Memorial: NSW Police force Service Memorial Wall, Sydney Police Centre, Surry Hills, F8 ( right wall )
Aaron Mark RYAN, 35 old, Regd. No. 46230 attached to Moree Station.
Aaron passed away on 04/07/2013 and his funeral is proposed to be held at 10.30am on Tuesday 16th Instant at the Richmond Room, 5 Regatta Avenue, BALLINA.
An off-duty police officer has died in a motorcycle crash on a private property north of Moree this afternoon.
Constable Aaron Ryan, 35, from Barwon Local Area Command died after crashing his motorcycle on the rural property off the Newell Highway around 25km north of Moree.
He died at the scene and investigations into the cause of the crash are continuing.
Barwon Local Area Commander, Superintendent Jenny Hayes said the command was struggling to come to grips with the loss.
“Aaron was a one of our finest young officers and he will be dearly missed by all,” Supt Hayes said.
“Since joining NSW Police in 2010, he had served as a general duties officer at Barwon Local Area Command.
“He was well-known and popular not only in the command but also within the local community – his death will affect everyone who knew him for a long time.
“His family have asked their privacy be respected and counselling is being provided to all those officers affected.”
TRIBUTES have piled in over Facebook from residents and the friends of Constable Aaron Ryan.
Constable Ryan died in a motorcycle crash on a private property north on Moree on Thursday afternoon.
The word spread quickly through Moree as Constable Ryan has served as a general duties officer at BAC since 2010.
Residents have written on the Barwon LAC Facebook page sharing their memories and deepest sympathies to Constable Ryan’s family, friends and his fellow work colleges.
“(It is) so sad that someone so young, with so much ahead of him was taken from our community. I pray for his family that they will find some peace in the knowledge that he was well-liked and respected in our community,” one local wrote.
Friends of Constable Ryan were quick to pay tribute and share their many happy memories together.
There were many nicknames and descriptions about Constable Ryan, with one friend describing him as a beautiful, kind and gentle soul.
“Good memories of a very funny guy from high school who grew into a lovely man. Rest in Peace Aaron, you will be sorely missed,” a friend wrote.
Another said “Hooter you made the biggest impact on so many people’s lives mate. Gunna miss every bit of it my mate. Never forgotten, rest in peace my brother.”
Barwon Local Area Commander, Superintendent Jenny Hayes said the command was struggling to come to grips with the loss.
“Aaron was a one of our finest young officers and he will be dearly missed by all,” Supt Hayes said.
“He was well-known and popular not only in the command but also within the local community – his death will affect everyone who knew him for a long time
“His family have asked their privacy be respected and counselling is being provided to all those officers affected.”
If you would like to pay tribute to Constable Ryan, comment below.
Western Region is mourning the loss of Constable Aaron Ryan, 35, from Barwon Local Area Command who died on 4 July after crashing his motorcycle on a rural property off the Newell Highway around 25km north of Moree. He died at the scene and investigations into the cause of the crash are continuing.
Barwon Local Area Commander, Superintendent Jenny Hayes said the command was struggling to come to grips with the loss.
“Aaron was a one of our finest young officers and he will be dearly missed by all,” Supt Hayes said.
“Since joining NSW Police in 2010, he had served as a general duties officer at Barwon Local Area Command.
“He was well-known and popular not only in the command but also within the local community – his death will affect everyone who knew him for a long time.
“His family have asked their privacy be respected and counselling is being provided to all those officers affected.”
A MOREE police officer, who was killed off-duty, has been remembered as a loving family man, who was full of life and from a policing family.
On Tuesday 16th July, police from Moree and around the state, as well as family and friends, farewelled Constable Aaron Ryan, 35, who was tragically killed in a motorbike accident on a farm north of Moree on July 4.
Dozens of Constable Ryan’s colleagues made the trip to Ballina for the final goodbye to the father-of-two, while about 50 police and emergency service officers paid their respects at a private service held at Moree Police Station yesterday morning.
Detective Senior Constable Greg Ryan released a statement to The Northern Daily Leader paying tribute to his brother, who had only been in the police force for two-and-a-half years.
16 July 2013
Peter Gordon WILSON
| 05/07/2013
Peter Gordon WILSON
Royal Air Force
Q8214472
New South Wales Police Force
aka Gordy
Regd. # 31925
Rank: Senior Constable
Stations: Brisbane Waters HWP
Service: From pre 13 February 1998 to 11 November 2006 = 8+ years Service
Awards: ?
Born: 12 July 1965
Died: 11 November 2006
Age: 41 old
Cause: Motor Vehicle Accident
Incident location: F3 Freeway, Somersby
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: Point Clare General Cemetery, Coolam Avenue, Point Clare. GPS 33 26′ 6″S / 151 18′ 44″E
Buried at: ?
Peter Gordon WILSON
Peter Gordon WILSON with Caitlin & Amy?
Peter Gordon WILSON with Amy, Caitlin & Callum
Peter Gordon WILSON – Grave
Point Clare General Cemetery, Coolam Avenue, Point Clare. GPS 33 26′ 6″S / 151 18′ 44″E
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On 11th November 2006 the senior constable was performing Highway Patrol traffic duties on the F3 Freeway at Somersby when he was struck by a passing motor vehicle, causing fatal injuries.
The senior constable was born in 1965 and was sworn in as a probationary constable on 13 February 1998. At the time of his death he was attached to the Brisbane Water Highway Patrol.
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Police officer killed on duty
AAP
November 12, 200612:00AM
A 41-YEAR-OLD police officer conducting speed checks on a busy freeway north of Sydney has died after being struck by a four-wheel drive vehicle.
Senior Constable Peter Gordon Wilson was on radar duty on the F3 Freeway at Somersby, on the NSW central coast, when he was hit by a Mitsubishi Pajero about 6.45pm (AEDT) yesterday.
Police are still investigating the incident, but believe the four-wheel-drive struck the officer after it was hit from behind by a black Toyota Hilux utility truck.
The Scottish-born officer and father-of-three suffered injuries from which he later died in Gosford Hospital.
NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney today paid tribute to Const Wilson, saying his death was a tragic reminder of the danger of police work.
“I’m deeply saddened to learn this tragic news and I extend my condolences to the family of the officer involved,” he said.
“All officers in the field face dangers every day and this is a tragic reminder of the very nature of police work.”
Const Wilson leaves behind a fiancee and three children aged between eight and 14.
Mr Moroney said a charity golf day which had been organised by the officer would still go ahead.
Const Wilson was attached to the Highway Patrol in the Brisbane Water Local Area Command.
No charges have yet been laid in relation to his death, but police have seized both vehicles for further investigations.
A report also is being prepared for the NSW coroner.
Const Wilson was the second police officer killed on the state’s roads yesterday, with a Queensland detective dying after a multi-vehicle crash south of Coffs Harbour on the NSW mid-north coast.
Detective Sergeant Stewart Kerlin, 42, was killed when two cars and a truck collided near Woolgoolga about 10am (AEDT).
Fellow officer 43-year-old Detective Senior Constable Paul Meese, who was in the same car, was injured and a 60-year-old woman passenger in the second car also was hurt.
Both were taken to Coffs Harbour Hospital, where they are in stable condition.
The two police officers were travelling in an unmarked car to a number of locations around NSW as part of a Queensland Police investigation.
TO MANY they would seem among the most mundane of police duties: manning a radar camera or getting motorists to take breath tests.
For Senior Constable Peter Gordon Wilson, 41, doing just that at one of the black spots on the fast-flowing F3 on the Central Coast was a necessary risk.
But in good visibility at 6.45pm on Saturday he was struck by a four-wheel-drive vehicle while manning a radar camera in a turning lane in the scrub-lined centre median strip.
Police investigations are continuing into the accident less than two kilometres north of the Somersby interchange, but it is believed the north-bound Mitsubishi Pajero was struck from behind by a black Toyota HiLux utility, causing it to veer across two lanes into the path of Senior Constable Wilson, who was manning the radar with another patrolman.
The sight of the officers in the emergency service vehicle turning gap had caused other motorists travelling in the 110kmh zone to brake for fear of receiving speeding tickets.
Senior Constable Wilson’s colleague escaped being struck and called for an ambulance, but the Scottish-born father of three – two daughters aged 14 and 8 and a son aged 11 – died in Gosford Hospital that night.
The death was the second for the Gosford-based Brisbane Water Highway Patrol in four years, the last that of Senior Constable Chris Thornton, 35, who died on April 13, 2002, during a pursuit in Woy Woy.
It was also the second death of a policeman in NSW within nine hours on Saturday, the first being that of Detective Sergeant Stewart Kerlin, 42, of the Queensland Homicide Squad.
He was killed in an accident on Saturday morning while travelling near Woolgoolga as part of an investigation into a Queensland case.
The families of both officers were offered and have accepted police funerals with full honours.
The Police Commissioner, Ken Moroney, said police would help get Senior Constable Wilson’s parents to Australia from Scotland for his funeral later this week.
Mr Moroney went to Gosford yesterday to meet Senior Constable Wilson’s distressed colleagues, his children, his former wife, Wendy, and his partner, Kylie.
Mr Moroney said Senior Constable Wilson, an officer of eight years, had organised a charity golf day to raise funds for children at Gosford Hospital this Wednesday. It will go ahead.
“I think the great strength that we draw as police is the great strength of the police family. I think that is doubled by the strength that comes from the general community,” Mr Moroney said.
(Ryde—Deputy Premier, Minister for Transport, and Minister for Police) [2.32 p.m.]: I know all members of this House will join me in offering heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and police colleagues of Senior Constable Peter Gordon Wilson. As the House is probably aware, Senior Constable Wilson, a police officer from the Brisbane Water Highway Patrol, died tragically on Saturday night while undertaking highway patrol duties on the F3. The death of Gordon, as he was known, is a distressing reminder to all of us of the dangers of police work. In working to keep the community safe, this dedicated officer paid with his life. There are few jobs that require people to face up to that kind of risk on a daily basis. We honour and admire all those in New South Wales who pull on the uniform every day, and I place on record my thanks to them all.
