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
| 27/10/2012
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.”
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:
Stations: School of Traffic and Mobile Policing – Goulburn
Service: From 8 December 1980 to 15 August 1994 = 13+ years Service
Awards: National medal – granted 2 December 1994 ( posthumously )
Born: 24 August1957
Died on: 15 August 1994
Cause: Motor Vehicle Accident ( Police motor cycle )
Death location: Lachlan Valley Way, Boorowa
Age: 36
Funeral date: ? August, 1994
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: ?
[blockquote]
Memorial location: ? Lachlan Valley Way, left hand side 5 kms from Boorwoa
Lat: -34.543611
Long: 148.731389
[/blockquote]
Front Inscription IN LOVING MEMORY OF SENIOR CONSTABLE DALLAS TIDYMAN. 24.8.57. – 15.8.94. TRAGICALLY KILLED WHILST ON DUTY. A TRIBUTE FROM HIS WORK MATES.
[alert_green]DALLAS IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]
Dallas Leonard TIDYMAN memorial touch plate at Canberra Wall of Remembrance
Senior Constable Dallas TIDYMAN at the Police Driver Training Unit
Dallas TIDYMAN – in July 1994. Always in for a laugh.
Dallas TIDYMAN – in July 1994
Dallas TIDYMAN – in July 1994 ( Dallas on the far right – just over 3 weeks before his death )
Terry Lester(left) and Dallas Tidyman (right) at the Goulburn PDTS late 1991 or early 1992. Dallas killed whilst instructing on a HWP motorcycle course at Boorowa, NSW. RIP two good friends.Terry died 25 June 2015
At 2.30pm on 15 August, 1994 Senior Constable Tidyman, a senior motor cycle instructor, was riding at the rear of a column of trainee police cyclists. While travelling along the Lachlan Valley Way, Boorowa he was struck by an oncoming vehicle and fatally injured. The offending driver had apparently lost control of the vehicle before veering across the roadway and colliding with Senior Constable Tidyman’s cycle.
The constable was born in 1957 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 8 December, 1980. At the time of his death he was attached to the School of Traffic and Mobile Policing, New South Wales Police Academy, Goulburn.
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Juan Carlos HERNANDEZ
| 27/10/2012
Juan Carlos HERNANDEZ
AKA CARL, CARLOS, BOMBHEAD & ROCKY
Late of ?
NSW Goulburn Academy Class # 226
New South Wales Police Force
Probationary Constable # 98201
Regd. # 23642
Uniform # 1583
Rank: Commenced Training at the Goulburn Police Academy on 18 February 1987
Probationary Constable – appointed 15 May 1987
Constable – appointed 15 May 1988
Constable 1st Class – appointed
Final Rank = Constable 1st Class
Stations: ?, Paddington ( 10 Division ), State Protection Group Sydney ( SPG ) – Death
Service: From 18 February 1987 to1 December 1992 = 5+ years Service
Awards: No find on It’s An Honour
Born: 28 July 1959
Died on: Tuesday 1 December 1992 @ St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst
Age: 33 years, 4 months, 3 days
Cause: Accidentally Shot at Redfern SPG
Event location: Redfern Police Academy
Event date: Tuesday 1 December 1992
Funeral date: 4 December 1992
Funeral location: ?
Wake location: ?
Funeral Parlour: ?
Buried at: Cremated. Ashes collected. Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park, Matraville
Memorial located at: ?
CARLIS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
Funeral location: TBA
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
In 1992 Constable Hernandez was a member of the State Protection Group and a qualified firearms instructor. He was accidentally shot in the chest while testing police in their annual firearms proficiency tests at the Redfern Police Complex. Following emergency surgery Constable Hernandez died at St Vincent’s Hospital, Darlinghurst the same day as the accident.
The constable was born in 1959 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 18 February, 1987. At the time of his death he was attached to the State Protection Group.
Touch Plate at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra
Photo credit: Kelvin Harband NSW Fallen Police New Member · Juan Hernandez was accidentally shot in the chest while doing firearms training as an Instructor at the Redfern Police Academy on 1 December 1992. Emergency surgery was unable to save his life and he passed on that same day. Juan and I went through the Academy together in 1987 and he will always be remembered and a great bloke whose life was cut way to short by the tragic accident. Juan is in the middle squatting down in this photo which was taken on the day of our attestation ( 15 May 1987 ).
Carl is also credited with designing the TOU insignia – which was maintained in respect to his.
Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),
Tuesday 1 December 1992, page 4
IN BRIEF
Policeman shot dead
SYDNEY: A police weapons training instructor was fatally wounded by another officer during a gun training session yesterday.
Constable Juan Carlos Hernandez, 33, an instructor with the elite State Protection Group, died in hospital several hours after being shot in the chest at the old Police Academy at Redfern.
Constable Hernandez was supervising about 15 officers at a training session when a .38 calibre police-issue revolver discharged, wounding him in the chest.
The Hon. CATHERINE CUSACK: My question is addressed to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services. Will the Minister inform the House about the newest recruits to the New South Wales Police Force?
The Hon. MICHAEL GALLACHER: I thank the honourable member for her question. Last Friday, 23 August 2013, it was my great pleasure to attend the attestation ceremony for class 319 at the Goulburn Police Academy. I assure members that the calibre of probationary constables coming through the doors of the academy to pursue challenging and rewarding careers as police officers in this State remains very high indeed. They passed the stringent physical and academic tests, and have demonstrated the commitment and character befitting their new role. These qualities were no more visible than when the commissioner’s valour award was presented to Senior Constable Justin Knight on the parade ground last Friday. The award was conferred for conspicuous merit and exceptional bravery when an offender armed with a sawn-off rifle fired at Senior Constable Knight with intent to murder on 20 January 2007 at Eveleigh Street, Redfern—the Block.
In the course of pursuing a suspect, Constable Knight alighted from his vehicle and pursued an offender on foot, calling for him to stop. The offender produced a sawn-off rifle and, despite the risk, Constable Knight continued to follow him. The offender fired a number of shots at Constable Knight, narrowly missing him. The constable felt one of the projectiles go past his arm and thought that he had been shot. Being aware of the sensitivity of the local community towards police and despite the escalated danger, Constable Knight did not respond by firing his service firearm. The offender fled the scene, but was later identified and charged with attempted murder of a police officer. The offender was subsequently convicted.
I ask members to reflect on those circumstances and whether we would have acted with the same level of commitment, bravery and judgement as Constable Knight on that occasion. Too often the community reacts to instances where police officers have been accused of wrongdoing, but the events of that night in 2007 remind us of the challenges and risks faced by officers of the NSW Police Force, in this case potentially quite deadly. I am confident that Senior Constable Knight’s example will flow through to the 161 probationary constables who attested and have joined a force with record authorised strength in this State.
A number of the new police officers deserve special mention. The winner of the Robert Brotherson award for the highest level of academic achievement was Probationary Constable Natalie Martin. The winners of the Steven Roser memorial award for the highest male and female achievers in physical training were Probationary Constable Mitchell Thompson and Probationary Constable Guilhermina El-Mir. The Juan Carlos Hernandez award, given to the student with the highest marksmanship score, went to probationary constables David Edwards, Anton Sahyoun and Shanahan Toering—all three tied for that award. Probationary Constable Toering also received the award for the highest achiever in the Simulated Policing Acquiring Competence program.
One of the many proud parents at the attestation was Detective Superintendent Arthur Katsogiannis, whose son Daniel is now a probationary constable and commences his career at City Central Local Area Command. It was terrific to see 23 members of the attestation of class 319 identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, of which 16 were graduates of the Indigenous Police Recruiting Our Way [IPROWD] program that I have spoken about in this forum. Congratulations to them. I had the pleasure of witnessing the graduation of 13 dog teams from the State Protection Group Dog Unit. Some were general purpose dogs and others, obviously, were sniffer dogs. That is good news for Byron Bay and its former mayor, the Hon. Jan Barham. The attestation parades provide an opportunity— [Time expired.]
The Hon. CATHERINE CUSACK: I ask a supplementary question. Will the Minister elucidate his answer?
The Hon. MICHAEL GALLACHER: I pay respect to the following five officers who retired from the NSW Police Force, taking with them collectively 190-plus years: Superintendent Ben Feszczuk, Detective Superintendent Col Dyson, APM, Superintendent Ray Filewood, Detective Inspector Dennis Clarke, APM, and Inspector Leslie Dickens. All five officers led the parade on Friday. It was an incredibly proud moment for them, their families and the communities they have represented in just short of 200 years of policing. As I said to the graduating class, “If you want to look for role models, look at these five as a classic example of what you can give back to a community that will give you so much more.”
