  Commissioner’s Valour Award for Bravery and Devotion to Duty

Born:  12 March 1959

Died on:  Tuesday  25 October 1988

Cause:  Murdered – by motor vehicle

Event location:  Jeffrey Ave, Nth Parramatta

Age:  29

Funeral date:  Friday  28 October 1988 @ 11am

Funeral location:  St Anne’s Anglican Church. Church Street, Ryde.

Buried at:  Cremated

 Memorial at:  National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra &

Parramatta Police Station, NSW.

[alert_green]BRETT IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]

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FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

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About 5.50pm on 25 October, 1988 Constable Sinclair suffered severe head and internal injuries at North Parramatta whilst attempting to arrest an offender following a domestic dispute. Earlier, police had been called to assist ambulance officers at the disturbance in Jeffrey Avenue. The offender, who was bleeding from the arm, had locked himself in his truck. While Constable Sinclair and Constable Cummins spoke with him, he continually threatened them while revving up his truck engine. As the police approached the offender wound up his window. The police then smashed the window and attempted to remove the driver from the cabin of the truck. With both police standing on the step of the truck, the offender began to drive along Jeffrey Avenue.

Constable Cummins was able to get off the step, but due to his falling to the roadway, was unable to assist his colleague.

The truck’s speed increased with Constable Sinclair still partially inside, and partially outside, the cabin. The offender then drove across the roadway where the vehicle collided with a tree, crushing the constable.

He was conveyed to the Westmead Hospital where he died a short time later. Constable Sinclair was awarded the Commissioner’s Valour Award for Bravery and Devotion to Duty.

The constable was born in 1959 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 8 December, 1984. At the time of his death he was attached to the Parramatta Highway Patrol.

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Pre Police, Brett worked for QANTAS

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The Sydney Morning Herald     27 October 1988     p36

The relatives and friends of the late BRETT CLIFFORD SINCLAIR (Cons NSW Police Force), of Eastwood, are invited to attend his funeral, tomorrow (Friday), to leave St Anne’s Anglican Church. Church Street. Ryde., 11am.

At the conclusion of the service the funeral will leave for the Northern Suburbs Crematorium.

DIGNIFIED FUNERALS.

FDA -NSW. FIVE DOCK.

713 1911

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/120541199/

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Crimes Amendment (Murder of Police Officers) Bill 2007

Paul Mitchell QUINN

New South Wales Police Force

Redfern Police Academy Class # started with 156 – may have ended with 163

Cadet #:  3358

Regd. #  18605

Rank:  NSW Police Cadet – commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 4 July 1977 ( aged 17 years, 1 months, 28 day )

Probationary Constable – appointed 29 May 1979 ( aged 19 years )

Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Constable 1st Class – appointed 29 May 1984

Final Rank:  Constable 1st Class – posthumously promoted to Sergeant 3rd Class

Stations:  Casino & Bathurst – Death

Service:  From 4 July 1977 to 30 March 1986 = 8 years, 8 months, 26 days

Awards:  No find on It’s An Honour

Born:  Sunday  29 May 1960

Died on:  Wednesday 30 March 1986

Cause:  Murdered.  Shot through neck during arrest

Event location:  , Perthville, NSW

Age:  25 years, 10 months, 1 day

Funeral Date:  ?

Funeral Location:  ?

Buried at:  ?

Grave location:  Maranatha, Sec: Mar2, Row: A, Grave: 112

Memorials:  1/  Chifley LAC has the ‘ Paul Quinn Award ‘ for the most outstanding Officer each year.  Paul is Remembered within the Chifley LAC.

2/  Paul Mitchell Quinn – stone monument near the murder scene

3/  Mt Panorama ( Bathurst ) Police Compound – dedicated to Sgt Paul Quinn

 PAUL is mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

Late in the afternoon of 30 March, 1986 Constable 1st Class Quinn was involved in the high speed pursuit of a vehicle from South Bathurst towards Perthville.

At Perthville the offender lost control of the vehicle and collided with a bridge railing at the intersection of Bridge Street.

The offender then leapt from the vehicle with a .303 rifle and began to fire at the police who had been chasing him.

Constable Quinn was hit in the neck and killed instantly and Constable Ian Borland was seriously wounded.

The offender, Horan, was shot several times by police before being arrested and charged.

Fortunately Constable Borland recovered from his injuries. Constable Quinn was posthumously promoted to Sergeant 3rd Class.

The sergeant was born in 1960 and joined the New South Wales Police Force as a Cadet on 4 July, 1977.  At the time of his death he was stationed at Bathurst.

Other Police who assisted with this incident at the time of the shots being fired were Senior Constable John Andrew BYERS  BM.

Chifley LAC has the ‘ Paul Quinn Award ‘ for the most outstanding Officer each year.  Paul is Remembered within the Chifley LAC.

Childhood pain relived as policeman’s killer poised for release

January 14, 2004

The day Constable First Class Paul Quinn was buried with full police honours, his daughter Rebecca turned four. After a funeral that closed streets in the policeman’s home town of Bathurst, his five-year-old son, Chris, was still asking relatives when Daddy would be coming home.

Yesterday the siblings sat together in distress again as the man who killed their sole-parent father was declared ready to return to the community after serving almost 18 years in jail.

Chris has had trouble with the law, but has shown talent as a lightweight boxer. Rebecca runs a coffee shop and turns 22 in a couple of months.

Supporting them was Inspector Ian Borland, who was seriously wounded the day Constable Quinn was killed and still works in Bathurst near where the pair encountered Patrick Francis Horan on Easter Sunday 1986.

The policeman and the Quinn siblings had been told Horan would be granted parole at his third attempt, but the decision moved Chris to climb over the public gallery and storm out the Hospital Road courtroom door.

Weeping outside, he was embraced by Inspector Borland, who still has bullet fragments in his body.

Inspector Borland, the Quinns and the NSW Police Association wanted to keep Horan, 63, locked up until he was dead.

John Watts, for Inspector Borland and the Quinns, had argued that Horan‘s lack of insight into his psychiatric problems and his refusal to acknowledge he had been the aggressor when Constable Quinn was killed made a “potent mix”.

But the Parole Board found Horan, a paranoid schizophrenic, was unlikely to pose a risk to others if he took his medication and that “the jail system is not a substitute for the treatment of people suffering from mental illness”.

Horan‘s prison behaviour had been exemplary and he successfully completed unsupervised work release. He had the family support of a brother and was engaged in “the admirable hobby of bee-keeping”, the board found.

Horan had not been taking his medication when his mother called police about his erratic and violent behaviour on the afternoon of March 30, 1986. One of the officers to respond to the call was Constable Quinn, then 25 and on duty at Bathurst for only his fifth shift since being transferred from Casino, to be near his parents.

After a pursuit that ended 10 kilometres south of Bathurst at Perthville, Constable Quinn got out of his car and ran towards Horan, who shot him in the left clavicle with a .303-calibre rifle.

The officer’s colleagues returned fire as Horan adopted what he described as a Rambo position and emptied the 10-round magazine in his .303.

Constable Borland, then 36, was shot in both legs and a hand, while Horan, who was hit by at least seven of 18 shots fired by police, continued shooting at five other officers.

Constable Quinn was posthumously promoted to sergeant.

In the Supreme Court sitting at Bathurst, Horan pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to mental illness.

Justice Kep Enderby sentenced him to life, with separate terms for wounding with intent to murder Constable Borland and shooting with intent to murder other police.

In March 1998 Justice Peter Hidden set a minimum term of 16 years, which expired in 2002, and a maximum of 22. The crown did not appeal.

Horan will be released next Wednesday, under conditions that include his accepting psychiatric treatment and not entering Chifley Local Area Command, where Inspector Borland works.

http://www.smh.com.au/…/2004/01/13/1073877830354.html…

Officer’s death hits local police hard

By BRENDAN ARROW

Sept. 10, 2010, 7:34 a.m.

POLICE in the Chifley Local Area Command have been personally affected by the death of trainee detective William Crews.

The 26-year-old died in a Sydney hospital after he was shot while carrying out a drug operation on Wednesday night with seven other officers from the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad in Bankstown, in Sydney’s south-west.