I understand that Gordon Wilson was a popular man, not only among his colleagues in the Brisbane Water Highway Patrol but in the community generally. He was an avid soccer enthusiast, and in recent weeks had devoted himself to organising a charity game between local police and firefighters. The game was to be a curtain raiser to a Central Coast A-League fixture, the proceeds of which Gordon had arranged to go to the children’s ward of Gosford Hospital. Gordon spent considerable time helping to organise the game using his characteristic energy, good humour and leadership to motivate others to take part. The game will be a huge success. It will also be a fitting tribute to a man who cared for his community, both on and off the job. On behalf of the people of New South Wales I say thank you to Gordon Wilson for his dedicated service. He will be laid to rest with full police honours on Friday at Gosford Anglican Church. On behalf of the House I extend sincere condolences to Gordon’s family, friends and colleagues. Their loss, personal and profound as it is, is felt by us all.
Mr CHRIS HARTCHER
(Gosford) [2.34 p.m.]: On behalf of all members of New South Wales Coalition, and on behalf of the citizens of Gosford, I pay tribute to Senior Constable Peter Gordon Wilson, who died last Saturday night on the F3 while serving the community. Senior Constable Wilson was born in Scotland and is survived by his fiancée, two daughters and a son. The children are aged between eight and 14. Known as Gordie, Senior Constable Wilson was attached to the highway patrol in the Brisbane Water Local Area Command and was stationed at Gosford. I did not have the privilege of knowing him personally, but he was well known to the shadow Minister for Police, the Hon. Michael Gallacher. Only three weeks ago Mike Gallacher met Peter Wilson at a function at the Mingara Recreation Club which was held in honour of the national servicemen who served our country.
That night Peter Wilson spoke extensively to Michael Gallacher about how proud he was of his family and of his involvement in Scottish highland dancing. He talked about the upcoming highland dance festival on the Central Coast, which is due to take place in 2007, and his involvement in organising the festival, which will be attended by thousands of people from all over the world. He spoke also of his great pride and support for the Hibernian Soccer Team, which is based in Edinburgh. I note that the New South Wales Commissioner of Police has said that a charity golf day, which had been organised by Peter, will still go ahead. We have all lost a fine police officer. The people of the Central Coast and the community of New South Wales have lost a fine man. May he rest in peace.
Members and officers of the House stood in their places.
TWO days before he was killed on duty, New South Wales police officer Peter Gordon Wilson told his three children he was going to remarry.
Senior Constable Wilson, 41, had dated girlfriend Kylie McFarland on and off for seven years and the pair had recently chosen a wedding ring.
Before he went to work last Saturday, the couple went through their normal routine, which made her feel more secure about the dangers he faced as a highway patrol officer, Ms McFarland told more than 1000 mourners at the Gosford Anglican church today.
He kissed her and told her he loved her before she said “take care and stay safe”.
The Scottish-born officer was killed later that day while making speed checks on the F3 at Somersby, north of Sydney, when he was hit by a four-wheel drive vehicle.
Today’s congregation, which included police officers from as far away as Tasmania, was told it was his favourite stretch of road.
When he died in Gosford Hospital later that night, his 11-year-old son Callum turned to Ms McFarland and said he also wanted to be a police officer.
Ms McFarland today said she felt most pained for his children, including Caitlin, 14, and Amy 8, and his parents Bill and Elma and sister Hazel.
As for herself, she would miss the little things.
“No one can say my name like he can,” she said.
NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney, who visited Ms McFarland on Sunday, Police Minister John Watkins and Opposition police spokesman John Gallacher were among the mourners.
The congregation was told Snr Const Wilson, known as Gordy to his mates, served 12 years with the Royal Air Force before moving to Australia.
He became a probationary police constable in February 1998 and joined the highway patrol about four years later.
Mr Moroney posthumously awarded Snr Const Wilson the NSW Police Medal for his work during a collision involving 34 cars in Calga in October 2004.
“Senior Constable Peter Gordon Wilson was the type of professional police officer that we could ill afford to lose,” the commissioner said.
Uniformed officers, who stood with their heads bowed during the service, later lined the closed street outside the church.
Snr Const Wilson’s colleagues acted as pall bearers and wept openly as his casket was driven from the church past hundreds of officers, who saluted as it passed.
A highway patrol officer knocked down and killed while conducting speed checks has been posthumously awarded the NSW police medal.
Senior Constable Peter Gordon Wilson, 41, was operating speed checks on the F3 at Somersby, north of Sydney, when he was run over by a four-wheel drive vehicle on Saturday.
The Scottish-born officer and father of three died later in Gosford Hospital. He had been in the force for 10 years.
Police Commissioner Ken Moroney announced that Const Wilson would receive the honour during the officer’s funeral in Gosford.
More than 1,000 people packed into the Gosford Anglican church to farewell the policeman, who was known as Gordy.
Const Wilson’s fiancee Kylie McFarland and one of his two daughters, Caitlin Wilson, gave eulogies during the service.
Mr Moroney presented the medal to Const Wilson’s son Callum and his parents, who were flown in from Scotland.
The congregation, which included officers from Surry Hills in Sydney’s inner city to Tasmania, was told the award was presented for his excellent work during a collision involving 35 vehicles in Calga on October 22, 2004.
“Senior Constable Peter Gordon Wilson was the type of professional police officer that we could ill afford to lose,” Mr Moroney said.
“I’m honoured to announce that I have, with agreement from the minister of police, (given) the posthumous award for the NSW police medal to Peter.”
With hats under their left arm and heads bowed, many uniformed officers listened to Ms McFarland recount the routine she shared with her fiance before he went to work.
She said they would spend time together before he kissed her and told her that he loved her. Her reply would be “take care, stay safe”.
Such a routine, she said, made her feel more secure about his role as a highway patrol officer.
Ms McFarland thanked police, including Mr Moroney who visited her on Sunday morning, for attending the service.
Their 11-year-old son Callum, she said, had turned to her at Gosford Hospital soon after his father died and announced that he too wanted to be a police officer.
At the conclusion of the service, uniformed officers and detectives dressed in black suits stood on either side of the closed road outside the church and saluted as Const Wilson’s coffin was driven to the cemetery.
Seven police officers who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving the Australian community will have their names added to the National Police Memorial in a ceremony in Canberra today.
Touch-stones will be added to the memorial for the following officers who have died on duty in the past year:
Detective Sergeant Stewart Kerlin – Queensland Police Service
Constable Brett Irwin – Queensland Police Service
Constable Damien Murphy – Western Australia Police
Senior Constable Peter Wilson – NSW Police Force
Federal Agent Mark Scott – Australian Federal Police
Commander Brice Steele – Australian Federal Police
The touch-stones will be illuminated for the first time during the National Police Remembrance Day service. The service is an annual event involving police from all over Australia and the Pacific nations.
The National Police Memorial was opened last year with the names of 719 fallen officers inscribed on brass touch-stones – with their date and place of death – distributed randomly across the wall.
The memorial honours all police killed on duty, dating back to the 1803 death of Constable Joseph Luker in Sydney. National Police Remembrance Day is also the feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel, renowned as a fighter of evil and also the Patron Saint of Police.
National Police Remembrance Day will commence with a dawn service at Queanbeyan, where the NSW Police Chaplain will bless the seven touch-stones. The main service will be held from 5pm at Wendouree Drive, Kings Park, Canberra.
Senior Constable Peter Wilson passed away on 11 November 2006 – New South Wales Police Force
Senior Constable Peter Gordon Wilson joined the New South Wales Police Force as a student police officer on 18 May 1997 and was promoted to constable in early 1999 and a senior constable in 2002.
Senior Constable Wilson was dedicated to ensuring road safety and the implementation of associated traffic law enforcement programs. He was an outstanding example to others to follow in the best traditions of professional policing, courage and commitment.
Senior Constable Wilson was awarded the prestigious New South Wales Police Medal in recognition of his integrity and diligence, not only to the police force but to the people of New South Wales. After 10 years in the service, Senior Constable Wilson was killed on duty by a motor vehicle in November 2006.
His enthusiasm, professionalism and personal efforts as a very dedicated highway patrol officer will never be forgotten by the New South Wales Police Force.
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Coroner recommends overhaul of police radar checks
The death of a New South Wales police officer in a roadside accident three years ago has prompted a coroner to recommend an overhaul of the way radar speed checks are carried out.
Forty-one-year-old senior constable Peter Gordon Wilson was killed when he was struck by a four-wheel-drive while carrying out hand held radar checks in November 2006.
The accident happened on a blackspot of the F3 on the New South Wales central coast.
In handing down his inquest findings today, deputy state coroner Hugh Dillon said police speed checks on foot are extremely dangerous and that should have ben recognised by management well before the accident.
Thirteen recommendations have been made including the elimination of speeding operations by police on foot on multi lane roads, where the limit is greater than 80 kilometres an hour.
REST IN PEACE SENIOR CONSTABLE Peter Gordon WILSON 11 November 2006 NSW Police
TO MANY they would seem among the most mundane of police duties: manning a radar camera or getting motorists to take breath tests.
For Senior Constable Peter Gordon Wilson, 41, doing just that at one of the black spots on the fast-flowing F3 on the Central Coast was a necessary risk.
But in good visibility at 6.45pm on Saturday he was struck by a four-wheel-drive vehicle while manning a radar camera in a turning lane in the scrub-lined centre median strip.
Police investigations are continuing into the accident less than two kilometres north of the Somersby interchange, but it is believed the north-bound Mitsubishi Pajero was struck from behind by a black Toyota HiLux utility, causing it to veer across two lanes into the path of Senior Constable Wilson, who was manning the radar with another patrolman.
The sight of the officers in the emergency service vehicle turning gap had caused other motorists travelling in the 110kmh zone to brake for fear of receiving speeding tickets.
Senior Constable Wilson’s colleague escaped being struck and called for an ambulance, but the Scottish-born father of three – two daughters aged 14 and 8 and a son aged 11 – died in Gosford Hospital that night.
The death was the second for the Gosford-based Brisbane Water Highway Patrol in four years, the last that of Senior Constable Chris Thornton, 35, who died on April 13, 2002, during a pursuit in Woy Woy.
It was also the second death of a policeman in NSW within nine hours on Saturday, the first being that of Detective Sergeant Stewart Kerlin, 42, of the Queensland Homicide Squad
‘Our boys haven’t been forgotten’: Policemen honoured in Brisbane Water row
September 15, 2015 3:16pm
Geraldine Cardozo Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate
(L-R) Sarah Matthews, Kylie Kerr and Tracey Holt remember their police officer partners at Gosford waterfront. Brisbane Water LAC officers will be taking to the water in honour of the policemen.
