Graeme John LEES

AKA  ?

Late of Eastgrove, ( Goulburn ) NSW

NSW Goulburn Police Academy –  Class #  287 ( DPP 14 – Class 14 )

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  38??? 

Rank:  Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on Monday  6 May 2002 ( Aged 35 years, 24 days )

Probationary Constable- appointed 20 December 2002 ( Aged 35 years, 8 months, 8 days )

Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Final Rank =  Constable 

Retirement / Leaving age: =  ?

Stations:  ?, Queanbeyan – Death

Service:  From 6 May 2002   to   4 April 2005  =  2 years, 10 months, 29 days Service

Awards:  No Find on Australian Honours system

Born:  Wednesday  12 April 1967

Died on:  Monday  4 April 2005

Age:  37 years, 11 months, 23 days 

Cause:  MVA – Driver – Travelling to work 

Event location:  Federal Highway, Yarra ( south of Goulburn, NSW ) 1km north of Rowes Lagoon

Event date:  Monday  4 April 2005 about 5am

Funeral date:  Friday  8 April 2005 during the p.m.

Funeral location:  St Saviours Cathedral in Goulburn 

Funeral Parlour: ?

Buried at: Gunning Cemetery, Grogan Pce, Gunning, NSW

GPS: -34.7819444   149.274444444444

Grave: 

Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?

Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( December 2020 )

GRAEME IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

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

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustralianPolice.com.au/ 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSWFallenPolice/ 

Australian Police YouTube Channel 

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.

Beyond Courage

Published in Goulburn Post on Apr. 3, 2019

https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20091014050312/http://www.goulburnpost.com.au/news/local/news/general/his-light-will-always-shine/502960.aspx

https://www.goulburnpost.com.au/story/959971/his-light-will-always-shine/

the cathedral church of st saviour, Goulburn

The Anglican Diocese of Canberra & Goulburn

Prayer Points for April 2017

We remember those in our Cathedral Book of Remembrance: Annie Jean Docker, Graeme John Lees.

https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20190302214234/https://goulburncathedral.org.au/sites/default/files/Prayer%20Points%20April%202017.pdf

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

Police officer to be farewelled today

Police officer to be farewelled today – ABC News

This was published 15 years ago

Policeman among four killed on NSW roads

Policeman among four killed on NSW roads

Parliament of NSW Legislative Assembly

Notice of Motions & Orders of the Day. 

Thursday  15 September 2005

679 Ms HODGKINSON to move —

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.

Microsoft Word – 143-NOM-P.doc – 143-NOM-P.pdf

Shelley Leanne DAVIS

NSW Goulburn Police Academy Class ?

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  37034

Rank:  Constable

Stations:  Goulburn

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

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

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.

[divider_dotted]

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.

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.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/police-crash-scandal/story-e6freuzi-1111113894466

Memorial dedicated to Constable Shelley Davis

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.

http://www.goulburnpost.com.au/story/971932/memorial-dedicated-to-constable-shelley-davis/

Andrew Robert DAY

aka  Andy

Son of Ernest Robert ‘Bob’ DAY # 4811 – deceased

New South Wales Police Force

Redfern Police Academy – Class # 171

Regd. #  19548

Rank:  Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 13 April 1981 ( aged 23 years, 1 month, 12 days )

Probationary Constable – appointed 26 June 1981 ( aged 23 years, 3 months, 25 days )

Detective – appointed 26 June 1982

Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Constable 1st Class – appointed 26 June 1986

Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed ? ? ?

Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed ? ? ?

Senior Sergeant – appointed ? ? ?

Inspector – appointed ? ? ?

Final Rank:  Detective Inspector – death

Stations:  ?, Balmain ( 8 Division ) – 1980’s, coordinator of the South East Asian Crime Squad at the State Crime Command – Death

Service:  From  13 April 1981 to  14 November 2003 = 22 years, 7 months, 1 day Service

Awards: National Medal – granted 17 April 1997

Born:  Saturday 1 March 1958

Died on:  Friday 14 November 2003

Cause:  lack of oxygen “due to displacement of oxygen supply” in Hospital.  Pneumonia

Death location:  Concord Hospital, Concord, NSW

Age: 45 years, 8 months, 13 days

Funeral date:  ? ? ?