The officers were fired upon outside the targeted property in Cairds Avenue about 9pm. Constable Crews was hit in the head and neck.

Philip Nguyen, 55, has since been charged with shooting with intent to murder and discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Geehad Ghazi, 27, has been charged with possession of an unauthorised firearm.

Yesterday, Acting Inspector Lionel White said the tragic situation in Sydney had personally impacted on a number of officers who knew Constable Crews.

“It is a very shocking situation, a couple of the officers here at the Bathurst Police Station knew him and have been left very upset by the situation,” he said.

“Some of the officers worked with him and trained with him before he became a detective.

“For those officers, we are offering them support and counselling during this tough time.”

Reminding people of those officers who lost their lives in the Bathurst area in the line of duty is a memorial board naming the 13 policemen who have died in the line of duty.

Since Trooper Robert Lovell McDougall died in 1853 near Sofala, 12 officers have fallen in the line of duty in Bathurst area with Sergeant Paul Mitchell Quinn the last, on the March 30, 1986.

Acting Inspector White said the latest death in Sydney brought to the forefront the difficult circumstances that police can find themselves in daily.

“On top of the very mundane things we do every day this is a stark reminder of the dangers police officers can face while in the front line,” he said. “This very much reminded us of the risk officers sometimes have to take while in the line of duty.

“It is a great tragedy.”

http://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/911623/officers-death-hits-local-police-hard/

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The State government has logged objections to Patrick Horan a NSW prisoner’s planned release, convicted of the manslaughter of a police officer and seriously wounding another. Justice Minister John Hatzistergos says the NSW Parole Board intends to grant parole to Patrick Francis Horan, who committed the crimes near Bathurst in NSW’s central west in 1986.

 

Horan‘s 22-year sentence expires on March the 29th, 2008 but his 16-year non-parole period lapsed on March the 29th last year. Hatzistergos says he’s discussed the matter with Police Minister John Watkins, who he says is also shocked at the board’s intention to release Horan.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/publik15/3815467017/

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About 11.30am on 4 April, 1984 Constable Katsivelas was on duty at the Concord Repatriation Hospital where he was guarding a prisoner who was suffering from heroin withdrawal. The prisoner asked to be allowed to visit the toilet so the constable unlocked one handcuff and, with the assistance of a nurse’s aide, escorted the prisoner to the toilet area. As the prisoner left the toilet cubicle he suddenly leapt at the constable, knocking him to the ground. A violent struggle ensued during which the prisoner seized the constable’s service revolver and shot him twice in the chest before escaping. Constable Katsivelas died a short time later from his wounds. The offender was later located by other police and when warned to surrender he shot himself in the head.

The constable was born in 1964 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 13 December, 1982. At the time of his death he was stationed at Newtown.

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NEWTOWN LOCAL AREA COMMAND POLICE COMMEMORATION SERVICE

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA20130508056

Ms CARMEL TEBBUTT (Marrickville) [7.07 p.m.  8 May 2013]: Recently at Rookwood Cemetery I attended a memorial service to commemorate police officers from the Newtown local area command killed in the line of duty. The moving service was attended by Deputy Police Commissioner Nick Kaldis, Superintendent Simon Hardman, the commander of the Newtown Area Local Command, many other police representatives, and relatives and descendants of the police officers. Those attendees included Ms Avona Wallace, Mr and Mrs Norman Stephenson, Mrs Lynette Everton and Ms Edna Stevenson. Representatives from the emergency services and community members were also in attendance. The member for Campbelltown, Bryan Doyle, attended representing the Premier.

The five officers being remembered at the ceremony gave their lives to protect the community. They were Constable First Class John Wallace, Constable First Class Ruston Stephenson, Constable Lionel Guise, Detective Inspector Reginald Stevenson and Constable Pashalis Katsivelas. The ceremony to mark the sacrifice of these officers reflected on the enormity of their contribution to the community, as well as the impact of their death on their families. It is often said, and it is true, that police officers leave their homes for each shift uncertain of what any day may bring and whether they will return at the end of the day. We owe these men and women our deepest gratitude for the risks they face and take every day in their job. At Rookwood Cemetery we visited each of the graves of those officers who lost their lives in the line of duty and behind each individual was an illuminating life story.

We began at the grave of Constable First Class Ruston Stephenson, who died 80 years almost to the day of the commemoration. Constable Stephenson joined the Police Force in 1912, and four years later enlisted in the army, later joining the fight in France during the First World War. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous gallantry in rescuing injured soldiers while under fire. Remarkably, when he returned he rejoined the Police Force and continued to serve until his death on 9 April 1933 after a tragic accident involving a motorcycle at the then Newtown Stadium while performing general duties policing.

We were also told the story of Detective Inspector Reginald Hugh Stevenson—I was honoured on the day to meet his widow, Ms Edna Stevenson, who still had strong memories of the incident that led to Inspector Stevenson’s death. Detective Inspector Stevenson joined the NSW Police Force as a cadet in 1943 at the age of 17. In an act of extraordinary selflessness, Detective Inspector Stevenson was on annual leave on 9 December 1974 when he decided to go to work to assist in the planned arrest of a dangerous offender in Newtown, at the time telling his wife, “I don’t want my boys doing this on their own.” During the operation he was shot in the chest after leading his team in pursuit of the offender.

Detective Inspector Stevenson partially recovered and was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct and the Queen’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service. However, he died in 1980 of a heart attack, deemed to be the result of the injuries he sustained on duty in 1974. These officers are just a few of many across New South Wales whose lives have been cut short as they have gone about performing their duty. I pay tribute to them all. They will not be forgotten and local events such as this are a powerful reminder of their sacrifice.

I also take this opportunity to acknowledge two Marrickville police officers, Sergeant Stewart and Constable Steele, who on Monday of this week rescued an intellectually disabled person from a house fire in Marrickville. Thankfully, those two officers who took huge risks survived and are quite rightly being hailed as heroes by their colleagues and the community. It is yet another example of the risk our police men and women take every day in order to keep the community safe. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to them.

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About 12.20pm on 24 November, 1980 Sergeant Haydon drove to Mount Sugarloaf, near West Wallsend, following a report of shots being fired on the mountain. The sergeant did not know at the time that the person firing the shots was wanted for a double murder whilst robbing a gun store at Bondi two years earlier.

When Sergeant Haydon located and confronted the offender he was shot to death.

Police were quickly informed of the situation by Forestry Department worker Cliff Hogbin, who had made a note of the offender’s vehicle registration number shortly before finding the sergeant’s body. Mr Hogbin displayed outstanding courage in remaining with Sergeant Haydon and the police vehicle at the crime scene and directing police to the location.

A description of a suspect vehicle seen in the area by Mr Hogbin was then broadcast by Police Radio VKG and a short time later that vehicle was spotted by Constable Alexander Pietruszka ( Regd # 17592 ) of Beresfield Police.

Due to confusing and continual radio transmissions ( relating to the sergeant’s murder), and despite many attempts to do so, Constable Pietruszka was unable to ascertain the reason for the alert on the suspect vehicle. Having little choice in the matter he stopped the vehicle and spoke to the driver. Constable Pietruszka was then also shot in the stomach and seriously wounded. He later recovered.  ( On the 27 June 1986 he was promoted to Senior Constable ).

At this time more police arrived, and the offender was disarmed and arrested by Senior Constable Ken Goodfellow ( Regd # 14949 ).

The Canberra Times of 25 November, 1980 reported the following account.

“MAN KILLS POLICE SERGEANT”

SYDNEY: A gunman shot dead a police sergeant yesterday near the Mount Sugarloaf Lookout Road, near Newcastle, and shortly after shot and seriously injured a constable at a roadblock near Newcastle.

Sergeant Keith Haydon, 37, of West Wallsend, died when he was shot once in the head and twice in the back. He leaves a wife, two daughters and a son. Constable Alexander Pietruszka, 30, was shot in the stomach after he pulled over a car at an intersection near Beresfield a short time later. He was in a satisfactory condition in the Mater Misericordiae Hospital at Waratah last night.