When Sarah Matthews returned home after her shift at Gosford Hospital on the evening of April 13, 2002 and spotted a row of waiting police cars she thought the neighbours were having a noisy party.
“It never struck me what was coming next,” remembers the emergency nurse who was told the worst — her fiance Senior-Constable Chris Thornton had been killed on duty hours earlier.
“It didn’t hit me. Even when I was told. I don’t think that’s something that ever leaves you.”
This week Miss Matthews, Kylie Kerr and Tracey Holt will get together to remember their partners, Sen-Constable Thornton, Sen-Constable Peter Gordon Wilson and Sergeant Richard Whittaker, who all died on duty while with the Brisbane Water Local Area Command.
(L-R) Brisbane Water Inspector Paul Nicholls, Tracey Holt, Brisbane Water Commander Daniel Sullivan, Sarah Matthews and Kylie Kerr at Gosford Waterfront ahead of the NSW Police Legacy row. Picture: Mark Scott
On Thursday officers from Brisbane Water LAC will take part in a paddle to raise money for NSW Police Legacy to support the families of fallen officers.
“You never want to be a part of Legacy but now we are part of this unique group and without Legacy we wouldn’t have each other,” Miss Matthews said.
But for two of the women, the close bond was forged by their shared loss and haunting similarities in how their partners lost their lives.
Sen-Constable Thornton, 35, died in a motor vehicle accident while on patrol in Woy Woy in 2002, while Mrs Kerr’s long-term partner Sen-Constable Wilson, 41, was killed when he was hit by a car while carrying out speed checks on the M1 at Somersby in 2006.
Both men were based at Brisbane Water LAC, both died in car accidents on a Saturday night, and both had the same patrol car number — 202.
Senior Constable Peter Gordon Wilson with fiance Kylie Kerr.
“This special event means our boys haven’t been forgotten,” Miss Matthews said, adding that the support of Legacy has enabled her to move on. “You have to take that step forward. You can’t be angry, because that just eats away at you.”
Senior Constable Chris Thornton was killed on duty during a high-speed pursuit at Woy Woy in 2002.
“This special event means our boys haven’t been forgotten,” Miss Matthews said, adding that the support of Legacy has enabled her to move on. “You have to take that step forward. You can’t be angry, because that just eats away at you.”
“This special event means our boys haven’t been forgotten,” Miss Matthews said, adding that the support of Legacy has enabled her to move on. “You have to take that step forward. You can’t be angry, because that just eats away at you.”
Mrs Holt, whose husband Sgt Whittaker was stationed at the Gosford drug unit and was involved in drug investigations at the time of his death when he died from a brain haemorrhage in 1991, said the annual paddle is a “beautiful day”. “It is amazing the effort Daniel Sullivan and the team put in to keep the memory going of old work mates and have a good time doing it,” she said.
Sergeant Richard Whittaker who died on duty with Brisbane Water Local Area Command in 1991. Picture: Supplied
On 4 April, 2005 Constable Lees was driving along the Federal Highway, just south of Goulburn, on his way to Queanbeyan Police Station to commence duty. As his vehicle was negotiating a series of bends at Yarra, the vehicle left the roadway and collided with a tree, fatally injuring the constable.
The constable was born in 1967 and was sworn in as a probationary constable on 20 December, 2002. At the time of his death he was stationed at Queanbeyan.
How lucky we were and very proud too, to have such a wonderful son as you.
This day is remembered and quietly kept, for the memories of you Graeme, we will never forget.
So deeply loved, so sadly missed Mum & Dad
Published in Goulburn Post on Apr. 3, 2019
His light will always shine
6/04/2005 10:39:38 AM
ONE of the city’s shining lights and a mentor within the police community has lost his life in a single-vehicle accident on the Federal Highway on Monday morning.
Constable Graeme John Lees‘ death has shocked and saddened the Goulburn community who knew him as a loyal and caring person, an accomplished cricketer and hockey player, a tall man with a big heart and an easy going nature.
The 37-year-old was travelling from his Eastgrove home to work at Queanbeyan police station on Monday when his car left a straight section of the southbound lane of the Federal Highway, 1km north of Rowes Lagoon, at about 5am.
His light-coloured Commodore sedan careered down a slight embankment and crashed into a tree in a paddock on the western side of the road. Police said he was killed instantly.
A motorist discovered the accident and contacted emergency services shortly after 6am.
A full investigation by the Dapto crash investigation unit is underway for the NSW coroner.
Goulburn born and bred, Mr Lees was the only son of John and Diana Lees of Kelso St, sister to Michelle and a loving father. He attended Goulburn South Primary and Goulburn High schools and worked in several jobs before training as a psychiatric nurse.
He was a giant in the local sporting community, having played through the local and representative hockey and cricket ranks, forming enduring friendships along the way.
Graeme LEES passed away in Goulburn, New South Wales. The obituary was featured in Goulburn Post on April 1, 2019.
There’s not a day goes by that I don’t think of you!
You would so proud of the boys.
What an AMAZING guy you were & the lessons you taught me along the way!
And although our marriage didn’t work I was so very lucky that we ended up with a beautiful friendship that makes me smile when I get to sad!
I miss you!
Love Always
A police officer has died in an car accident in southern New South Wales early this morning.
Constable Graeme John Lees, 37, died when the car he was driving crashed into a tree off the Federal Highway, south-west of Goulburn.
Constable Lees was on his way to work at Queanbeyan police station.
He leaves behind a partner and two children.
Inspector Ian Davey from Queanbeyan police says Constable Less was a valued member of the force.
“He surely will be missed, he’s the type of person that we certainly do like to see in the police force and he was very well respected by his colleagues,” he said.
“He’s certainly a great and valued member of the police who will be lost and thought of dearly.”
Constable Lees’ colleagues are being counselled.
Police officer to be farewelled today
A police officer who died in a car accident in the NSW Southern Tablelands will be farewelled today.
Constable Graeme John Lees, 37, died on his way to work on Monday when his car left the Federal Highway and hit a tree near Collector.
Constable Lees’ colleagues have paid tribute to him, remembering a dedicated officer who had a promising career.
A police funeral will be held this afternoon at the Anglican St Saviours Cathedral in Goulburn.
Four people, including a police officer, were killed in separate crashes on NSW roads over a 24-hour period.
One woman died when her car ran off the road and hit a tree south-west of Sydney.
The NSW Ambulance Service said the woman, whose age was not known, died instantly when her vehicle crashed on Mount Hercules Road at Razorback, near Picton, about 5.50pm (AEST).
Passers-by pulled the woman from her wrecked car before it burst into flames, but she was already dead, an ambulance spokesman said.
The woman was the vehicle’s only occupant.
Earlier, a 59-year-old female British tourist was killed when the car in which she was travelling collided with a truck in southern NSW about 11.45am (AEST).
The vehicle veered onto the wrong side of the Monaro Highway at Bredbo and into the path of the truck, a police spokeswoman said.
The driver of the car, a 67-year-old man from the United Kingdom, was being treated in Canberra Hospital after suffering serious fractures in the crash.
A NSW police officer died in a single-vehicle crash in the state’s south.
Constable Graeme John Lees was believed to have been on his way to work at Queanbeyan police station when the crash occurred about 6am (AEST) today, a police spokesman said.
It appeared the sedan he was driving left the Federal Highway at Rowes Lagoon and crashed into a tree, the spokesman said.
A motorist found the crashed vehicle and called emergency services.
Monaro local area commander Gary Worboys said the news of the 37-year-old officer’s death had devastated police.
“Constable Lees was an outstanding police officer who was well liked by his colleagues and he will be sadly missed,” Superintendent Worboys said in a statement today.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends.”
Support systems were in place to help grieving officers and family members, Supt Worboys said.
Constable Lees, who lived in the Goulburn area with his family, started work with the Monaro local area command in December 2002.
He worked previously at the Goulburn Base Hospital.
And police are appealing for witnesses to a fatal single vehicle collision at Bellevue Hill at about 1.30am this morning.
A maroon 1994 Hyundai Hatchback travelling north on Old South Head Road hit a power pole near the intersection of Banksia Street.
The 57-year-old male driver from Vaucluse was taken to St Vincents Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Anyone with information about the incident, or the events leading up to the fatal collision, is asked to contact Rose Bay Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
That this House expresses its deep sympathy to the family, friends and work colleagues of Police Constable Graeme John Lees who died in a single vehicle accident on the Federal Highway on 4 April 2005 while driving to Queanbeyan Police Station.
Service: From 30 August 2002 to 19 June 2004 = 1+ years of Service
Awards: Nil
Born: ? ? 1977
Died on: Saturday 19 June 2004
Cause: Motor Vehicle Accident – passenger in Police sedan. Vehicle -v- tree
Event location: Sydney Rd, Goulburn East, approx. 300 mtrs prior to Hume Hwy entrance.
Age: 27
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: Cremated at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Camden Valley Way, Leppington.
Ashes collected by family.
Memorial at: Small car park on north side of north bound lane upon Sydney Rd, Goulburn East a few hundred metres from the Hume Hwy.
Plaque on a bolder.
The ” original memorial ” was a large gum tree in between the north and south bound lanes – opposite the car park.
The tree was lopped to ground level about 2013.
Tree location: Lat: -34.74257
Long: 149.76721
On the 19 June 2004 Constable Davis was the observer in a police vehicle when it was involved in a motor vehicle accident on the Sydney Road, just north of Goulburn. As a result of the accident the constable sustained fatal injuries.
The constable was born in 1977 and was sworn in as a probationary constable on the 30 August 2002. At the time of her death she was stationed at Goulburn.
SHELLEY IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra
Touch plate at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra
This Memorial stone is located in a small car park siding on Sydney Rd, Goulburn, northbound towards the Hume Freeway from the city.
Photos taken, by Cal, on 24 April 2018. Note that the photo, of Shelley, had fallen from the plaque pre June 2017 and needs replacing.
GPS: -34.74226 149.76644
Note: The photo of Shelley Davis fell off her Memorial plaque pre June 2017 & still needs replacing. Photo taken 24 April 2018. As of 29 July 2018 there was still no ceramic plate attached. On 31 July 2018 a photo was sent to a ceramic business for this job to be done. Wednesday 12 September 2018 – the new ceramic photo plate ( below ) has been received and will be placed on the memorial plate ( above ) before Police Remembrance Day, 29 September 2018.