The Hon. CATHERINE CUSACK: My question is addressed to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services. Will the Minister inform the House about the newest recruits to the NSW Police Force? The Hon. MICHAEL GALLACHER: On 3 May it was a great pleasure to attend the attestation ceremony for class 318 at the Goulburn Police Academy, and I can assure the House that the calibre of probationary constables coming through the academy to pursue a challenging and rewarding career as a New South Wales police officer remains high. All attesting officers have made it through physical and academic tests, and, most importantly, they have demonstrated the commitment and character of people prepared to ensure the safety and security of the community they will serve. The 202 probationary constables who attested have joined a police force now boasting a record authorised strength of 16,176. As members opposite know full well, we have been increasing the authorised strength of the NSW Police Force since we took office. After the further increase this month of 80 positions from the May class, we have boosted the authorised strength by 370, and we are on our way to increasing the force by a total of 859 positions, to a record authorised strength of 16,665 officers in August 2015. This month 50 additional positions were added to the Police Transport Command, bringing its authorised strength to 401. We have also added 30 positions to the authorised strength of the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command, bringing it to 1,295. That makes an increase of 50 new authorised positions to this command, and that is halfway to our commitment to increase the strength of the command by 100. While another 202 probationary constables have been drawn to this career, I am equally pleased with how many officers stay in this exciting and rewarding profession. Indeed, there is such demand for a career in policing that the NSW Police Force has implemented a freeze on new applications. Members opposite have mischievously tried to claim that this is a sign of cuts to the Police Force. That is as far from the truth as members opposite could possibly get. Thanks to the Government making the necessary reforms to the Death and Disability Scheme set up by members opposite and restoring the confidence of serving police officers by ensuring that they will have the back-up they need, I am advised that attrition within the Police Force is currently averaging about 40 officers a month, down from the average of 70 under the previous administration. Therefore, it stands to reason that if fewer officers are leaving the force, fewer replacements are needed. Under Labor, the NSW Police Force was faced with more than 800 officers on long-term sick leave and officers leaving the force at such a rate that police could not recruit fast enough to plug the holes. Placing a temporary freeze on new applications will ensure that potential applicants do not need to spend application fees, which easily total $500, including on such items as medical certificates, when there is a substantial wait before their application can be considered. We are getting on with the job of ensuring that the NSW Police Force is better resourced, better equipped and better supported than ever before. Members opposite are peddling misinformation and seeking to undermine the community’s confidence in a police force experiencing record numbers. A number of the new police officers deserve special mention. The winner of the Robert Brotherson Award for the highest level of academic achievement was Probationary Constable Thomas Stillwell. The winners of the Steven Roser Memorial Award for the highest male and female achievers in physical training were Probationary Constable Adam Splithof and Probationary Constable Caitlin Billingham. The Juan Carlos Hernandez Award, given to the student with the highest marksmanship score, went to Probationary Constable Matthew Skellern. [Time expired.]
The Hon. CATHERINE CUSACK: I ask a supplementary question. Will the Minister elucidate his answer?
The Hon. MICHAEL GALLACHER: I am sure that all members would like to hear about these outstanding young probationary constables, including Probationary Constable Nathan Dechaufepie, who was the recipient of the Simulated Policing Acquiring Confidence Award. These officers can be proud of their achievements. Their families can be proud of them and, most importantly, their communities are proud of them. I am sure that the House will join me in wishing our newest police officers all the very best for their careers in the NSW Police Force.
The Hon. SCOT MacDONALD: My question is addressed to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services. Will the Minister inform the House of the results of the latest police attestation?
The Hon. MICHAEL GALLACHER: I apologise to the House for my inability to be here last Friday. I had a very important role to fulfil as the Minister for Police and Emergency Services at the graduation of class 312 at the Police Academy in Goulburn. It was my first in my new role as Minister for Police and Emergency Services. One of the first things I had an opportunity to announce down there was clarification of the uncertainty that exists around the name of the organisation.
The Hon. Duncan Gay: It was well received.
The Hon. MICHAEL GALLACHER: It was well received. It will now return to its former name of the New South Wales Police Academy, not the police college. That announcement was very well received by the sworn officers. The attestation certainly brought back memories of when I was in a similar position, standing on the parade ground at Redfern more than 30 years ago. Whilst a lot of things have changed in policing, a lot of things have not. Obviously the equipment, the cars and the uniform have changed, but certainly one thing that has not changed is the high calibre of probationary constables coming through the academy. They are required to pass through a tough course, both physically and academically, to prove they can cut the mustard as officers in the New South Wales Police Force. Who knows, even Eric Roozendaal might apply to join the New South Wales Police Force—although he may not pass the integrity test.