Sydney homicide detectives went to Maitland, near Newcastle, last night to question a man, 31, about another murder in Sydney recently.

The shootings started when Sergeant Haydon, the officer in charge of West Wallsend Police Station, was called to the mountain to investigate a minor complaint about a man shooting at targets in the bush.

After the shootings the man was taken to Maitland police station for questioning.

Police found five pistols, four .38 calibre and one .22 calibre in the car driven by the man.

The deputy chief of the Sydney CIB, Superintendent Geoff Hammond ( possibly Regd # 4990 ), said, “A good policeman is dead and another injured when they shouldn’t be. It was only a small matter, an ordinary inquiry”. A fund to aid the sergeant’s widow and children has been established by the town’s RSL and workers’ clubs.”

The Canberra Times of 14 April, 1981 also reported on the conclusion of the trial of the offender, Berwyn Rees.

“FIREARMS OBSESSION – MAN SENTENCED FOR 1977, 1980 KILLINGS

SYDNEY: A man was sent to a jail for life in the Central Criminal Court in Sydney yesterday for murders in 1977 and last year.

Mr Berwyn Rees, 31, unemployed, of Ponderosa Caravan Park, Raymond Terrace, near Newcastle, pleaded guilty.

Two men were shot dead in a Bondi Junction gun shop on August 4, 1977, and a policeman was shot dead at Mount Sugarloaf, near Newcastle, on November 24, 1980. Mr Rees also pleaded guilty to having maliciously wounded a policeman at Beresfield on November 24, 1980, with intent to avoid apprehension.

“Police said Mr Rees had used a .38 special Smith and Wesson revolver he had stolen from the gun shop to murder Sergeant Keith Alfred Haydon. The men killed in 1977 were Mr Raymond James, 26, the gun shop proprietor, and Mr Christopher Greenfield, 26, a customer.

Mr Justice Begg said the evidence revealed “wanton and merciless killings“.

The law in NSW permitted only one sentence to be passed on murder charges and Mr Rees was sentenced to life imprisonment on each and 10 years‘ jail for the malicious wounding of Constable Alexander Pietruszka.

Mr Justice Begg told Mr Rees that it appeared that he had “an obsession with firearms since you were a small child”, and that “you have lived a somewhat lonely and solitary life”. The case pointed to the free use of firearms and the question of whether their availability should be restricted.

“Detective Sergeant J. F. Elsworthy ( Regd # 9114 ) told the court that on the morning of November 24 Mr Rees had gone to a remote place near Mount Sugarloaf with five handguns, a quantity of ammunition and the Smith and Wesson. Over three years he had visited the spot about once a month to try out guns shooting at cans.

Sergeant Haydon had blocked a car driven by Mr Rees and Mr Rees had admitted he had been shooting in the area. Mr Rees had shot Sergeant Haydon three times in the body. He had gone to move the police vehicle but Sergeant Haydon had taken the keys from the ignition, and he had returned to Sergeant Haydon and seen that he was moving. He had then shot him in the back of the head.

The same day Mr Rees had been apprehended by Constable Pietruszka and other police at Beresfield. Constable Pietruszka had approached Mr Rees’s car and shortly afterward had been shot in the stomach.

“Detective Sergeant J. McGregor said that after the gun shop robbery and murders Mr Rees had taken away a quantity of guns and ammunition. He had taken the weapons and ammunition home and a week later taken them to his secluded spot, near where he was arrested on November 24, and for the next three years practised firing weapons.

“Giving evidence in a claim for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act, Constable Pietruszka said his wounding had contributed to the break-up of his marriage. Some weeks after the incident his wife had told him she wanted him to leave the police force, and when he had disagreed she had left him.

Mrs C. A. Haydon, the widow of Sergeant Haydon, also applied for compensation for herself and three children. Mr Justice Begg adjourned both applications.”

Sergeant Haydon was born in 1943 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 24 February, 1964.

At the time of his death he was stationed at West Wallsend.

Kevin Banister Extract from an environmental report dated 2012.

“The only location carrying a distinctive historical cultural significance was located just outside the study area close to Mount Sugarloaf at an area locally known as Summit Point.

The history of a cairn of stones, now no longer carrying any identifying memorial” Latitude:   -32°54’45.31  Longitude: 151°30’32.35

Summit Point Access Trail runs off Sugarloaf Range Road.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/514697128544865/permalink/1418665238148045/?comment_id=1418713924809843&reply_comment_id=2131361440211751&notif_id=1527583542465104&notif_t=group_comment_reply&ref=notif

https://history.lakemac.com.au/page-local-history.aspx?pid=1085&vid=20&tmpt=showmedia&objid=25216

Man who ‘executed’ three victims could be paroled despite multiple life sentences

By A Current Affair Staff

7:59pm Nov 12, 2018

“This bloke was nothing,” he said.

But now, the New South Wales State Parole Authority has revealed it has formed an intention to grant parole for Rees.

 

https://www.9news.com.au/national/berwyn-rees-parole-bid-new-south-wales-murder-triple-police/e6dbf924-8b42-48f9-81bd-d459f772daca

Reginald Hugh STEVENSON – QPM

aka  Blowfly

New South Wales Police Force

[alert_yellow]Regd. #   5498[/alert_yellow]

Rank: Police Cadet – appointed 1 March 1943

Probationary Constable – appointed 21 February 1947

Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed 19 May 1968

Detective Sergeant 1st Class – SHOT

Detective Inspector – appointed 6 March 1976

Detective Inspector – Retirement

Joined:  NSW Police Force via

NSW Police Cadet System on 1 March 1943

Cadet # 400

Stations: ?, General Detectives at the old CIB in the old Hat Factory, Darlinghurst ( # 3 Division – Det Sgt, early 1970’s ), Newtown

Service:  From  1 March 1943  to  ? ? ?

Awards: Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct – granted 17 February 1976

Queen’s Police Medal – QPM – granted 16 June 1979

Born:  20 February 1926

Event Date:  9 December 1974

Event type / Cause:  Shot – 1974. Damage to liver & kidney / Heart Attack in 1980

Event location:  Newtown

Died on:  19 January 1980

Age:  53

Funeral date:  11 February 1980

Funeral location:  ?

Buried at:  Cremated & Buried in Botany ( NOT Rookwood ) Cemetery

Banks Court Loggia, Wall A

On 9 December, 1974 Detective Sergeant 1st Class Stevenson was shot in the chest after confronting an armed offender in Newtown. Although seriously wounded at the time he continued to direct other police at the scene until he was taken to safety. As a result of the incident Sergeant Stevenson was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct and the Queen’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service. He was promoted to the rank of detective inspector in 1976.

On 19 January, 1980 Inspector Stevenson died of a heart attack and it was determined that his death was ultimately caused by the 1974 injuries.

The detective inspector was born in 1926 and joined the New South Wales Police Force as a Cadet in 1943. He was sworn in on 21 February, 1947.

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NEWTOWN LOCAL AREA COMMAND POLICE COMMEMORATION SERVICE

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA20130508056

Ms CARMEL TEBBUTT (Marrickville) [7.07 p.m.  8 May 2013]: Recently at Rookwood Cemetery I attended a memorial service to commemorate police officers from the Newtown local area command killed in the line of duty. The moving service was attended by Deputy Police Commissioner Nick Kaldis, Superintendent Simon Hardman, the commander of the Newtown Area Local Command, many other police representatives, and relatives and descendants of the police officers. Those attendees included Ms Avona Wallace, Mr and Mrs Norman Stephenson, Mrs Lynette Everton and Ms Edna Stevenson. Representatives from the emergency services and community members were also in attendance. The member for Campbelltown, Bryan Doyle, attended representing the Premier.

The five officers being remembered at the ceremony gave their lives to protect the community. They were Constable First Class John Wallace, Constable First Class Ruston Stephenson, Constable Lionel Guise, Detective Inspector Reginald Stevenson and Constable Pashalis Katsivelas. The ceremony to mark the sacrifice of these officers reflected on the enormity of their contribution to the community, as well as the impact of their death on their families. It is often said, and it is true, that police officers leave their homes for each shift uncertain of what any day may bring and whether they will return at the end of the day. We owe these men and women our deepest gratitude for the risks they face and take every day in their job. At Rookwood Cemetery we visited each of the graves of those officers who lost their lives in the line of duty and behind each individual was an illuminating life story.