Funeral location:   ?

Buried at:  ?

Memorial location:  ?

ANDY IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

BUT despite being mentioned, there are no details as to the cause of his death

From 15 October 2003 Detective Inspector Day and other members of the South East Asian Crime Squad were involved in archiving official documentation which was stored in a garage near their covert workplace.  The inspector subsequently took ill and was admitted to Concord Hospital, where he unfortunately passed away on the 14^th November 2003.

The detective inspector was born in 1958 and was sworn in as a probationary constable on the 26 June 1981. At the time of his death he was the coordinator of the South East Asian Crime Squad at the State Crime Command.

Not only Andy was affected by ‘flu like’ symptoms whilst working out of these premises.  Several others took ill with severe flu like symptoms around the same time.

Widow Jacqui Day complained about the treatment of her husband Andy, a top undercover police officer, after an anonymous letter from nurses at the hospital said: “Mr Day should not have died.”

Detective Inspector Day, 45, was being treated for pneumonia and died when his oxygen tube fell out of its wall tap for the second time in six hours.

After an inquiry behind closed doors, the HCCC found that Concord, a major teaching hospital, had provided below standard care to Mr Day “in a number of respects”, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

The commission also found that Professor Matthew Peters, the head of respiratory medicine at the hospital, had “departed from the acceptable standard of care” in two areas.

He was referred to the Medical Board’s conduct committee for “counselling” for not transferring Mr Day to the intensive care unit and for failing to appropriately monitor his oxygen needs.

Mrs Day will today appear before the Government’s special commission of inquiry into the state’s ailing health system, sitting at Concord, to demand answers and ask why the complaints procedure is shrouded in such secrecy.

There was evidence before the HCCC from four medical experts that Mr Day should have been moved to intensive care.

Professor Peters told the inquiry there were no intensive care beds available and Mr Day did not want to be moved.

The commission’s report, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, said there had been at least one bed available on five of the eight days Mr Day was in hospital and there was no record in the medical notes of Mr Day’s comments.

“In 2008, you can’t leave your loved one in a public hospital on their own,” Mrs Day said yesterday, adding that all adverse HCCC findings should be made public.

“I still do not know how a 45-year-old man can be admitted to hospital and die on the floor in the middle of the night.”

It will be Mrs Day’s first visit to the hospital since her husband died at 3.30am on November 14, 2003, after eight days treatment. The HCCC took 18 months on its inquiry.

The anonymous letter from nurses was sent to the coroner who conducted a 2006 inquest into Mr Day’s death.

The cause of death was recorded as a lack of oxygen “due to displacement of oxygen supply”, however coroner John Abernethy found Mr Day’s condition was so serious he would have died even with different care.

HCCC executive officer Kim Swan said legislation limited what the commission could release to the public.

The Medical Board did not return calls. Professor Peters is overseas.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/cop-dead-on-hospital-floor/story-e6freuzi-1111116147165

Mark Howard SPEECHLEY

aka  Spike

Late of ?

NSW Redfern Police Academy Class # 190

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  20668

Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 14 January 1983 ( aged 22 years, 2 months, 6 days )

Constable 1st Class – appointed 14 January 1988

Detective Sergeant – death

Final Rank:  Detective Sergeant

Stations:  ?, Fairfield ( 34 Division ), Ferguson Centre Parramatta – Acting Commander – Latent Print Section ( Forensic Services )

Service:  From  ? ? pre January 1983  to  15 September 2003 = 20+ years Service

Awards:  National Medal – granted 24 March 2000

Born:  Tuesday  8 November 1960

Died on:  Monday  15 September 2003

Cause:  HOD – Heart condition

Event location:  Parramatta

Age:  42 years, 10 months, 7 days

Funeral date:  ?

Funeral location:  ?

Buried at:  Pinegrove Memorial Park, Kington St, Minchinbury, NSW

Plot details:  ???

GPS:  ?, ?