Many thanks to Paul Pepe, Necro Imaging, 11 Bruce St, West Preston, Vic. ( necroimaging@hotmail.com ) for doing the new ceramic photo plate below.
Memorial before the replacement of the photo on Tuesday 18 September 2018.
Memorial after the replacement of the photo on Tuesday 18 September 2018.
The way the Memorial plaque should have looked as soon as the damage was reported 15 months ago. Those that complained about Cal picking up the damaged porcelain photo from Goulburn – you had 15 months to have it replaced. I did it in ONE MONTH and didn’t even know the girl. Shame on those who complained.
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A small section of St John Of God, Richmond Hospital, where Police ( and others ) with PTSD have gone for Inpatient Treatment.
This is a small Memorial that previous patients ( Police ) have done to remember our friends who have fallen before us. The Black & Dark Blue Memorial stones are by Army members
WEDNESDAY 27 JULY 2005. MEMORIAL SITE AT THE TREE AGAINST WHICH CONSTABLE SHELLEY DAVIS, FROM GOULBURN POLICE STATION, LOST HER LIFE ONE NIGHT WHEN THE POLICE SEDAN SHE WAS A PASSENGER IN SLAMMED SIDEWAYS INTO THIS TREE – KILLING SHELLEY. THIS IS A HUGE TRIBUTE. I FOUND A 20 CENT PIECE ON THE GROUND AT THE BASE OF THE TREE. IT WAS COVERED IN BROWN (DRY BLOOD) AND WOULD HAVE OBVIOUSLY COME FROM THE CAR AND POSSIBLY BELONGED TO ONE OF THE OCCUPANTS. I KEPT THIS COIN. IT WAS RAINING ON THE NIGHT OF THIS ACCIDENT. SOMETIME IN 2010, THIS TREE AND THE GIFTS WERE TOTALLY REMOVED FROM THIS LOCATION. A ‘STONE’ MEMORIAL, WITH PLAQUE, WAS LATER LAID IN THE CAR PARK ADJACENT TO THIS TREE. I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAS BECOME OF THE PHOTOS, PRAYERS ETC BUT THE TREE HAS BEEN TOTALLY REMOVED FROM THE LOCATION ALSO.
Police crash scandal
By Rhett Watson
The Daily Telegraph
July 06, 200712:00AM
THE Deputy State Coroner has recommended the DPP investigate laying charges over the death of a police officer killed when the patrol car in which she was a passenger crashed three years ago.
The coronial inquest into the death of Constable Shelley Davis heard her partner, Senior-Constable Paul Sharman, was doing up to 110km/h in an 80km/h zone when he lost control of the vehicle on a road just outside Goulburn on June 19, 2004.
Criminal charges layed against him soon after the crash failed a year ago due to a technicality.
In releasing her findings in Glebe Coroners Court yesterday, Deputy State Coroner Dorelle Pinch recommended the DPP investigate laying charges “against an individual”.
Davis’ mother, Diane, said she was “pleased” the matter had been referred to the DPP and praised the efforts of investigators.
During the hearing last month, Mrs Davis read out a submission where she accused Sen-Constable Sharman of being a “cowboy cop, reckless, irresponsible and dishonest”.
Mrs Davis said outside court yesterday her family had visited Sen-Constable Sharman twice since her daughter’s death to support him but had never received an apology.
“That’s the main thing we would have wanted from the beginning – the truth, with an apology, would have been good,” Mrs Davis said.
“Shelley was always so honest and yet we have got officers she worked with who didn’t hold those values.”
Ms Pinch was highly critical of a second officer – Constable Damien Ottley – who had been a witness to the crash but had initially lied to investigators.
The inquest heard that Const Davis and Sen-Constable Sharman were travelling in police sedan Goulburn 37 – under lights and sirens – when the crash occurred at 9am on June 19.
Ms Pinch found there was no reason for them to be speeding as they were not needed at the job they were heading to – nor was that job considered urgent in the first place.
Other evidence heard in the inquest revealed that one witness described Goulburn 37’s speed as so fast “they were flying”.
Sen-Constable Sharman did not give evidence to the inquest.
A PERMANENT memorial has been dedicated to honour the “ray of sunshine”, Constable Shelley Davis, who died seven years ago last Sunday.
About 25 friends, former work colleagues and senior personnel from the Goulburn Local Area Command where Shelley worked attended the dedication ceremony last Sunday at the rest area opposite the site where she died in a patrol car accident on June 19, 2004.
Celebrant Trish Cunningham ( R.I.P. ) – whose husband Tony had helped with creating the memorial, fixing the plaque to the rock – conducted the brief ceremony. The rock for the memorial was transported from retired sergeant Rosie Jackson’s property by Primmer’s Towing while Rhod Stevens from the RTA assisted in the positioning of the site.
Local Area Commander, Superintendent Gary Worboys reminded everyone that police work is difficult and dangerous and the decisions that officers make can have lasting effects on other people. He said Shelley was, according to those who knew her, “like a ray of sunshine warming the hearts of those around her”.
“She was a dedicated officer and her loss was a tragedy,” Supt Worboys said.
“We can only hope that the lessons of that day will be learnt and that a similar tragedy will never happen again.”
Rosie Jackson said she would also like to thank Shane Biesterveld of Rudd Funerals for organising the plaque at short notice; Shepherds Hill Nursery who supplied some of the plants for the garden; Lena Cooper who helped with creating the garden, and everyone else who had a part in making the memorial possible.
Supt Worboys suggested the memorial would be a fitting place for a service during the annual Police Remembrance Day.
In memoriam: Constable Shelley Leanne DAVIS, New South Wales Police, killed on 19th June 2004
On the 19 June 2004 Constable Davis was the observer in a police vehicle when it was involved in a motor vehicle accident on the Sydney Road, just north of Goulburn. As a result of the accident, the constable sustained fatal injuries.
The constable was born in 1977 and was sworn in as a probationary constable on the 30 August 2002. At the time of her death she was stationed at Goulburn.
When Constable Davis began her Diploma of Policing Practice at the New South Wales Police College at Goulburn in August 2001 she did not know that the Southern Highlands would become her home in the longer term. She was stationed at Goulburn police station in August 2002 and settled at nearby Hill Top. Constable Davis made clear her motivation for joining NSW Police in a story published in the Goulburn Post to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Police College.
She said: “It may sound a little clichéd, but I wanted a job where I could make a difference, that was not boring and where I could challenge my boundaries.”
Constable Shelley Davis made the ultimate sacrifice in the course of the job that she loved. Shelley lived in Hill Top with her partner in life. She moved there so that she could continue to work in and be within commuting distance of her beloved Goulburn. Her colleagues described her as a bubbly, outgoing, lovely girl who loved to do everything, including horse riding and running, and she never had a bad word to say about anyone.
Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said that Constable Shelley Davis was, according to those who knew her, “like a ray of sunshine warming the hearts of those around her. She was a dedicated officer and her loss was a tragedy.”
Fallen in the line of duty. Gone, but never forgotten and forever in our hearts.
Kylie Anne MACKIE (nee SMITH)
| 05/07/2013
Kylie Anne MACKIE (nee SMITH)
New South Wales Police Force
NSW Police Academy Class 260
Regd. # ?
Rank: Constable
Stations: Casino – death
Service: From 20 November 1994to 3 February 2003 = ? years Service
Awards: Nil find on It’s An Honour
Born: ? ? ?
Died on: 3 February 2003
Cause: Motor Vehicle Accident – travelling to work
Event location: South Lismore
Age: ?
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: Cremated at Lismore Memorial Gardens. Interred there. Area 6, Bed 5 Lot 166A
Memorial location: Casino Police Station. One memorial is located in the front counter area and there is also a memorial in the Detectives office where Kylie’s widowed husband is the Detective Sergeant in Charge.
There is also a Rose bush in the front garden of the police station with a Police Memorial Plaque in Memory of Kylie.
[alert_green]KYLIE SMITH IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]
About 9.15am on 3 February, 2003 the constable was driving to work at the Casino Police Station when her vehicle was involved in a traffic accident. She was conveyed to the Lismore Base Hospital but passed away shortly before arrival.
At the time of her death the constable was stationed at Casino.
Barry and Freada Thornton with their son Chris at his graduation in 1987
Touch plate for Chris Thornton at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra.
About 6.10pm on 13 April, 2002 the senior constable was driving a Highway Patrol vehicle in Hillview Street, Woy Woy. When the vehicle reached the intersection of Nambucca Drive, it collided with another vehicle before leaving the roadway and hitting a power pole. Senior Constable Thornton sustained extensive injuries and died at the scene of the accident.
The constable was born in 1966 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 7 August, 1987. At the time of his death he was attached to the Brisbane Water Highway Patrol.
Christopher IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
Location of collision:
The cross we made for you and put in still looks as beautiful today as when we first placed it. I will always miss you my brother from another mother. I will miss sharing our birthdays together and miss your stupid sense of humor, love you always “Plod”. Miss you forever! X Sim McCarthy – NSW Fallen Police FB Group. 19 April 2017
In April 2002, Senior Constable Chris Thornton was involved in a pursuit of a speeding motorist when his vehicle was struck by another vehicle that failed to stop. Thornton died as a result of the injuries received when his vehicle collided with a pole. The offending vehicle was located and the driver arrested and charged.
Lean on me … grieving colleagues comfort each other. Photo: Liam Driver
Police officers were again united in grief yesterday in mourning one of their own for the second time in less than two weeks.
Newcastle’s Christ Church Cathedral was a sea of blue as hundreds of officers remembered Senior Constable Chris Thornton, 35, killed when his patrol car crashed into a power pole in Woy Woy last Saturday.
After the service, police lined both sides of the road to form a guard of honour as hundreds more, including acting Commissioner Ken Moroney, marched to the sombre beat of a drum.
A 56-year-old man has been charged in relation to the incident, which has rocked the force just weeks after Constable Glenn McEnallay was shot dead in a car chase in Sydney.
Many officers at yesterday’s service had donned their dress uniforms on April 9 for Constable McEnallay‘s funeral.
The Police Minister, Michael Costa, was at yesterday’s service, slipping quietly in and out of the cathedral, almost unnoticed among the crowd of more than 1000.
Mr Moroney used the occasion to call for public support.
“While nothing can make up for his passing, the heartfelt reaction of the communities Chris grew up in, then later served, will mean his death was not in vain,” Mr Moroney said.