We began at the grave of Constable First Class Ruston Stephenson, who died 80 years almost to the day of the commemoration. Constable Stephenson joined the Police Force in 1912, and four years later enlisted in the army, later joining the fight in France during the First World War. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous gallantry in rescuing injured soldiers while under fire. Remarkably, when he returned he rejoined the Police Force and continued to serve until his death on 9 April 1933 after a tragic accident involving a motorcycle at the then Newtown Stadium while performing general duties policing.

We were also told the story of Detective Inspector Reginald Hugh Stevenson—I was honoured on the day to meet his widow, Ms Edna Stevenson, who still had strong memories of the incident that led to Inspector Stevenson’s death. Detective Inspector Stevenson joined the NSW Police Force as a cadet in 1943 at the age of 17. In an act of extraordinary selflessness, Detective Inspector Stevenson was on annual leave on 9 December 1974 when he decided to go to work to assist in the planned arrest of a dangerous offender in Newtown, at the time telling his wife, “I don’t want my boys doing this on their own.” During the operation he was shot in the chest after leading his team in pursuit of the offender.

Detective Inspector Stevenson partially recovered and was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Brave Conduct and the Queen’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service. However, he died in 1980 of a heart attack, deemed to be the result of the injuries he sustained on duty in 1974. These officers are just a few of many across New South Wales whose lives have been cut short as they have gone about performing their duty. I pay tribute to them all. They will not be forgotten and local events such as this are a powerful reminder of their sacrifice.

I also take this opportunity to acknowledge two Marrickville police officers, Sergeant Stewart and Constable Steele, who on Monday of this week rescued an intellectually disabled person from a house fire in Marrickville. Thankfully, those two officers who took huge risks survived and are quite rightly being hailed as heroes by their colleagues and the community. It is yet another example of the risk our police men and women take every day in order to keep the community safe. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to them.

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PAUL IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

Constable Burmistriw was fatally injured in a bomb explosion outside the Hilton Hotel, George St, Sydney, on 13 February, 1978. At the time the Regional Conference of Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM), a regional off-shoot of the biennial meetings of the heads of government from across the Commonwealth of Nations. was taking place at the hotel.

The bomb, planted in a rubbish bin, exploded when the bin was emptied into a garbage truck outside the hotel at 1:40am. It killed two garbage men, Alec Carter and William Favell, and a police officer, Paul Burmistriw, guarding the entrance to the hotel lounge, who died of his injuries on the 22 February 1978.

The blast also injured eleven others. Twelve foreign leaders were staying in the hotel at the time, but none were injured. Australian prime minister Malcolm Fraser immediately called out the Australian Army to guard the remainder of the CHOGRM meeting.

Also seriously injured in the blast were Sergeant Edward Hawtin, Senior Constable Rodney Wither ( Regd # 16376 ) and Senior Constable Terry Griffiths ( Regd # 13390 ). Two council employees, William Arthur Favell and Alec Carter, were also killed in the bombing.

The constable was born in 1946 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 20 September, 1971. At the time of his death he was stationed at Central Police Station.

If you thought that started with the Sydney siege, you’d be wrong. What is seen as the first major act of terrorism on Australian soil took place 30 years ago, and it remains unsolved to this day.

Author and award-winning filmmaker Dr Rachel Landers has dived into the archive documents on the Hilton bombing, trying to make sense of all the contradictory testimony surrounding that black day.

On February 13, 1978, a bomb was planted in a rubbish bin outside the Sydney Hilton, which was hosting a Commonwealth meeting of Asia Pacific heads of government.

The device exploded when it was loaded into a garbage truck, blowing the vehicle to pieces, along with two rubbish collectors, Alec Carter and William Favell. A police officer guarding the entrance to the hotel lounge, Paul Burmistriw, died later. Eleven more were injured.

It was a day that left people physically and mentally scarred, tore families apart and was a devastating blow to the happy-go-lucky Australian psyche. It triggered years of finger-pointing, conspiracy theories and saw several innocent men locked away.

Dr Landers’ book, Who Bombed The Hilton?, takes us back to an event that helps explain our nation today.

CONSPIRACY THEORY

As with terrorist attacks like 9/11, shocking claims emerged soon after the tragedy that Australian security forces had planted the bomb themselves.

One of the most vocal conspiracy theorists is policeman Terry Griffiths, who was badly mutilated by the blast, and questions the authorities’ story to this day.

The allegations, which have gained enough credence to be recorded in meticulous detail across the internet, centre on what some see as suspicious aspects of the story, including: why police outside the hotel didn’t see a bomber, why didn’t they search the bins, why they allegedly stopped garbage trucks emptying the bins, why a bomb squad was waiting, why a “warning call” wasn’t relayed to police outside the hotel and where the truck was dumped afterwards.

Dr Landers accepts that police made mistakes, and that the New South Wales police force had a problem with corruption at the time, but she says nothing she found in documentary evidence backed up Mr Griffiths’ claims.

She decided early on to eliminate witnesses’ recollections and instead focused on a forensic analysis reams of archival material made public 20 years ago. “Memory is an unreliable thing,” she said. “People misremembered basic facts. There was a huge discrepancy in what they recalled.

“There were appeals and counter-appeals. They tell a story about a miscarriage of justice that is not untrue, but covers up the question of who is actually the most likely person to have planted the bomb.”

MAKING THREE MURDERERS

Days after the bombing, a man named Richard Seary approached police and offered to infiltrate an Indian socio-spiritual organisation called Ananda Marga, who were demonstrating against the outside the hotel at the time.

In June, Seary told police that members Paul Alister, Tim Anderson and Ross Dunn had confessed to the bombing, and it was assumed Indian Prime Minister, Morarji Desai, was the target.

Seary said they were planning another attack on Neo-Nazi National Alliance leader Robert Cameron. The mole led police to the trio, in a car packed with explosives, and they were arrested. They were never convicted of the Hilton bombing, but were given 16 years each for conspiracy to murder Cameron.

It later emerged that Seary was a paranoid schizophrenic and drug addict, who had planted the explosives in the car. Alister, Anderson and Dunn were released after seven years in prison. It remains one of Australia’s worst miscarriages of justice.

While they received compensation, Alister told the Sunshine Coast Daily in 2008 he was sick of being referred to as a Hilton bomber.

Most officials now believe an Ananda Marga member named Abhiik Kumar, living in Israel, is behind the bombing. But the trail has long since gone cold and is “besieged by contradictions and evidentiary problems.”

The authorities failed to share their plans with international colleagues working on possible related bombings and attempted attacks and “it was catastrophic for the case, it totally derailed it,” according to Dr Landers.

“Special branch, for understandable reasons, went rogue,” she said. “People were so shocked, they’d been thrust into the international age of terrorism. People do irrational things in that vortex of fear.”

LONG FIGHT FOR TRUTH

Like today’s acts of terrorism, carried out in the name of Islamic State or other jihadi groups, the Hilton bombing didn’t take place in a vacuum.

“A lot of things I thought I knew turned out to be untrue,” said Dr Landers. “I always thought it was a really Australian story, I didn’t realise we were at the centre of an international reign of terror.

“There was a huge mountain of evidence linking this with Stockholm, New York, Malaysia … There are letters from Afghanistan threatening India. It quickly stopped being about Australia.”

The bombing was politicised so early on, it is hard to dig down to what really happened, but it’s a story that needs to be told without the agenda.

Dr Landers has conducted a thorough investigation, and she believes she has some answers, but she wants those touched by the tragedy to have the public inquiry they deserve.

As the threat of terrorism looms ever larger, we have a real chance to learn from our past.