Memorial at:

MARK is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance  * BUT SHOULD BE

Mark is now mentioned on the National Police Wall of Remembrance – Canberra

On the 15 September 2003 Detective Sergeant Speechley was on duty at the Ferguson Centre, Parramatta.

During his meal break he jogged to a local swimming pool where he was later found unconscious in the water.

Unfortunately, attempts to revive him failed.

The detective sergeant was born in 1960 and was sworn in as a probationary constable on the 14 January 1983.

At the time of his death he was Acting Commander of the Latent Print Section.

Mark Speechley at Fairfield Court .pdf

  by Robert Watson – 19 November 2020

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 1994  to  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.

[divider_dotted]

MACKIE or SMITH are NOT mentioned in the RetiredPolice.com.au website.

[divider_dotted]

Christopher John THORNTON

aka  Thorno

“possible” relative(s) in “the job”:  ?

Goulburn Police Academy Class # 228

New South Wales Police Force

ProCst # 98719

Regd. # 24117

Rank:  Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on Monday ? June 1987

Probationary Constable – appointed Friday 7 August 1987 ( aged 21 years, 3 months, 10 days )

Constable – appointed 7 August 1988

Senior Constable – death

Stations:  ? Brisbane Waters GD’s ( 5 years ), Woy Woy HWP, Brisbane Waters HWP from 1989 ( Gosford )

Service:  From ? June 1987  to  13 April 2002 = 15 years Service

Awards:  ?  No find on It’s An Honour

Born:  Thursday 28 April 1966

Died:  Saturday  13 April 2002

Cause:  Motor Vehicle Accident – Driver

Location:  Hillview St & Nambucca Drive, Woy Woy

Age:  35 years, 11 months, 16 days

Funeral date:  Friday  19 April 2002

Funeral location:  Newcastle’s Christ Church Cathedral

Buried site:  Palmdale Lawn Cemetery, 57 Palmdale Rd, Palmdale, NSW

Serenity Lawn, Sec: R99  Site: 11

Find A Grave: memorial ID: 135167623

Monument Location:  1/  Third Floor of Gosford Police Station.

2/  Hillview St & Nambucca Dve, Woy Woy ( Stainless steel cross )

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: 

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.

http://unionsafe.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/NileInquirySubmission.doc

Policeman who paid ultimate price

April 20 2002

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.”

The Newcastle Herald

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/04/19/1019020708933.html

Constable’s death was devastating

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.

http://www.peninsulanews.info/2002/0423/default.aspx?item=Death

A-G urged to appeal against sentence

Posted 20 Oct 2003, 3:03pm

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.”

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2003-10-20/a-g-urged-to-appeal-against-sentence/1496008

Deadly toll

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:

April 2, 1937: Constable George Boore;

June 2, 1954: Constable Cecil Sewell;

November 14, 1958: Constable Brian Boaden;

December 23, 1958: Constable William Lord;

October 14, 1961: Constable James Kinnane;

September 7, 1963: Constable Colin Robb;

December 2, 1976: Constable Terry Moncur;

January 3, 1985: Constable Wayne Rixon;

July 25, 1985: Detective-Constable Steven Tier;

October 20, 1987: Constable Themelis Macarounas;

August 24, 1988: Constable Peter Carter;

June 13, 1989: Constable Peter Figtree;

June 14, 1989: Senior Constable Glenn Rampling;

January 14, 2001: Senior Constable James Affleck;

April 13, 2002: Senior Constable Christopher Thornton.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/Police-Pursuits/Deadly-toll/2004/11/05/1099547386960.html

Hearts go out to family of fallen officer

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.”
See your ad here

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.

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/460097/hearts-go-out-to-family-of-fallen-officer/#slide=1

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.

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.

“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.”