They are men and women who are prepared to do their best for the people of this State and who will undertake this job on a daily basis, often in the most difficult of circumstances. The 111 probationary constables who attested at the ceremony have joined more than 15,000 officers in the Police Force. They come from all walks of life. Over 22 per cent of those who attested are women. Forty per cent come from outside metropolitan Sydney. Sixteen were born overseas, in countries such as Russia, Germany, Malaysia, China and even Botswana. They speak Arabic, Greek, Cantonese, Armenian, Dari, and Khmer. They will be posted to 59 local area commands across the State, from Albury in the south, to Richmond in the north, from Barrier in the west to the heart of Sydney. Forty-four of the officers have been assigned to non-metropolitan or rural regions.
Irrespective of where they have been posted they are on the front line. They stand between the community and the dangers of crime and other antisocial behaviour. A number of these new police officers deserve special mention. Firstly, the winner of the Robert Brotherson Award for the highest level of academic achievement was Probationary Constable Stephanie Hill. The winners of the Steven Roser Memorial Award for the highest male and female achievers in physical training were Probationary Constable John Feuerstein and Probationary Constable Sandra Chaban. The Juan Carlos Hernandez Award, given to the student with the highest marksmanship score, was Probationary Constable James Patrick. Probationary Constable Jessica Agland was the recipient of the Simulated Policing Acquiring Confidence Award.
I met some of the officers on Friday and I can confidently say that the New South Wales Police Force has a strong future. These officers can be proud of their achievements. Their family and friends can be proud of them for all the hard work they have put in to get there. The people of New South Wales can be proud of these people for choosing a selfless profession, dedicating their working lives to ensuring the safety and protection of the community. I am sure all members of the House will join me in wishing our newest police officers all the very best for their careers in the New South Wales Police Force.
On 20 October, 1991, Constable McNamara was taking part in a training run at the Goulburn Police Academy when he collapsed, suffering from heat stroke. At the time he was undertaking the Patrol Support Element Course. He was initially conveyed to the Goulburn Base Hospital however due to his deteriorating condition he was transferred to Sydney’s Prince of Wales Hospital the following day. He died eleven days later of multiple organ failure caused by muscle meltdown.
The constable was born in 1967 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 28 March, 1986. At the time of his death he was attached to the North West Region Major Crime Squad.
His father was Det Sgt Bob McNamara. ( I have a photo of Bob )
Leonard Graham DEAN
| 27/10/2012
Leonard Graham DEAN
aka Len
Brother of Stan W. Dean ( Kogarah Dets ) – NSWPF # ?????
Late of Queanbeyan, NSW
Academy Class 144
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 16646
Rank: Commenced Training, at the Academy, Monday 23 September 1974
Probationary Constable – appointed 4 November 1974
Constable – appointed 4 November 1975
Detective – appointed ? ? ?
Senior Constable – appointed 4 November 1983
Detective Sergeant – death
Stations: ?, Central ( 1970’s ), Queanbeyan Detective – death
Service: Frompre November 1974 to 29 May 1991=16+years Service
Awards: National Medal – granted 15 November 1991 – Posthumously
Born: Thursday 15 October 1953
Died on: Wednesday 29 May 1991 whilst playing in the Golden Oldies Rugby tournament, Perth, W.A.
Age: 37yrs 7mths 14days
Cause: Heart failure of the mitral valve
Event location: Perth, W.A.
Event date: ?
Funeral date: ? ? ?
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: ?
Memorial located at: ?
Touch plate for Leonard Graham DEAN at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra.
LEONARDis mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
Detective Sergeant Lenny Dean passed away in Perth on 29 May, 1991 as a result of a rupture in his mitral heart valve. It was later determined that the medical condition was a result of the sergeant’s stressful policing career.
The sergeant was born in 1953 and commenced training with the New South Wales Police Force on 23 September, 1974. At the time of his death he was stationed at Queanbeyan.
DEAN
Leonard Graham
Funeral notice
29MAY1991
Death
37
at Perth
Northern Star (Lismore)
31MAY1991
DEAN
Leonard Graham
Death notice
29MAY1991
Death
37
at Perth
Canberra Times
31MAY1991
Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995), Friday 12 October 1990, page 4
COURTS and THE LAW
Papers, TV stations fined $670,000 for contempt of court
SYDNEY: Five media organisations were fined a total of $670,000 by the Court of Appeal yesterday for contempt of court.