Who Bombed the Hilton? is officially launched on Wednesday April 20.

http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/books-magazines/books/startling-book-unpicks-story-behind-australias-first-major-terrorist-attack/news-story/1e602043ab42bd65c1f63e37a315390c

http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=88905.0

The Warning Phone Call

The Hilton Operation ran strictly according to plan up until 12.30AM on the Monday morning. Two garbage pick-ups were prevented by the NSW police. Whoever planted the bomb was well aware of the garbage collection times. Another garbage collection was due at 1AM Monday morning. At 12.30AM the warning phone call was made. (Terry Griffiths says another police officer told him the warning phone call was made by a Sergeant in Special Branch who had been observing the scene outside the Hilton in a red torana, a police observation car. The warning phone caller rang the police switchboard and asked to speak to Special Branch. It was 12.30AM Monday morning. Normally, Special Branch would not be there at that hour, though the phone caller seemed to believe they would be. (Indeed, the same person called back an hour later at 1.30Am and again asked to speak to Special Branch.) After the phone rang a few times, the police telephonist transferred the call to the sergeant in charge of the CIB, Cec Streetfield. The Hilton Operation had begun to unravel.

What Streetfield did on being informed of the bomb, is one of the mysteries of the Hilton. What he did not do is notorious: he did not warn the police outside the Hilton over the police radio. Streetfield testified before the Hilton Inquest in 1982. According to Terry Griffiths, he told a pack of lies. According to Streetfield, the phone caller said: “Dere is a bomb in der bin outside der Hilton Hotel.” The phone caller then rang the Sydney Morning Herald and told them they might be interested in what was about to happen outside the Hilton Hotel. The Hilton Operation continued to fall apart. The garbage collection truck was running twenty minutes early that night. They arrived outside the Hilton at 12.40AM before the bomb was found.

City of Sydney Re-dedicates Plaque Commemorating Hilton Hotel Blast Victims

Tuesday, February 12th, 2008

The City of Sydney is re-dedicating the plaque commemorating the victims of the Hilton Hotel bombing on the occasion of the 30^th anniversary of the event.

The bombing at the Hilton Hotel occurred in the early hours of 13 February 1978. The bomb was concealed inside a garbage bin and exploded when that bin was loaded into a City of Sydney Council garbage truck compactor.

Three people were killed (Alec Carter and Arthur Favell, City Council workers, and a NSW Police Officer, First Class Constable Paul Burmistriw) and seven more were wounded. At the time, Malcolm Fraser, the Prime Minister and eleven visiting heads of state were staying at the hotel for a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Lord Mayor, Clover Moor MP said that the anniversary of the bombing served as a time to remember those whose lives were cut short and those who still bear the scars today.

“This terrible act killed three decent and dedicated men, two of whom were working for the City of Sydney. But now we can re-dedicate this plaque so that future generations remember them and remember the shocking crime that took their lives.”

Commissioner of Police Andrew Scipione APM said it was important that Australians not forget the terrible incident.

“This was the death of a policeman killed as he helped guard world leaders in Sydney. Constable Paul Burmistriw was a fine officer. That he and City Council workers Alec Carter and Arthur Favell should die doing their job was a terrible tragedy.”

The original plaque had stood on the site of the garbage bin but had been moved due to a City streetscape upgrade and the recent upgrade of the Hilton Hotel. The new plaque will stand at the original spot on the George Street footpath.

Hilton Hotel Bombing History

In February 1978, Prime Ministers and other heads of State and senior political figures from Commonwealth countries gathered in Australia for a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, known as CHOGM, held at Sydney’s Hilton Hotel.

In the early hours of 13 February 1978, a City of Sydney garbage truck compactor set off a bomb that had been placed in a bin immediately outside the Hilton Hotel on George Street.

At the time Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and eleven visiting heads of state were staying at the hotel.

Three people were killed by the blast: two City of Sydney Council workers, Alec Carter and Arthur Favell and First Class Police Constable Paul Burmistriw.

Seven people were wounded by the blast, including police officer, Terry Griffiths.

The then Indian Prime Minister, Morarji Desai claimed that the blast was the work of a group known as Ananda Marga, protesting the imprisonment in India of their spiritual leader, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti.

In 1989, Evan Pederick came forward and claimed responsibility for the bombing. He accused a one-time member of Ananda Marga, Tim Anderson of helping to plant the bomb. The only other main witness against Anderson was notorious criminal Raymond John Denning. Anderson went on trial in 1990 and was initially found guilty.

Anderson appealed to the NSW Court of Appeal. On 6 June 1991 the court led by then Chief Justice Gleeson quashed the conviction, based on the inappropriate and unfair action by the crown prosecutor. His Honour noted: “It is well established that a Court of Criminal Appeal may treat a jury’s verdict as unsafe or unsatisfactory even if satisfied that it was, on the evidence, reasonably open to the jury to convict … The inherent strength or weakness of the crown case may be a factor relevant to such a conclusion. In the present case, for reasons just given, I do not regard the crown case as presented at trial as a strong one, and for the reasons discussed in relation to the first ground of appeal, there was one important respect in which, in my view, the proceedings miscarried. The crown was permitted, in an unfair manner, to obscure a major difficulty concerning the reliability of the evidence of its principal witness by raising an hypothesis that was not reasonably open on the evidence.This was compounded by what I regard as an inappropriate and unfair attempt by the crown to persuade the jury to draw inferences of fact, and accept argumentative suggestions, that were not properly open on the evidence. I do not consider that in those circumstances the crown should be given a further opportunity to patch up its case against the appellant. It has already made one attempt too many to do that, and I believe that, if that attempt had never been made, there is a strong likelihood that the appellant would have been acquitted.”

There has been controversy about the motives for the planting of the bomb and the handling of the case that surrounded it. Terry Griffiths has claimed that the bombing was a conspiracy and called for an inquiry. There have been persistent suggestions of ASIO involvement in the bombing.

Anderson subsequently lodged 52 complaints of professional misconduct with the New South Wales Bar Association against Mark Tedeschi, QC. All but one of the complaints by Anderson against Tedeschi were dismissed by the NSW Bar Association. The remaining complaint was dismissed by the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal.

In 1991, Peter Collins, the then NSW Attorney-General led a campaign to demand a joint State-Federal inquiry which culminated in a unanimous resolution by both houses of the NSW parliament. Mr Collins said in parliament: “The Hilton bombing cannot simply be relegated to the yellowing pages of history until we know the truth, however unpalatable it may turn out to be. It must also be said that we owe this to the memory of the three who perished, their families, and to those who survived… This issue, this weeping sore transcends political, constitutional and geographical boundaries. The answers may be alarmingly simple. But, whatever the truth, the people of Australia are entitled to nothing less.”

It was also reported a warning phone call was made to police minutes before the explosion, in the first hint that there was more to the story.

[blockquote]We will never be stopped. Ananda Marga will cleanse the world[/blockquote]

And so began the controversy.

Overnight, Sydney went into lockdown amid the biggest manhunt in Australia’s history.

Mr Fraser and the NSW Premier Neville Wran demanded support from the armed forces, and almost 2000 troops descended on the city for protection.

CHOGM progressed with armed forces and even a decoy train employed to protect heads of government on their way to a pretty NSW town, Bowral.

Mr Coster recalls Bowral was “transformed into a war zone” with helicopters flying overhead through the night and armoured personnel carriers along the road into town.

Police were now hunting three men “swarthy in appearance and in their early 30s”.

Within hours, suspicions emerged that a previously ignored religious sect known as Ananda Marga appeared to have played a role in the bombing.

Margis -as the sect’s members were known- had already been involved in worldwide protests for some years, demanding the Indian government release their spiritual leader Pabhat Ranian Sarkar who was serving a life sentence for murder.

But the breakthrough came after the three main suspects were charged in another political conspiracy four months later.

On June 15, Ross Dunn, 24, Paul Alister, 22, and Timothy Anderson, 26, were charged with conspiring to murder the NSW leader of the National Front – a professed Nazi – Robert Cameron.

All were members of Ananda Marga’s Australian branch.

The trio were sentenced to 16 years’ jail without parole.

But the trials also unearthed police informer, Richard Seary, 26, who implicated them in the Hilton bombing.

Mr Seary, a reformed heroin addict, revealed he had joined Ananda Marga as a paid police informer in March 1978 to discover any links between the sect and the bombing.