“It has also made people realise the extraordinary work our police do in creating a safer society.”
His words were echoed by the Anglican Dean of Newcastle, the Very Rev Graeme Lawrence, who called on society to renew its respect for members of the police.
“In some ways that word is an old-fashioned concept, but one we would do well to revive,” he said.
“As a person and a police officer, Chris earned that respect, admiration and affection.”
Senior Constable Thornton‘s partner of six years, Sarah Matthews, stood alongside Dean Lawrence in the street as the hearse moved slowly away to the beat of the drum.
Earlier she had wept as close friend John Kinney told the gathering how “Thorno” had paid the ultimate price of police service.
“He swerved to miss another vehicle and chose to risk himself for another person, paying the ultimate price for his courage and honour,” Mr Kinney said.
“To me that is Christopher John Thornton, my mate, a man anyone would be proud to say they knew.”
North metropolitan region police commander, assistant commissioner Bob Waites, has described the death of senior constable Chris Thornton on April 13 as “devastating”.
“His death has had a dramatic effect on his colleagues, more so, because he was one of the first people to offer help to workmates after hours, and also at work,” assistant commissioner Waites said.
“I had the pleasure and honour of knowing Chris personally.
“He was a person who loved to have a good time, while also having a lot of common sense,” he said.
Senior Constable Thornton, who lived with his partner of six years, Sarah, attended the Police College at Goulburn in 1987.
Since his graduation that same year, Senior Constable Thornton had worked within the Brisbane Water Command, initially as a general duties officer, before joining highway patrol in 1989.
Ten of his 15 years as a policeman were spent working as a highway patrol officer.
Senior Constable Thornton was travelling north along Hillview St in Woy Woy about 6.10pm on Saturday, April 13, when the marked vehicle he was driving crashed into a power pole.
The 35-year-old police officer died at the scene as a result of his injuries.
A 56-year-old man, Leonard Allan Rowley, has been charged with several driving offences in connection with the accident.
Commissioner Peter Ryan and Deputy Commissioner Operations Dave Madden attended the scene on the night of the accident.
The pole on Hillview St where Senior Constable Thornton was killed.
The New South Wales Opposition has called on the Attorney-General to override the Director of Public Prosecutions and launch an appeal against a sentence given to the driver of a car that hit and killed a highway patrol officer.
Leonard Allan Rowley walked free after receiving a two-year suspended sentence for an incident that claimed the life of Senior Constable Chris Thornton in his highway patrol car on Hillview Street in Woy Woy.
Opposition leader John Brogden says, given that Rowley had been drinking, was unlicensed and fled the scene, it is unacceptable that the DPP will not lodge an appeal.
The patrol officer’s widow Sarah Matthews says it is an insult and urges the Attorney-General to step in.
“It astounds me,” Ms Matthews said.
“This is a legal system that Chris believed in, he stood behind and he enforced every day and now it’s let him down.”
Alone in his patrol car, Chris Thornton had the police siren flashing as he chased a white sedan through Woy Woy.
Thornton, 35, a highway patrolman, had been in the force for 15 years. He was, his mother says, “the best driver I have ever seen”.
The reason for the chase that night in April 2002 is unknown. Both cars were seen travelling at high speed. Thornton was about 50 metres behind.
Meanwhile, Leonard Rowley, 56, an unlicensed driver, was driving to his local KFC to pick up dinner. He saw the first car flash past and judged – wrongly – that he had time to turn out in front of the patrol car. Thornton tried to avoid Rowley’s car but clipped the back, veered onto the wrong side of the road and hit a power pole.
Thornton died on the spot, which is marked by a permanent stainless-steel cross. Rowley later received a suspended two-year sentence.
“His life from the age of 12 was about helping people,” says Thornton’s mother, Freada Thornton. “He was in the surf club and he was there to rescue people and then he went into the force and he was doing the same thing.” His father, Barry Thornton, says: “He loved life. He had been in Gosford for 15 years and was so popular with the community there.”
Police pursuits are, says Barry, a necessary evil: “If they don’t catch the criminals there will be more deaths on the roads. The ones that they’re in pursuit of are the idiots that have done the wrong thing to start with.”
But pursuits have come at a cost to the NSW Police Department. Fifteen officers have died as a result of high-speed chases, beginning with the death of Constable George Boore in 1937.
Details provided by the NSW Police Association show a steady stream of fatalities involving cars and motorcycles. The full list of casualties is as follows:
FREADA and Barry Thornton’s hearts skipped a beat when they heard about the death of young detective Will Crews.
It may be nearly nine years since their son Chris Thornton was killed on duty, but the Blackalls Park couple said it still felt like yesterday.
“You learn to try and get on with your life, you have to,” Mrs Thornton said yesterday.
“But it is a shock.
“Another one, another young life. So, so young.”
Mrs Thornton said her heart went out to Senior Constable Crews’s family as they attempt to deal with the loss.
“We know what it is like and we know it took us four or five years before we could get ourselves going again,” she said.
“We just couldn’t do anything for years, it gutted us.”
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Senior Constable Thornton was in pursuit at Woy Woy on April 13, 2002, when his vehicle hit a power pole, killing him.
The Thorntons will attend another police remembrance day at the end of this month, like they have done every year since that day. The honour roll read out at the Christ Church Cathedral service will contain another name this year.
‘Our boys haven’t been forgotten’: Policemen honoured in Brisbane Water row
September 15, 2015 3:16pm
Geraldine Cardozo Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate
(L-R) Sarah Matthews, Kylie Kerr and Tracey Holt remember their police officer partners at Gosford waterfront. Brisbane Water LAC officers will be taking to the water in honour of the policemen.
When Sarah Matthews returned home after her shift at Gosford Hospital on the evening of April 13, 2002 and spotted a row of waiting police cars she thought the neighbours were having a noisy party.
“It never struck me what was coming next,” remembers the emergency nurse who was told the worst — her fiancé Senior-Constable Chris Thornton had been killed on duty hours earlier.
“It didn’t hit me. Even when I was told. I don’t think that’s something that ever leaves you.”
This week Miss Matthews, Kylie Kerr and Tracey Holt will get together to remember their partners, Sen-Constable Thornton, Sen-Constable Peter Gordon Wilson and Sergeant Richard Whittaker, who all died on duty while with the Brisbane Water Local Area Command.
(L-R) Brisbane Water Inspector Paul Nicholls, Tracey Holt, Brisbane Water Commander Daniel Sullivan, Sarah Matthews and Kylie Kerr at Gosford Waterfront ahead of the NSW Police Legacy row. Picture: Mark Scott
On Thursday officers from Brisbane Water LAC will take part in a paddle to raise money for NSW Police Legacy to support the families of fallen officers.
“You never want to be a part of Legacy but now we are part of this unique group and without Legacy we wouldn’t have each other,” Miss Matthews said.
But for two of the women, the close bond was forged by their shared loss and haunting similarities in how their partners lost their lives.
Sen-Constable Thornton, 35, died in a motor vehicle accident while on patrol in Woy Woy in 2002, while Mrs Kerr’s long-term partner Sen-Constable Wilson, 41, was killed when he was hit by a car while carrying out speed checks on the M1 at Somersby in 2006.
Both men were based at Brisbane Water LAC, both died in car accidents on a Saturday night, and both had the same patrol car number — 202.
Senior Constable Peter Gordon Wilson with fiancé Kylie Kerr.
“This special event means our boys haven’t been forgotten,” Miss Matthews said, adding that the support of Legacy has enabled her to move on. “You have to take that step forward. You can’t be angry, because that just eats away at you.”
Senior Constable Chris Thornton was killed on duty during a high-speed pursuit at Woy Woy in 2002.
“This special event means our boys haven’t been forgotten,” Miss Matthews said, adding that the support of Legacy has enabled her to move on. “You have to take that step forward. You can’t be angry, because that just eats away at you.”
“This special event means our boys haven’t been forgotten,” Miss Matthews said, adding that the support of Legacy has enabled her to move on. “You have to take that step forward. You can’t be angry, because that just eats away at you.”
Mrs Holt, whose husband Sgt Whittaker was stationed at the Gosford drug unit and was involved in drug investigations at the time of his death when he died from a brain haemorrhage in 1991, said the annual paddle is a “beautiful day”. “It is amazing the effort Daniel Sullivan and the team put in to keep the memory going of old work mates and have a good time doing it,” she said.
Sergeant Richard Whittaker who died on duty with Brisbane Water Local Area Command in 1991. Picture: Supplied
Celeste Thornton March 12, 2020: Would like to get message to any colleges of Snr Const Chris Thornton who was killed on duty in 2002. Would like to let them know my parents and I are burying his older brother Leslie on Mon 16th March 2020 at Lake Macquarie memorial park 10am.
Glenn Edward McENALLAY
| 05/07/2013
Glenn Edward McENALLAY VA
aka Glenn McENALLAY
New South Wales Police Force
Goulburn Police Academy Class # 270
Regd. # 31940
Rank: Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on Monday 19 May 1997 with Class # 270 ( aged 21 years, 2 months, 9 days )
Probationary Constable – appointed Friday 14 November 1997 ( aged 21 years, 8 months, 4 days )
Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?
Final Rank: Constable 1st Class
Stations: Manning / Great Lakes ( ProCst ), Mascot ( GDs ), City East Transits, City East Highway Patrol – Mascot – Death
Service: From 14 November 1997 to 3 April 2002 = 4 years, 10 months, 15 days Service
Age: 26 years, 0 months, 24 days
Time in Retirement: 0
Awards: posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Valour
Memorial 1: Sparks Reserve, Sparks St, Mascot, NSW
Memorial 2: Mascot Police Station, 965 Botany Rd, Mascot, NSW
Glenn Edward McENALLAY
Senior Constable Glenn McEnallay on right taken about 2 weeks before his death. Photo courtesy of Noel Kessel.
HWP vehicle 211 with the personalised memorial number plates for Glenn Edward McEnallay. GEM211
About 5.30pm on 27 March, 2002 the constable was driving an unmarked Highway Patrol vehicle when he began to follow a stolen vehicle. In Denison Street, Hillsdale the vehicle sped off and Constable McEnallay informed VKG of the pursuit. The stolen vehicle turned into Grace Campbell Crescent and stopped. As the police vehicle came to a halt near the stolen vehicle four offenders alighted from it and fired a number of shots at the constable from a distance of about three metres. Constable McEnallay was hit in the right side of the head and right shoulder. Other police arrived at the scene and two offenders were arrested. Constable McEnallay died of his wounds on 3 April, 2002. He was posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Valour Award.