The fines related to reports of the arrest of Paul Gerald Mason and his confession in July last year to three pickaxe murders and an attempted murder.
The court found that the reports were likely to, or had a tendency to, interfere with a fair trial. Fines imposed were:
ATN Channel 7 (including rebroadcast through Prime Television ); $200,000.
TCN Channel 9 (including rebroadcast through WIN): $75,000.
TEN Channel 10: $75,000.
Nationwide News: (in The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mirror of July 31): $200,000. ABC: $120,000.
Detective Senior Constable Leonard Graham Dean, who answered questions at a news conference held outside Queanbeyan police station after Mason’s arrest, was also found guilty of contempt.
No fine was imposed on Dean, but he was ordered to pay the NSW Attorney-General’s costs of bringing the prosecution, as were all the other defendants.
Mason, 27, was arrested after surrendering to police on July 29, 1989, and was later charged with the murders of Ruth Ferguson, 25, and her eight-month-old son, Mark, on July 27, 1989, near Eden. Mason was also charged with the murder of Mary Alice Clark, 29, at Gearys Gap, near Canberra, on May 12, 1989, and the attempted murder of her one-year-old son, Samuel, on the same day. On September 11, he hanged himself in his Goulburn jail cell.
The judges said the publication of obviously prejudicial material would, unless emphatically punished, reduce community belief in the capacity of the courts to maintain standards of fairness in trials.
The report in The Daily Telegraph had followed “an embarrassing mistake” by an experienced solicitor, who advised that the report would not be in contempt of court. The position was different with the Daily Mirror report, which was published “simply in reckless pursuit of a good story, and sales”.
The judges said Channel 7’s concern was for the risk to which it was exposed, not for the damage done by the broadcast.
There had been no explanation from the ABC as to how its offending broadcast came to be made. The judges inferred that the persons involved knew there was a risk of contempt and were prepared to run that risk.
The judges assumed the imposition of a fine would have a deterrent effect on the corporation, even though no individual was directly affected financially.
In relation to Channel 10, the judges were “not persuaded that the financial information put before us should have any effect on the outcome of the matter”. The channel was not in liquidation and was carrying on business.
Referring to Dean‘s statement to reporters that Mason had admitted to three murders, the judges said it would be unfair to punish him for defects in the way the police organised media relations.
Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995), Friday 3 August 1990, page 13
Station admits contempt
SYDNEY: Channel Ten admitted yesterday it was in contempt of court over reporting of events following the surrender last year of alleged pickaxe murderer, Paul Gerald Mason.
The NSW Attorney-General, John Dowd, summonsed the station, alleging its news report of July 31, 1989, could have prejudiced a fair trial.
A videotape of the report named Mason and showed him accompanying police to the scene of his alleged crimes.
Bruce James, QC, for the Attorney-General, said he accepted there were extenuating circumstances in relation to the Channel Ten report.
The station had a system of legal checks in place, but it had broken down on this occasion.
On Tuesday the court reserved its decision on the penalty to be imposed on the ABC, which pleaded guilty to contempt over a similar report.
Judgment was also reserved yesterday on whether Channel 9 is guilty of contempt over its report of the same events. The station has denied its report could prejudice a trial.
Channel 7, Nationwide News Pty Ltd and a police officer, Detective Constable Leonard Graham Dean, have yet to come before the court on similar summonses.
Mason, 27, of Riverstone in Sydney’s west, surrendered to police on July 29, 1989, after the ABC telecast an appeal by his father.
He was charged in Queanbeyan Local Court with the murders of Ruth Ferguson, 25, and her eight-month-old son, Mark, on July 27,1989, at their Pambula Beach home.
Mrs Ferguson had been battered with a pickaxe and her son strangled with a cord.
Mason was also charged with the pickaxe murder of Mary Alice Clark, 29, at Geary’s Gap, near Canberra, on May 12, 1989, and the at tempted murder of her one year-old son Samuel. Mason hanged himself in Goulburn jail on September 11.
Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995), Wednesday 8 May 1985, page 8
Bond for union official over assault on shearer
A union official who assaulted a shearer on a property near Yass during the shearers’ dispute last year was fined and released on a bond yesterday.
Mr Noel James Ashton, 33, of Murrumburrah, pleaded guilty in the NSW District Court in Yass to assaulting Mr Wayne Lawrence on May 10, 1984, occasioning actual bodily harm.