The men told him they had “fixed” the Hilton bombing, and Anderson had also declared: “You’ve got to be willing to die for your ideology.”

An arresting detective said Dunn had also told him: “We will never be stopped. Ananda Marga will cleanse the world.”

But despite a $100,000 reward and a team of 100 full-time detectives, no charges had been laid for the Hilton bombing a year after the blast.

Three early leads had been discounted, including a theory that a woman was suspected of trying to harm the New Zealand prime minister because she opposed the abortion laws.

Three years after the bombing, new evidence suggested a cover-up.

On March 30, 1981, newspapers reported that the NSW Attorney-General had received fresh information.

Among the new claims was that an army bomb disposal squad had been on its way to the Hilton when the bomb exploded. Another allegation was that the police hadn’t searched the garbage bins the night before the blast, in an otherwise comprehensive search.

Enter the Hilton bombing’s most vocal conspiracy theorist.

Retired senior constable Terry Griffiths had been just six metres from the blast and suffered extensive injuries.

The father of two, who had been battling for worker’s compensation for over two years, believed he was the victim of a cover-up involving Australian security forces.

Mr Griffiths said the NSW Government had deliberately blocked his efforts to seek compensation.

“I’m suggesting there is enough evidence for any person who wishes to go into the matter honestly to believe that there may well be a cover-up in this matter.”

Some evidence appeared to support his theory.

It emerged that three garbage trucks were diverted from the bin by police officers, despite the fact that it was overflowing with rubbish.

Mr Griffiths even claimed the explosion was the inadvertent result of a media stunt fabricated by ASIO, the military and the NSW Police Special Branch.

His theory was that the organisations had planted the bomb which they then intended to “discover” to make them look good – and justify broader powers, he told Sydney’s The Sun-Herald.

It was only when the ill-fated fourth truck slipped through and finally emptied the bin that the “plan” went badly awry.

Mr Griffiths suggested that the phone call police received just minutes before the blast was in fact a person involved who saw the truck approach the bin, and panicked.

Mr Griffiths said ASIO had benefited from the blast, gaining “unlimited powers” from legislation introduced in the wake of the blast.

Some politicians gobbled up Mr Griffiths’ allegations of conspiracy, including then-Senator and federal shadow Attorney-General Gareth Evans.

Within a month there were calls for fresh investigations into the Hilton bombing and the reward raised to $250,000.

Then, in 1982, a coronial inquest was announced.

The Sydney Hilton’s night receptionist at the time of the blast, Manfred von Gries told the inquiry he saw three men speaking to police just before the explosion.

Within days, he was approached by a man who threatened to kidnap his son if he spoke to police about what he saw, he claimed.

He later identified the man as Jason Alexander, Ananda Marga’s Australian leader, but there were doubts about his evidence.

Mr Griffiths added to his claims, suggesting a bomb disposal truck was stationed around the corner before the blast, and that several Special Branch officers were watching the police from a vehicle across the road.

He also said he’d been informed that a warrant officer with the armed forces had planted the bomb several days before the blast.

Mr Griffiths also said that Sgt Robert Jackson, his friend and fellow officer who had assisted with the initial murder investigation, had told him that the warning call was made to police 10 minutes before the blast.

Within days, Sgt Jackson denied the conversation.

Sgt Arthur Hawkin, on duty on the night of the blast, appeared to back the theory.

Mr Hawkin said when he arrived for his shift 90 minutes before the explosion he was told to expect trouble and “something about a bomb”.

The inquiry also heard a sergeant before the blast saw Timothy Anderson near the rubbish bin that later exploded, during a demonstration against the New Zealand prime minister.

And another witness claimed Anderson, a regular customer, had picked up a newspaper in her shop the morning after the blast and had said to another man: “We only got three.”

Then the police informant Richard Seary dropped powerful new claims, saying Ross Dunn had told him he’d planted the bomb in the bin an hour before the Indian Prime Minister’s arrival.

Why hadn’t Mr Seary shared this evidence with police earlier?

Initially, he said it was because he was upset with the way police had treated him. Later, he said it was due to concerns that Dunn had lied, confessing out of bravado.

He said on account of his doubts, he had drip-fed his evidence to police instead.

With the latest claims, coroner Norman Walsh decided there was enough evidence to charge Dunn and Alister of three counts of murder, and Anderson with conspiracy to murder.

The court erupted in shock and fury, and even the jury, which gave no official verdict raised lingering questions.

In 1984, the NSW Attorney-General Paul Landa on Crown law advice decided the three men would not be prosecuted.

Instead, a judicial inquiry was announced to investigate the Cameron charges.

This inquiry found Richard Seary to be an unreliable witness, and a psychiatrist diagnosed him as having a personality disorder.

Adding to his fall from grace, the Margis’ lawyer went so far as to accuse Mr Seary of bombing the hotel himself.

In 1985, after seven years in jail, the judicial inquiry quashed the trio’s convictions.

The three men were released in May, pardoned by the NSW government, and awarded $100,000 each in compensation.

Alister and Dunn moved to an Ananda Marga community in Queensland, and Mr Anderson was left to pursue a PhD on Australian foreign debt.

But on May 30, 1989, Anderson was again arrested and charged for the bombing amid new evidence.

Evan Dunstan Pederick, a 33-year-old Brisbane public servant Ananda Marga member admitted he had tried to remotely detonate the bomb when the Indian Prime Minister arrived at the hotel.

He said he was acting as a front man for Mr Anderson, who provided the explosives.

When the bomb failed to detonate, Pederick panicked and ran. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder the Prime Minister – but not guilty to causing the three subsequent deaths.

Nevertheless, Pederick was found guilty of three counts of murder, and sentenced to 20 years’ jail. The jury determined he had acted with reckless indifference by leaving the bomb in the bin.

Another prisoner who had met Mr Anderson while he was serving the Cameron sentence revealed Anderson had confessed his role in the Hilton bombing.

In 1990, Anderson was sentenced to 14 years’ jail. Supreme Court justice Michael Grove said Mr Anderson had been “brainwashed” by the Ananda Marga cult when he instigated the bombing.

Seven months later Mr Anderson was acquitted.

But the saga was far from over.

In May 1995, Pederick did a U-turn. After six years in jail for a crime he confessed to, it suddenly occurred to Pederick that he might be innocent.

Pederick accused police of failing to test his evidence and state of mind.

“Is it possible that in 1978, dominated by the influence of the Ananda Marga and yet in conflict with the demands of the sect, I had acquired a deep sense of guilt which expressed itself in an obsession with the cataclysmic events for which Ananda Marga was held responsible at the time? I do not know,” Pederick said in a News Ltd report.

In 1997, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed Pederick’s new claims, but six months later he was released on parole.

”As a naive young person, influenced by the teachings of Ananda Marga, I participated in a fatal act of political terrorism,” Pederick said, as quoted in The Australian.

But as he left the jail, Pederick indicated there were six others involved in the bombing, none of whom were ever charged.

More than three decades on, the question mark remains: Who bombed the Sydney Hilton?

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/the-sydney-hilton-bombing-of-1978/story-fnat7jnn-1226539686853

Police-coroner collaboration on Hilton revealed

https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/police-coroner-collaboration-hilton-revealed

Douglas Ronald EATON   QPM

Father of Serving NSWPF Member Sergeant Michael EATON # ?????

Late of  ?

New South Wales Police Force

NSW Police Academy Redfern Class # 100

Regd. #   11167

Rank:  Probationary Constable – appointed 17 August 1964

Constable – appointed 17 August 1965

Senior Constable – Death

Stations: ?, North East District ( 1965 ), Toronto – Death

Service:  From  ? ? Pre August 1964  to  30 April 1977 = 12+ years Service

Awards:  posthumously awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal ( Imperial ), on 25 August 1978 Gallantry – NSW Police – Apprehend an armed man ( SenCon ),

posthumously awarded the George Lewis Memorial Trophy

posthumously awarded the Peter Mitchell Award

Queens Police Medal ( QPM ) – granted ? ? ?