The constable was born in 1976 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 14 November, 1997. At the time of his death was attached to the City East Highway Patrol.
Today ( 3 April 2022 ) …friends, family, colleagues past and present, current and former Senior offices, The Mayor for Bayside Council as well as community members came together to remember Senior Constable Glenn McEnallay who was murdered in the line of duty 20 years ago.
I didn’t know this young man, but I walk past his memorial in Sparks Reserve each day and see his memorial at Mascot Police Station when I walk into work each morning
The story of Glenn is in the below link – RIP
Memorial dedication – Twenty Years on – 2022
Daily Telegraph Online wrote:
Parole hearing for cop killer Motekiai Taufahema
A MAN involved in the murder of Sydney policeman Glenn McEnallay was today refused parole.
Motekiai Taufahema, 35, is serving 11 years jail after being found guilty of Senior Constable McEnally’s manslaughter.
His bid for freedom was today rejected by the State Parole Authority.
He was one of four men convicted for the shooting murder of Constable McEnallay ten years ago.
The State Parole Authority said today they believed Taufahema has not addressed his offending behaviour and his release is not supported by the Serious Offenders Review Council (SORC).
His seven year non-parole period ended last month.
“The offender needs to be reduced in classification before progress and judgment … It is not appropriate for SPA to consider the offender for release on parole.”
Commissioner Ron Woodham opposed Taufahema’s release, saying it was not in the public interest and he had not addressed his offending behaviour.
Taufahema, found not guilty of the murder of Senior Constable McEnallay but guilty of manslaughter, was sentenced to 11 years prison.
Motekiai’s brother, John, also found not guilty of the murder of Senior Constable McEnallay but guilty of manslaughter, was last month refused parole and will not be eligible again until 2014. His full sentence is also 11 years with a non-parole period of seven years.
The Authority last month also refused parole for co-offender Meli Lagi at a private meeting. He will not be eligible for parole again until next year.
Lagi, 32, who was found not guilty of the murder of Senior Constable McEnallay but guilty of firearms offences, was sentenced to almost 13 years prison with a non-parole period of almost nine years, which expired on 2 April 2011.
The fourth co-offender, 32-year-old Sione Penisini, is serving a total sentence of 36 years and won’t be eligible for parole until 2029.
Court allows police killer to stay for daughter’s sake
ONE of the men jailed for manslaughter over the death of Senior Constable Glenn McEnallay has escaped deportation to Tonga even though he has spent more than half of his 21 years in Australia in prison.
The best interests of Motekiai Taufahema’s seven-year-old daughter, born after he was jailed, tipped the balance in his favour when he appealed against the cancellation of his visa. But his childless brother, Sione, 31, also convicted of McEnallay‘s manslaughter, will be sent back to the country he left aged nine.
A victims’ group says the decisions perversely reward criminals who become parents, while refugee advocates say they show the unfairness of the Migration Act’s ”character test”.
Although Motekiai Taufahema, 33, had spent 12 of 21 years here behind bars, the deputy president of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Robin Handley, found his daughter ”loves her father and misses him” and would be devastated if he were deported.
Combined with evidence of his rehabilitation, including a non-violent response to being stabbed 10 times by a fellow prisoner, it earned him ”one last chance”.
Mr Handley rejected Sione Taufahema’s appeal on the same day, saying the high risk of him re-offending outweighed other factors. Noting that he has spent almost 10 of his 21 years here in prison, Mr Handley accepted the Federal Government’s argument that the community would expect to be protected against his violent criminal behaviour.
Asked about Sione Taufahema’s imminent arrival, a Tongan Government spokesman said in an email, ”No comment.”
The Taufahema brothers were both on parole for a brutal bashing when stopped with four stolen guns in Hillsdale in 2002. Their accomplice, Sione Penisini, shot McEnallay four times.
Both brothers were sentenced to 11 years jail after pleading guilty to manslaughter – a result McEnallay‘s father, Bob, called a ”bloody disgrace”.
Sione Taufahema‘s deportation adds to a turbulent few years for the Taufahema family. Two of his siblings, Honora and Filisione, are also in jail. Another, 18-year-old Tavita, was shot dead by police in September during an armed hold-up at the Canley Heights Hotel. Last year 16-year-old Chris Emmerson was shot dead by a visitor at the family’s Yennora home.
The father, Maunaloa Taufahema, said he was happy for Motekiai’s daughter but disappointed for Sione, whom he considered Australian, not Tongan.
”He has spent a lot of his life in Australia, and to me his behaviour was based on the Australian environment,” he said.
Both brothers have spent only a week or two in Tonga since they left as children and their close families have since moved to Australia and New Zealand.
Robyn Cotterell-Jones, from the Victims of Crime Assistance League, said both brothers should be deported as a deterrent. ”I imagine victims would feel it’s wrong that if you’re arrested for murder but you get somebody pregnant you will be able to stay here rather than be deported.”
Dr Michael Grewcock, an expert on the character test from the University of NSW, said it seemed bizarre to deport one brother and not another: ”There’s just a general lack of consistency, which is built into the process.”
Goulburn Police Academy – Class DPP 10 ( Class 4 )( Class 284 )
Rank: Nil. Student Police Officer ( S.P.O. )
Stations: NSW Police Academy Goulburn, Warilla ( Lake Illawarra ) – Field Placement
Service: From? September 2001 to 1 February 2002 = 4+ months
Born: Tuesday 18 April 1972
Event: Thursday 24 January 2002
Died: Friday 1 February 2002
Cause: Motor Vehicle Accident – Rear seat passenger, F6, Dapto
Age: 29 years, 9 months, 14 days
Funeral date: Wednesday 6 February 2002 @ 10am
Funeral location: St Paul’s Catholic Church, Tongarra Rd, Albion Park
Buried at: Lakeside Memorial Park, Kanahooka Lawn Cemetery, Kanahooka Rd, Kanahooka, NSW
Grave GPS:
Robert BROTHERSON
Headstone
Touch plate – National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra
Robert IS mentioned on the National Police Wall of Remembrance
About 7.20pm on 24 January, 2002 the student was a rear nearside passenger in a police Commodore sedan on the F6 Freeway at Dapto, heading to a Persons Trapped traffic accident, when the police vehicle, negotiating a broad right bend, hit a sheet of water, causing aquaplaning ( asymmetrical drag ), spun and collided with an oncoming truck. The student sustained critical head and internal injuries and was admitted to the Wollongong Hospital where he passed away, 9 days later, on 1 February, 2002.
At the time of his death the Student Police Officer was on the field placement phase of his police training at the Lake Illawarra Local Area Command.
I have absolutely no doubt that had we not had this unfortunate accident, Rob would have made a great policeman. Sorry mate !.
The death of Student Police Officer Robert Brotherson, who was a Student at the Goulburn Police Academy, led to the Robert Brotherson Trophy which is now presented to the student with the highest academic achievement in the policing program, at the Academy, during each new course. The trophy is awarded to that highest academic achiever at the Attestation Parade.
Police Remembrance Day: 30 years
Nan Tien Temple, Berkeley, NSW
Police Remembrance Day:
JOSHUA BUTLER
Family members lay a wreath for Robert Edwin Brotherson. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI
Almost 60 years on, Kenneth Nash still misses his uncle Allen.
Sergeant Allen William Nash, aged 40, was killed in the line of duty by a gun-wielding offender at Primbee in 1956.
Sgt Nash was one of eight officers stationed in the Lake Illawarra local area command who were recognised with memorial plaques on a wall of honour outside Lake Illawarra police station on Monday, as part of Police Remembrance Day commemorations.
Dozens of current and retired officers, families, friends, politicians, councillors and members of the public gathered at Oak Flats for a ceremony to unveil the memorial wall, and honour past and present officers.
Since 1862, more than 250 NSW Police officers have died in the line of duty.
Police officer Robert Brotherson was killed in 2002. Lake Illawarra Police are creating a memorial wall in his and other fallen officers’ honours. Pictured are Melissa Brotherson and her sons Ewan and Blake. Picture: ALBEY BOND
AN adventurous young man who wanted to help people will be one of eight officers acknowledged on Police Remembrance Day, when a memorial wall is unveiled in their honour at Lake Illawarra Police Station.
Robert Brotherson from Oak Flats was working in a cake shop with his parents in 2001 when he and his wife, Melissa, decided he would follow his dream to be a police officer.
But the dream was cut short on February 1, 2002, when the student officer was critically injured in a collision between a police car and a truck.
His life support was turned off eight days later.
The 29-year-old left behind two young sons, Blake and Ewan, who are now 14 and 13.
Melissa Brotherson said she was pleased Lake Illawarra Police had decided to recognise the eight officers.
“A lot of people don’t realise that our local police take risks to protect the community,” she said.
“That Rob was a student police officer makes it even more special – the fact that the police family still honours someone just at the start of their career.”
Ms Brotherson remembered her late husband as an “old-fashioned gentleman” who did not shy away from a skydive or a bungy jump.
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“He had a sense of compassion and empathy – he was the type of kid to take in a hurt animal and that extended to people,” she said.
“He wasn’t there [in the police force] for the glory, he wanted to help people.”
The command area has lost eight officers since 1951, either while on duty or as a result of injuries sustained on the job.
An outdoor commemorative plaque will be unveiled on Police Remembrance Day, September 29, and the station flag will be lowered to half-mast.
Lake Illawarra Local Area Commander Wayne Starling encouraged families of the fallen to come forward so they could be invited to the ceremony and contribute photographs for the display.
Family members can contact Sergeant Jason Harrison on 4232 5326 or email HARR2JAS@police.nsw.gov.au.
They can also send a personal message via the Lake Illawarra Local Area Command’s Eyewatch page on Facebook by visiting facebook.com/LakeillawarraLAC.
Every day, police officers go to work with the knowledge they may not be going home to their families.
In 2002, 29-year-old student police officer Robert Brotherson died while responding to a car crash in the Illawarra.
On Friday, his son, 13-year-old Blake Brotherson from Oak Flats, was named the 2013 winner of the NSW Police Legacy Commissioner’s Scholarship.
Presented by Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione as part of the Police Remembrance Day ceremony in Sydney, the scholarship provided $5000 to allow the year 7 student to follow his dreams to become a pilot.