“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.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/our-boys-havent-been-forgotten-policemen-honoured-in-brisbane-water-row/story-fngr8h0p-1227528821582

---

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  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

Born:  Wednesday 10 March 1976

Incident Date:  Wednesday 27 March 2002

Incident location:  Grace Campbell Crescent, Hillside, NSW

Died on:  Wednesday 3 April, 2002

Cause:  Shot ( 3 times ) – Murdered

Age:  26 years, 0 months, 24 days

Funeral date:  Tuesday 9 April 2002

Funeral location:  St Johns Anglican Church, Taree, NSW

Buried at:  Tuncurry Cemetery, Manning St, Tuncurry, NSW

Garden Heath, Plot 120

GPS Lat & Long:  -32.165380   152.494973

Approximate location of murder: 

Memorial 1:  Sparks Reserve, Sparks St, Mascot, NSW

Memorial 2:  Mascot Police Station, 965 Botany Rd, Mascot, NSW

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.

Location of Grave:  Portion.  Garden He, Row 120

Tuncurry Cemetery, Manning St, Tuncurry

Grave plate for Glenn Edward McENALLAY

Glenn McEnallay

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.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/s … 6338503645

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.”

Police Remembrance Day:

Robert Edwin BROTHERSON

late of Oak Flats

New South Wales Police Force

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 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:

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.

http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/2591540/lake-illawarra-officers-honoured-on-police-remembrance-day-photos/

Honouring the fallen

By DANIELLE CETINSKI

March 19, 2014, midnight

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.
See your ad here

“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.

Along with Mr Brotherson, police will remember Constable Peter Carter who was killed in 1988, Detective Constable Steven Tier (1985), Constable Peter Hardacre (1962), Constable Francis Burke (1961), Sergeant Allen Nash (1956), Sergeant William Smith (1951) and Constable Frederick McLaughlan, who was medically discharged in 1930 and died in 1938.

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.

http://www.kiamaindependent.com.au/story/2155913/honouring-the-fallen/

In memory of Illawarra heroes in blue

Published on Aug 1, 2016

James AFFLECK – VA

aka  Jim,   Jamie to his family

New South Wales Police Force

Police Academy Class 160

ProCst Regd. #  92373

Regd. # 18315

Rank:  Commenced training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 3 July 1978 ( Aged 20 years, 11 months, 24 days )

Probationary Constable – appointed 18 September 1978 ( Aged 21 years, 2 months, 9 days )

Constable 1st Class – appointed 29 August 1984

Senior Constable – appointed 29 August 1988

Final Rank:  Senior Constable

Service:  From 3 July 1978 to 14 January 2001 = 22 years, 6 months, 11 days Service

Stations:  ?, Hurstville HWP, Campbelltown HWP – Death

Awards:  National Medal – granted 2 February 1995

Born:  Tuesday  9 July 1957

Died:  Sunday  14 January 2001

Age:  43 yrs  6 mths  5 days

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.

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

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/competitions/campbelltown-mourns-13th-anniversary-of-police-officers-death/story-fngy6zd2-1226802284880

Campbelltown mourns 13th anniversary of police officer’s death

• Amanda Partridge
• Macarthur Chronicle Campbelltown
• January 15, 2014 12:02PM

Police officers pause to remember the late Jim Affleck, who was killed in the line of duty in 2001. Picture: ROBERT POZO Source: 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 POZO Source: 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 POZO Source: News Limited

A photo of Jim Affleck sat atop his car at a memorial service yesterday. Picture: ROBERT POZO Source: News Limited

 

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/13/1021002431568.html

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 trial continues.

---

 

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/08/23/1030052974371.html

Fury at killer’s ‘lenient’ jail term

By Ellen Connolly
August 24 2002

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.”

Holton was sentenced to a maximum 16 years.

---

 

 

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/01/1067597201712.html?from=storyrhs

Outrage at police killer’s mercy bid

By Sean Berry
November 2, 2003

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.”

---

Senior Constable Matthew Nathanial POTTER

Accidentally Shot

28 old

Eagle Vale Police Station

7 January, 2000

About 6.30am on 7 January, 2000 Senior Constable Potter was preparing to complete a night shift at the Eagle Vale Police Station. He was shot when a service firearm was accidentally discharged and was conveyed to the Campbelltown Hospital. He was found to be dead on arrival.

The senior constable was born in 1972 and at the time of his death he was stationed at Eagle Vale.