Born:  Saturday  23 November 1940

Died on:  Saturday  30 April 1977

Age:  36 years, 5 months, 7 days

Cause:  Shot – Murdered – On Duty

Event location:  Toronto Country club, Kilaben Bay

Event date:  Saturday  30 April 1977

In Company of:  Senior Constable Edwin Jackson GILL # 11512 who was the victim of an Attempt Murder in this same Event

Funeral date:  Sunday  3 May 1977

Funeral location:  Beresfield Crematorium, Beresfield

Buried at:  Cremated

 Memorial located at:  Toronto Police Station, 139 Cary St, Toronto, NSW

DOUG is mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

 

On the night of 30 April, 1977, Senior Constable Douglas Ronald Eaton # 11167 and Senior Constable Edward Gill # 11512 ( Edwin Jackson GILL )  attended a “silent” intruder alarm at the Toronto Country Club, Kilaben Bay. While they were making an external check of the premises both police officers were shot by offenders who had broken into the club. Senior Constable Eaton was killed instantly and Senior Constable Gill was seriously wounded. Members of the Glesic family were later arrested and imprisoned and a large cache of weapons and explosives recovered.

 

The constable was born in 1940 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 17 August, 1964. At the time of his death he was stationed at Toronto. He was posthumously awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal, the George Lewis Memorial Trophy and the Peter Mitchell Award.

---

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Thursday 5 May 1977, page 15

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Saturday 16 September 1989, page 4

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Friday 8 July 1977, page 6

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110853844

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Wednesday 6 July 1977, page 11

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110853464

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Saturday 7 May 1977, page 8

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110844762

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Saturday 9 July 1977, page 7

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110854075

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Wednesday 21 September 1977, page 6

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110867037

Senior Constable Douglas Eaton

The Doug Eaton Room in the Toronto Police Station commemorates Senior Constable Douglas Eaton.

On the evening of Saturday 30 April 1977, Senior Constable Eaton, and Senior Constable Edward Gill, were called to a ‘silent’ intruder alarm at the Toronto Country Club at Kilaben Bay. Whilst making external checks of the premises, the officers were ambushed and shot by three male offenders who had broken into the club. Senior Constable Eaton was killed instantly and Senior Constable Gill was seriously wounded.

The offenders were later arrested and imprisoned after a large cache of weapons and explosives was located.

Dedication

Local Legends – Senior constable Douglas Eaton

30 April 2020

http://monumentaustralia.org.au/australian_monument/

Ian Donald WARD

late of Padstow, NSW

New South Wales Police Force

Joined via NSW Police Cadets on 21 February 1966

Cadet # 2109

Rank:  NSW Police Cadet – commenced 21 February 1966

Probationary Constable – 12 April 1968

Constable 1st Class  ( Acting Sergeant in Cyprus )

Regd. # ? – Most possibly between 13171 – 13193

Stations:  ? & Cyprus as part of the 11th Australian Contingent of UN Peacekeeping Mission

UNFICYP AUSCIVPOL

Service:  From 21 February 1966  to  12 November 1974 = 8+ years Service

[blockquote]

NASHOS

Service name:              Military Police, National Service  ( Army )

Service number:          ?

Rank:                               Corporal

Date of birth:                12 April 1949

Place of birth:               Ryde, NSW

Date of intake:              ?

NS Training:                  ?

Follow Up Training:   ?

Basic Training:             ?

Next of Kin:                   ?

Medals:                           ?

[/blockquote]

Police Awards:  Police Overseas Service Medal with Cyprus clasp – granted 19 October 1992

Dag Hammarskjold Medal – awarded

Awarded the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal. The U.N. Secretary-General established the Dag Hammarskjöld medal for posthumous award to members of peacekeeping operations who lost their lives during service with a peacekeeping operation under the operational control and authority of the United Nations.

Born: 12 April 1949 at Ryde, NSW

Died:  Tuesday  12 November 1974

Cause of death:  Murdered – Land Mine Explosion

Event location:  near Lefka, Cyprus ( 5 days after arriving in the country )

Age:  25

Funeral date:  26 November 1974

Funeral location:  ???

Grave location:  Rookwood Cemetery, Rookwood

On 12 November, 1974 Constable Ward was serving with the Eleventh Australian Police Element in Cyprus. Whilst travelling in a Land Rover near Lefka the vehicle hit a landmine in the buffer zone. As a result Constable Ward was killed and Constable 1st Class John Woolcott was seriously injured.

Constable Ward is the 3rd and last Australian to die in Cyprus.

The constable was born in 1949 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 12 April, 1968. At the time of his death he was stationed in Cyprus and an Acting Sergeant.

John Woolcott recovered from his injuries and ” Wooly ” later retired from NSW Police Force either as an Sergeant at Manly Police Station or an Inspector at North Sydney / Mosman.  This, is yet, to be confirmed.  ( 10 August 2017 ).

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FURTHER:

Cst 1st Class Ian Donald WARD – NSWPF – Killed in Cyprus – 12 November 1974 – further info

Cst 1st Class Ian Donald WARD – NSWPF – Killed in Cyprus – 12 November 1974 – further info 2

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the Eleventh Contingent

Land-mines were the major component of fortifications along the confrontation zone.  UNFICYP had lodged a number of protests about mine-laying procedures and the fact that many fields were neither marked nor adequately recorded.  UNFICYP began a special programme to remedy the deficiencies, but two UNFICYP soldiers were killed in similar circumstances during the following twelve months.

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/Photocopy/94431NCJRS.pdf

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Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995), Wednesday 20 November 1974, page 3

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110788766

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Also:

Honour

Located within the Honour Precinct is an original ornate marble tablet featuring early losses of New South Wales Police Officers. The tablet is flanked by the New South Wales state flag and the New South Wales Police Force flag.

The Peacekeeping Display honours all members of the NSW Police Force who have served in peacekeeping operations throughout the world and houses the Dag Hammerskjold medal belonging to the late SGT Ian Donald Ward who died in UNFICYP. This was donated to the NSW Police College on the 29th May, 2010 from Mr Ken Ward, OAM, father of SGT Ward.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales_Police_Academy

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https://www.opengov.nsw.gov.au/viewer/517e982c7fa2d2c5b8c06d530ab240e7.pdf

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Peacekeeping Veteran Honoured at the NSW Police College:

Cst-1st-Class-Ian-Donald-WARD-NSWPF-Killed-in-Cyprus-12-November-1974-further-info

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William Watson RILEY

( Double Police Murder )

Father of Ian RILEY – NSWPF Cadet # 1953 ( joined 17 Aug. 1964 )  Regd # ?????

Father of Jeanie RILEY – NSWPF – SenCon 17386 who Attested on 27 September 1976

Late of St Marys

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  4831

Rank:  Probationary Constable – appointed 3 December 1945

Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed 1 July 1967

As of the 1968 Police Stud Book – William had passed his Sgt 1/c qualification exam

Posthumously promoted to Sgt 1/c on ???

Stations: ?, Blacktown – Death

Service:  From  ? ? pre December 1945?  to  30 September 1971 = 26+ years Service

Awards:  Queens’ Police Medal for Gallantry – Awarded 25 May 1972

Born:  22 February 1921

 Died on:  Thursday  30 September 1971

Age:  50

Cause:  Shot – Murdered – shotgun

Event location:  Mimosa Ave, Toongabbie  Approximate GPS:  -33.781884,  150.951727

Event date:  Thursday  30 September 1971

Funeral date:  Tuesday  5 October 1971

Funeral location:  ?

Buried at:  Cremated

Pinegrove Memorial Park Location:

Peace Rose Gardens

Section: Family Memorial

Lot:  ?

Lat/Long: -33.78922, 150.84705

 Memorial located at:  1/  Pinegrove Memorial Park, Eastern Creek

2/  Blacktown Police Station. Memorial photos was in the foyer, then the boss’s foyer & now in the corridor between the front counter & muster room.

3/ Plinth at the entrance to the Memorial Rose Garden, NSW Police Academy, Goulburn.

4/  Memorial Gardens at the front of Blacktown Police Station – Dedicated in September 2017.