At the time of his death, Robert Brotherson had successfully completed session one at the Police Academy and was undertaking field placement at Lake Illawarra Local Area Command.
Presenting the award, Mr Scipione said Blake was an active participant in Police Legacy activities and wished him luck for his future.
Meantime in Wollongong, a multi-denominational Police Remembrance Day service was held at St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral.
For Inspector Anne Clarke, the ceremony was a stark reminder of the risks she and her fellow officers faced.
“It brings home to us the real danger of policing,” she said.
More than that, Insp Clarke said the ceremony was an example of the tremendous camaraderie that existed among those who made up the thin blue line.
Although Police Remembrance Day exists to pay respect to those officers who have been killed in the line of duty, it also honours those who have died in the past 12 months while still employed with the force.
This was particularly poignant for Wollongong LAC, which has lost two former officers in the past two months – Chief Inspector Graeme Donnelly and Sergeant Nick Skomarow. More than 100 officers, members of the public and religious representatives attended the ceremony, conducted by Salvation Army chaplain Jayne Wilson.
Cause: Murdered – by Motor Vehicle whilst using Road Spikes to stop a stolen vehicle which drove straight at, and collided with, him.
Location: Hume Hwy ( north bound ), Glen Alpine
Funeral date: Thursday 18 January 2001
Funeral location: Camden Civic Centre
Grave: Cremated
Grave site: Interred in Woronora Cemetery on 3 June 2003
General Plaque Lawn. Lawn 4 Position 0796
Memorial 1/: Jim Affleck Bridge, Hume Hwy, Glen Alpine, NSW
Memorial 2/: HWP Vehicle ( 213 ) attached to Campbelltown – Registration JA-213 213 was the Call Sign of his HWP Vehicle.
Jim AFFLECK
2022
JA-213 NSW Registration – in Memory of Jim Affleck
About 8.40am on 14 January, 2001 police were attempting to stop a stolen vehicle during a high speed pursuit at Mittagong. Approval was given to place road spikes on the roadway and Senior Constable Affleck and other police did this near the Mark Evans Bridge, Glen Alpine. When the offending vehicle, travelling north, reached the spikes the driver intentionally swerved from one side of the north bound laned road to the other, hitting the senior constable, who was killed instantly. The driver was later arrested and charged with murder.
The senior constable was born in 1957 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 18 September, 1978. At the time of his death he was attached to the Campbelltown Highway Patrol.
Jim IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
On the 14th of January 2001, Senior Constable Jim Affleck VA was hit and killed by a vehicle trying to evade police during a police pursuit on the Hume Highway, Glen Alpine.
To celebrate his life and remember his sacrifice 20 years on, there will be a memorial service and wreath laying held at Campbelltown Police Station at 8:30am on Thursday the 14th January 2021. This will be followed by a light morning tea.
An invitation has been extended to Jim’s friends, family and colleagues to attend.
Campbelltown mourns 13th anniversary of police officer’s death
Amanda Partridge
Macarthur Chronicle Campbelltown
January 15, 201412:02PM
Police officers pause to remember the late Jim Affleck, who was killed in the line of duty in 2001. Picture: ROBERT POZOSource: News Limited
IT’S been 13 years since highway patrol officer Jim Affleck was run down by a car on the Hume Highway.
But as nearly 100 people packed into the Campbelltown police station carpark yesterday to mark the anniversary of Sen Constable Affleck’s death, it was clear his legacy still burns strong.
Fellow officers, his widow Trish, and even a great nephew were among those to pay tribute to Sen Constable Affleck during a memorial yesterday.
The congregation gathered around the memorial garden dedicated to Sen Constable Affleck to lay wreaths and share kind words in honour of the police officer.
Jim Affleck’s widow Trish lays a wreath at the memorial garden, in honour of her late husband. Picture: ROBERT POZO.Source: News Limited
The Jim Affleck memorial garden bears freshly-laid flowers. Picture: ROBERT POZOSource: News Limited
Sen Constable Affleck’s car and police hat were present for the service.
The day marked 13 years since Sen Constable Affleck was run down by a car on the Hume Highway near Menangle on January 14, 2001, while laying road spikes to stop a stolen vehicle whose occupants were wanted for robberies.
Campbelltown police Insp Jason Inkster said the command believed it was important to honour Sen Constable Affleck’s sacrifice each year.
“It’s important because Jim was attached to the command at the time the incident occurred,” he said. “It’s important to remember our colleagues killed in the line of duty.
“I think it means a lot to his fellow officers and family, showing that we still remember the commitment and sacrifice made by Jim.”
Police and Jim Affleck’s family share hugs and fond memories of the late Jim Affleck. Picture: ROBERT POZOSource: News Limited
A photo of Jim Affleck sat atop his car at a memorial service yesterday. Picture: ROBERT POZOSource: News Limited
Driver who ran down officer ‘was re-enacting computer game’
By Ellen Connolly May 14 2002
The scene of Senior Constable Affleck’s death. Photo: Nick Moir
The driver of a stolen car who killed a highway patrol officer during a police chase was re-enacting one of his PlayStation computer games, The Need for Speed – Hot Pursuit, the Supreme Court heard yesterday.
Trevor Edward Holton, 26, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Senior Constable Jim Affleck, 43, near Campbelltown on January 14 last year.
In his opening address yesterday, the Crown prosecutor, Mark Tedeschi, QC, said that during the pursuit Holton was ”testing his car rallying skills” and was ”engaged in a real life re-enactment of the computer game”.
”To him the lives of other road users and the lives of police officers were just there as props to provide the thrill of the chase, and they were expendable in the pursuit of that thrill. Jim Affleck’s death was just part of this real-life game.”
The court was told the chase began about 8.30am after another man, who was a passenger in the four-wheel-drive, committed a bag snatch at Moss Vale. Also in the car was the man’s four-year-old stepdaughter.
For the next 40 minutes police chased the stolen vehicle as it drove on the wrong side of the road along the M5 freeway and the old Hume Highway, reaching speeds of up to 180kmh.
At one stage the passenger got out of the car and tried to take the girl with him but Holton sped off with her.
Senior Constable Affleck tried to stop the vehicle by throwing road spikes across the M5 but Holton swerved across two lanes to miss the spikes and hit the officer, Mr Tedeschi said. His body landed 80 metres away.
The stolen vehicle somersaulted and landed on its roof, with the girl, uninjured, still in the back. Holton fled but was arrested that night.
In a police interview Holton had said he ”was not prepared, at any stage, to get pulled over or stop”. He had seen Senior Constable Affleck running across the road in front of him trying to get the spikes under the vehicle.
”I couldn’t swerve; I couldn’t dodge him. I was going too fast. It’s like he [Affleck] didn’t care what happened.
”To me it was like it was suicide. He could see how fast I was going. He could see I could not stop.
”I have just been so angry … he could have avoided me so easy.”
He had said he knew about road spikes from playing the computer game, in which the main method of avoiding spikes is to veer off the road onto a median strip or the grass.
The state Opposition has called for compulsory life terms to be imposed on anyone who kills a police officer, after the “lenient” sentencing of a man who ran down a highway patrol officer.
Trevor Edward Holton, 27, was jailed yesterday for a minimum 12 years for the murder of Senior Constable Jim Affleck, killed while laying road spikes during a high-speed pursuit in western Sydney on January 14 last year.
In handing down sentence in the Supreme Court, Acting Justice Thomas Davidson said the jail term had to deter others and demonstrate that such acts against police in the execution of their duty would not be supported by the courts.
But the shadow attorney-general, Chris Hartcher, said this was not reflected in the sentence and called on the judicial system to stand behind police officers.
“Mr Holton should go to jail for the rest of his natural life. He certainly would if the coalition was in office,” Mr Hartcher said.
The Attorney-General, Bob Debus, said he had sought advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions on prospects for an appeal. “Understandably, there is considerable community concern about the sentence imposed,” Mr Debus said.
The court heard Holton was re-enacting one of his PlayStation computer games and was testing his car rally skills during the 40-minute pursuit.
Constable Affleck’s distraught family said it was “extremely disappointed” at the sentence and wanted harsher terms imposed on anyone convicted of murdering a police officer.
“If someone is prepared to kill a police officer they’re prepared to kill anybody, and I think they should have a sentence which is much stronger for police,” the victim’s brother, Paul Affleck, said outside court. “They’re out there doing their job, protecting us, and it should be reflected in the sentencing. Mr Carr’s talking about minimum sentences all the time.”
Inspector Hans Rupp, who led the investigation, said: “Trish has lost a good husband, his work colleagues have lost a great mate and, unfortunately for NSW, we’ve lost a great policeman. You just can’t replace police of the calibre of Jim Affleck.”
The family of murdered policeman Jim Affleck has described his killer’s attempt to appeal against a 12-year jail sentence as “an outrage”.
A year after Trevor Edward Holton was sentenced to serve a minimum of 12 years (maximum of 16) in jail for the highway patrol officer’s murder, he has initiated an appeal against the severity of the sentence in the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Holton, of Claymore, south-west Sydney, was sentenced in August after he ran down and killed Affleck in January 2001.
He hit Affleck with a stolen four-wheel-drive when he swerved to avoid road spikes the policeman was laying across the M5 Freeway at Campbelltown.
Delivering the sentence in the Supreme Court, Acting Judge Thomas Davidson said the jail term needed to act as a deterrent and demonstrate that such acts against police in the execution of their duty would not be tolerated.
However, the Department of Public Prosecutions has since lodged an appeal against the leniency of the sentence, with a hearing due next month.
The Crown’s stance is in contrast to Holton’s planned appeal against the harshness of the same sentence.
“If he does [appeal], it may well be that the Crown appeal in December will be vacated,” a court spokesman said. “The court likes to deal with these things as one.”
Any appeal against the severity flies in the face of the outrage that greeted the sentencing last year.
“We thought he deserved more,” the victim’s brother, Paul Affleck, said. “Before the sentencing we sat down with [then police minister] Michael Costa. He gave us an idea of what they were looking at for minimum sentences and more stringent sentencing.
“It has now been 12 months since the sentencing and nothing has been done. How many more policemen have to die before someone does something?”
NSW shadow attorney-general Andrew Tink said he had a simple approach to the matter.
“Anyone who kills a police officer while they are carrying out their duties should go to jail for life,” he said. “That is our strong stance.”
Mr Affleck said Holton’s bid to reduce his sentence was not a surprise, just unfortunate.
“We have been expecting that all along, just the way the defence was talking after the trial,” he said.
“Anyone who kills a policeman should spend his life in jail – he had a criminal record going back until he was 13 or something.
“I think it’s ridiculous and I don’t know why we tolerate these things. I just think it’s ridiculous he has the opportunity to [appeal].
“I think anyone who kills anyone doesn’t deserve any freedom.”
A policeman who died after being run over by a fleeing car thief should have shot his killer “between the eyes”, his widow says.
The widow of Senior Constable Jim Affleck was speaking yesterday after a court rejected the Crown’s appeal against the leniency of the sentence given to the man who ran him down.
Trish Affleck compared the situation her husband was in when he was killed by Trevor Edward Holton to that faced by another policeman, Inspector Shane Cribb, who has been charged over the shooting of a criminal who drove a getaway car at him three years ago.
“You have got Inspector Cribb looking down the barrel of a jail term for doing what I wish to God Jim had done. I wish to God he would have shot Holton between the eyes,” Mrs Affleck said with tears in her eyes.
The NSW Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 decision, yesterday rejected the Crown’s argument for a tougher sentence for Holton, who was jailed in August 2002 for a minimum of 12 years, and a maximum 16, for the murder of Senior Constable Affleck.
On January 14, 2001, the stolen four-wheel-drive Holton was driving hit Senior Constable Affleck, a highway patrolman, as he laid out road spikes on M5 to stop the vehicle. Holton was being pursued by police after committing a robbery.
Holton also appealed against his conviction, but that was unanimously dismissed by justices Michael Grove, Robert Hulme and Rex Smart yesterday.
Wall To Wall Ride 2012 – M5 Motorway South of Sydney. Slowing down in tribute to Jim Affleck, crossing the bridge named in his honour. Polair was hovering above filming, but because I didn’t check my vertical camera angle, I missed it!
In January 2001 Senior Constable Jim Affleck was a Highway Patrol Officer who was run over a killed whilst deploying a set of ‘road spikes’ during a high speed police pursuit. The offending driver actually drove his vehicle at Affleck in a deliberate attempt to run him down. He was subsequently charged with murder.
Alone in his patrol car, Chris Thornton had the police siren flashing as he chased a white sedan through Woy Woy.
Thornton, 35, a highway patrolman, had been in the force for 15 years. He was, his mother says, “the best driver I have ever seen”.
The reason for the chase that night in April 2002 is unknown. Both cars were seen travelling at high speed. Thornton was about 50 metres behind.
Meanwhile, Leonard Rowley, 56, an unlicensed driver, was driving to his local KFC to pick up dinner. He saw the first car flash past and judged – wrongly – that he had time to turn out in front of the patrol car. Thornton tried to avoid Rowley’s car but clipped the back, veered onto the wrong side of the road and hit a power pole.
Thornton died on the spot, which is marked by a permanent stainless-steel cross. Rowley later received a suspended two-year sentence.
“His life from the age of 12 was about helping people,” says Thornton’s mother, Freada Thornton. “He was in the surf club and he was there to rescue people and then he went into the force and he was doing the same thing.” His father, Barry Thornton, says: “He loved life. He had been in Gosford for 15 years and was so popular with the community there.”
Police pursuits are, says Barry, a necessary evil: “If they don’t catch the criminals there will be more deaths on the roads. The ones that they’re in pursuit of are the idiots that have done the wrong thing to start with.”
But pursuits have come at a cost to the NSW Police Department. Fifteen officers have died as a result of high-speed chases, beginning with the death of Constable George Boore in 1937.
Details provided by the NSW Police Association show a steady stream of fatalities involving cars and motorcycles. The full list of casualties is as follows:
Rank: Junior Trainee from about April 1970 ( ” 6 Week Wonder ” )
Probationary Constable – appointed 22 June 1970
Constable 1st Class – appointed 22 June 1975
Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed 20 November 1985
Senior Sergeant – appointed 1990 – death
Stations: ?, Rockdale – Clearway Cyclist, Goulburn for 18 years to become Sgt, Maitland District HWP Supervisor ( SenSgt ), Traffic Co-ordinator Northern Suburbs District Hornsby – 3 years, Parramatta – Traffic Support Group Operations Manager – death
Service: Frompre June 1970 to 13 July 1998 = 28+ years Service
1st Clasp to National Medal – granted 2 December 1995
Born: 2 August 1950
Died on: 13 July 1998
Cause: Motor Vehicle Accident – Police motor cycle – Non Urgent
Event location: F3 Freeway, Calga
Age: 47 Single, unmarried with no children
Funeral date: Friday 17 July 1998
Funeral location:
Buried at: Cremated Woronora Cemetery
Memorial location: Police Memorial Wall – Woronora Cemetery, Sutherland
Plot: Centenary Court, Rose Garden 2, #01
Raymond Keith SMITH
[alert_green]RAYMOND IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]
On the morning of 13 July, 1998 Senior Sergeant Smith was riding a police motor cycle to work along the F3 Freeway near Calga when a piece of wood fell from a truck, hitting him and causing the cycle to collide with a rock wall. It is thought that the sergeant was killed instantly.
The sergeant was born in 1950 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 22 June, 1970. At the time of his death he was attached to the Traffic Support Group, Parramatta.
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Woronora Cemetery Police Memorial Wall
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Police pay tribute to Sen Sgt Ray Smith 20 years on
Richard Noone,
Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate
The motorcycle of Senior Sergeant Ray Smith after he was killed when a piece of firewood fell from a truck hitting him in the head forcing him into a concrete wall on the F3 near Mt White.
TWENTY years ago today we lost one of the state’s most experienced police motorcyclists and the public face of road safety.
Senior Sergeant Ray Smith was riding to work along the F3 Freeway (now M1)3km south of the Calga interchange, near Mount White, at 6.10am on July 13, 1998, when a 30cm by 40cm piece of wood fell off the back of a truck in front.
The wood bounced off the road and into the 47-year-old’s helmet as he travelled 100km/h.
The impact sent his bike into a concrete wall, killing him instantly.
Police inspect the scene where Senior Sergeant Ray Smith was killed.
Today, two decades later and the state’s top traffic cop Chief Inspector Phil Brooks said the dangers to motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users was as real now as it was then.
“Primarily it certainly highlights the risks police face every day of the week,” Chief Insp Brooks said.
“Police leave home and their families expect them to come home after their duties.”
Traffic & Highway Patrol Command held a tribute to mark the 20th anniversary of Senior Sergeant Ray Smith’s death this morning.
Chief Insp Brooks was a relatively junior officer when Sen Sgt Smith was killed but remembers well the profound sense of loss which swept through the entire NSW Police Force.
At the time Sen Sgt Smith was one of 26 police motorcyclists patrolling NSW roads.
Today Chief Insp Phil Brooks said of the fleet of 680 Traffic and Highway Patrol vehicles, 100 were motorcycles.
The front page of The Daily Telegraph on July 14, 1998
He said they remained an important asset to enforcing road safety and minimising congestion in the event of crashes and other road issues.
He said there were 6.19 million licence holders in NSW driving 6.5 million registered vehicles and the M1 — which has seen vehicle movements increase dramatically in the past 20 years — continued to be a big focus for police.
Senior police officers salute as the coffin of Senior Sergeant Ray Smith is carried during procession at his funeral service.
“Our road safety programs are such that cars and Highway Patrol vehicles are tasked to that road every day of the week,” he said.
“While there are significant road works along the M1 the crash risk is minimised by a very visible police presence.”
At 10am today Traffic & Highway Patrol Command staff at Huntingwood came together to recognise the service of Senior Sgt Smith.
Police bikes have changed but the job remains the same.
Staff were welcomed at today’s memorial by Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy, who noted the significant service that police motorcyclists give to the community every day.
Meanwhile police on the Central Coast observed a minute’s silence this morning.
Only yesterday Brisbane Water police found the body and the wreckage of a man who had gone for a ride the previous day along the Old Pacific Highway at Bar Point.
The 34-year-old had left his Ryde home about 2pm on Wednesday.
When he had not arrived home at 11pm his worried partner contacted police.
Senior Sergeant Ray Smith uses a radar gun on Parramatta Road, part of the Operation Slow-down campaign in 1997.
Officers scoured the Old Road where they eventually found his body at 3.30am.
The man had lost control, gone down an embankment and collided with a tree.
Meanwhile the Coronial Inquest into the death of Senior Sgt Smith found the truck driver — who continued on oblivious to the carnage behind him — “had done everything right” in securing his load.
At the time of his death Sen Sgt Smith was a member of the Traffic Support Group and the focal point of the previous year’s road safety campaign Operation Slowdown.
But 27 years’ riding experience and a life dedicated to road safety were unable to save him from the freak accident.
The motorcycle of Senior Sergeant Ray Smith after he was killed when a piece of firewood fell from a truck hitting him in the head forcing him into a concrete wall on the F3 near Mt White.
“There was no way of escaping,” Sen Sgt Smith’s colleague of seven years, Sergeant Graeme Priest said at the time.
Sen Sgt Smith lived at Maitland and was travelling to work at Parramatta when the accident occurred.
He never married and had no children. Fellow officers said his life was dedicated to serving in the police force and he had a love of motorcycles, of which he had a collection.
At 10am today Traffic & Highway Patrol Command staff, Huntingwood, came together to recognise the service of Senior Sergeant Smith, who tragically lost his life at 6:10am on the 13 July, 1998, 20 years ago today.
Staff were welcomed at today’s memorial by Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy, who noted the significant service that police motorcyclists give to the community every day, keeping road users safe, as Senior Sergeant Smith proudly did during his career. A/Inspector Clint Williams acknowledged Senior Sergeant Smith‘s career history, and Police Chaplain, Father Paul O’Donoghue told those present that ‘…those who served alongside Ray were his family..’, and noted the sad loss that Ray‘s sister must have suffered after this sad event. Father O’Donoghue then offered a prayer where those present observed a minutes silence in memory.
Featured in these photographs is ‘HWP-200‘ (Call sign Traffic 200) which we struck in memory of the life & career of Senior Sergeant Ray Smith.
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Article from Goulburn Post, Wednesday 22 July 1998
A MOREE police officer, who was killed off-duty, has been remembered as a loving family man, who was full of life and from a policing family.