WILLIAM IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

Report of the Police Department for 1972.  Printed 28 August 1973

George Lewis Memorial Trophy
This trophy for the year 1971, which is for the most courageous act performed by a member of the New South Wales Police Force, was awarded posthumously to the late Sergeant 1st Class W. W. Riley and the late Sergeant 3rd Class M. R. McDiarmid who were stationed at 27 Division.
The trophies were presented to Mrs Riley and Mrs McDiarmid at the Police Academy during 1972.

PETER MITCHELL TRUST AWARDS
The ten awards under this Trust for the year 1971 were made to the following police, the trophies being presented at the Police Academy during 1972:
Most Courageous Act Posthumously awarded to the late Sergeant 1st Class W. W. Riley and the late Sergeant 3rd Class M. R. McDiarmid in conjunction with the George Lewis Memorial Trophy.

Blacktown_remembers_Sgt_1st_Class_Bill_Riley_and_Sgt_3rd_Class_Maurice_McDiarmid

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Tuesday 21 March 1972, page 3

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Thursday 13 January 1972, page 11

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/101752567

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Wednesday 6 October 1971, page 3

Funeral

SYDNEY, Tuesday. -More than 400 policemen attended the funeral this morning of the two policemen shot by a man in Toongabbie last Thursday. Both men, Sergeant William Watson Riley and Senior Constable Maurice Raymond McDiarmid, were given full police honours at their funeral.

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110680624

William RILEY’s son, Ian, also joined the NSW Police Force as a NSW Police Cadet, # 1953, on 17 August 1964, and was Sworn In on 14 December 1966 by Assistant Commissioner Joe BUCK in his office in the old Police Headquarters in Hunter St, Sydney, alongside of NSW Police Cadet Kevin TANT, Cadet # 1838.

William RILEY’s daughter, Jeanie, also joined the NSW Police Force in 1978 but had resigned several years later.  Jeanie had Regd. # 18503.  Was a Probationary Constable on 2 April 1979 and a Senior Constable on 2 April 1988.

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Friday 1 October 1971, page 1

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110679922

Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales (Sydney, NSW : 1901 – 2001),

Friday 28 April 1972 (No.44), page 1544

http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/220140775/14441598#

Blacktown Police dedicate memorial to slain officers William Riley and Maurice McDiarmid

5 Oct 2017, 2:30 p.m.

A solemn memorial stands to remind Blacktown police officers of the price paid by two of their colleagues.

William Riley and Maurice McDiarmid were both killed in the line of duty on September 30, 1971, while trying to apprehend a murder suspect in Toongabbie.

They are now remembered by commemorative plaques outside Blacktown Police Station, as well as a plinth at the entrance to the memorial rose garden at the NSW Police Academy.

The plinth features two police caps pictured the way they fell when the men were murdered, and bears the words: “For The People”.

Chief Inspector Bob Fitzgerald said the permanent memorials were important for police and the community.

“I hope it’s a reminder when you come to work, you do the job to the best of your ability and go home to your family,” he said.

Acting Inspector Lauren Martin said Police Remembrance Day gave every officer a chance to think about those who didn’t make it home.

“It’s good to have a visual reminder so you can reflect on what could happen when you come to work,” she said.

Sergeant 2nd class Riley and Senior Constable McDiarmid were attending a home in Mimosa Avenue, Toongabbie, following reports a man had raped a woman and shot her lover, who was also his brother.

The offender, Ronald Clarke, shot and killed both officers as they attempted to surround him. He was shot and killed by police in Hillview later that day.

“It is a very sad day for all those who believe in upholding the law and order,” Police Commissioner Norman Allen said at the time.

Both officers were posthumously promoted for their outstanding courage and devotion to duty.

More than 400 officers attended their funeral in Blacktown. They were laid to rest at Pinegrove Cemetery with plaques bearing the inscription: “Doing His Duty”.

The story Blacktown Police honour slain colleagues first appeared on Blacktown Sun.

http://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au/story/4969361/blacktown-police-honour-slain-colleagues/?cs=1179#slide=1

POLICE KILLED OR WHO DIED FROM INJURIES RECEIVED IN THE EXECUTION OF THEIR DUTIES

On 13th August, 1971, Senior Constable William Edward King, who was then the officer-in-charge of police, East Gresford, was shot dead at East Gresford Police Station by a man who fired upon him with a rifle.

On 29th August, 1971, Constable 1st Class Patrick Mark Hackett died from injuries received in a motor accident at Polis, Cyprus, whilst performing duty with the New South Wales Police component of the Australian Police Contingent of the United Nations Peace Keeping Force.

On 30th September, 1971, Sergeant Second Class William Watson Riley and Senior Constable Maurice Raymond McDiarmid, both then attached to Blacktown Police Station, were shot dead in a house at Toongabbie which they had entered to arrest a man who a short time before had murdered his brother and raped a woman in the same house.

A police funeral with full ceremonial honours was accorded these deceased officers at which appropriate tributes were paid.

In recognition of their outstanding courage Sergeant Riley and Senior Constable McDiarmid were posthumously promoted by me to Sergeant 1st Class and Sergeant 3rd Class respectively. In addition, I submitted recommendations to the Premier for favour of consideration of Royal Awards being granted in both cases.

To assist the widows of the deceased police the Premier approved the payment to each of them of the sum of $12,500 as a gratuity. This payment did not in any way affect their entitlements to payments under the provisions of the Police Regulation (Superannuation) Act.

Report to the Police Department for 1971 – printed 7 September 1972

William Edward KING

Late of East Gresford

New South Wales Police Force

[alert_yellow]Regd. # 8241[/alert_yellow]

Uniform # 720

Rank:  Probationary Constable – appointed 7 November 1955

Senior Constable – appointed 7 November 1966

Senior Constable – Death

Stations:  East Gresford Police Station

Service:  From pre 7 November 1955 to 13 August 1971 = 15+ years Service

Awards:  No find on It’s An Honour

Born:  31 January 1933

Died:  13 August 1971

Age: 38

Cause:  Shot – Murdered

Event location:  East Gresford Police residence

Funeral Date:  ?

Funeral location:  ?

Buried at:  ?

[alert_green]William IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]

About 6.45pm on 13 August, 1971 Senior Constable King went home to the East Gresford police residence for dinner. When he later answered a knock on the front door he was shot in the chest. He died a short time later. Enquiries later revealed that Senior Constable King had arrested the offender, a sixty-two year old labourer, the previous year for a drink driving offence (DUI). The offender was arrested two hours after the murder of Senior Constable King and later sentenced to life imprisonment.

The constable was born in 1933 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 7 November, 1955. At the time of his death he was stationed at East Gresford.

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The Canberra Times                  Tuesday  17 August 1971                     3 of 20

POLICE KILLED OR WHO DIED FROM INJURIES RECEIVED IN THE EXECUTION OF THEIR DUTIES

On 13th August, 1971, Senior Constable William Edward King, who was then the officer-in-charge of police, East Gresford, was shot dead at East Gresford Police Station by a man who fired upon him with a rifle.

On 29th August, 1971, Constable 1st Class Patrick Mark Hackett died from injuries received in a motor accident at Polis, Cyprus, whilst performing duty with the New South Wales Police component of the Australian Police Contingent of the United Nations Peace Keeping Force.

On 30th September, 1971, Sergeant Second Class William Watson Riley and Senior Constable Maurice Raymond McDiarmid, both then attached to Blacktown Police Station, were shot dead in a house at Toongabbie which they had entered to arrest a man who a short time before had murdered his brother and raped a woman in the same house.

A police funeral with full ceremonial honours was accorded these deceased officers at which appropriate tributes were paid.

In recognition of their outstanding courage Sergeant Riley and Senior Constable McDiarmid were posthumously promoted by me to Sergeant 1st Class and Sergeant 3rd Class respectively. In addition, I submitted recommendations to the Premier for favour of consideration of Royal Awards being granted in both cases.

To assist the widows of the deceased police the Premier approved the payment to each of them of the sum of $12,500 as a gratuity. This payment did not in any way affect their entitlements to payments under the provisions of the Police Regulation (Superannuation) Act.

Report to the Police Department for 1971 – printed 7 September 1972

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