Detective Senior Constable Leonard Dean, of Queanbeyan police, told the court that police were talking to other people about related assaults and a second man had surrendered to police on Monday and admitted assaulting the property owner.
Mr Ashton, secretary of the Harden branch of the Australian Workers’ Union, said he worked from time to time as a wool-presser in district shearing sheds.
He had been in a delegation of AWU members from all over NSW which had travelled to Canberra on May 10. The delegation had sought ministerial agreement to a proposal that New Zealand shearers, who had been taking work away from AWU members, should have visas before they could work in Australia.
The delegation had not been successful and had been “pushed from one Minister to another”.
Mr Ashton said that he, another man and Mr Bill Sinclair, an AWU organiser, had stopped at the property on their way back from Canberra.
Mr Sinclair had gone into the shear ing shed and spoken to the shearers. He had returned soon after and announced that the shearers were using wide combs, were non-unionists, had refused to join the union and were working illegally.
Mr Ashton said he went into the shed where there was “a bit of pushing and a lot of harsh words”.
When he and about 15 others had left the shed, someone had called out that “a blue” had started and the men had returned. Mr Ashton said he punched Mr Lawrence in the face several times.
When the men had left the property, they had agreed to deny ever having been there if asked. Mr Ashton said he had done this when asked by police about the incident two weeks later.
Feelings had been running high over the wide-comb issue at the time and families had split because of it.
His branch of the AWU was trying to get harmony back into the shearing sheds.
Judge McGuire said that normally he would jail a person for such an offence. However, Mr Ashton had pleaded guilty, saving the community thousands of dollars in legal costs, and had frankly admitted his role in the incident without trying to lay the blame on anyone else.
He deferred passing sentence, released Mr Ashton on a $1,000, three year good-behaviour bond and fined him $500.
Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995), Saturday 14 July 1984, page 12
Bungendore committal hearing ends
Five for trial on alleged kidnap counts, two freed
Five men charged over the alleged kidnapping of a Bungendore couple were committed for trial at the conclusion yesterday of a 10-day committal hearing in Canberra Petty Sessions.
The men were among seven people charged in connection with the alleged kidnapping of Mr Stephen John Harrison and Ms Heidi Maree Van Leeuwen in February.
Two other defendants were discharged after the Acting Chief Magistrate, Mr Dobson. ruled there was insufficient evidence to find prima facie cases against them.
All charges related to the alleged kidnapping of Ms Van Leeuwen were dismissed after Mr Dobson said he was not satisfied that her detention had been to anyone’s advantage.
One of the five men committed to the ACT Supreme Court, Mr David Graeme Hudson, was refused bail pending his trial after the prosecutor. Mr Wayne Roser, told the court that Mr Hudson had made threats against police and one of the accused.
The five men committed are: Mr Hudson, 25, of Crofts Crescent, Spence; Mr Pasca Ganitis, 32, of Unanderra. Wollongong; Mr Stephen Leonard Jones, 24, formerly of Weetangera; Mr Shane Frederick Raftery, 23, of Belconnen Way, Weetangera; and Mr John Desmond Keenan, 21, formerly of Holder.
Mr Dobson found a prima facie case against each on charges of kidnapping Mr Stephen John Harrison between February 10 and 15. But he discharged Mr Hudson, Mr Ganitis, Mr Jones and Mr Keenan on charges of kidnapping Ms Heidi Maree Van Leeuwen between the same dates. Mr Raftery was not charged with this offence.
All five men then entered pleas of not guilty and reserved their defences.
Mr Dobson discharged also Mr Christian Klug, 22, of Dexter Street, Cook, who had been charged with aiding and abetting Mr Hudson in kidnapping Mr Harrison, and Ms Debbie Lee Towse, 26, of Crofts Crescent, Spence, who had been charged with being knowingly concerned in the kidnapping of Ms Van Leeuwen by Mr Hudson.
Mr Dobson said he was satisfied that Mr Klug had been involved in the offences but in a peripheral way only. Mr Klug had been “skating on thin ice” and had brought the proceedings on himself.
But the peripheral nature of his involvement did not justify the waste of public money involved in putting him on trial and he ordered that Mr Klug be discharged. Mr Dobson refused to make the order for costs in Mr Klug’s favour sought by his counsel, Mr Ben Salmon.
Mr Dobson said he had no doubt that Ms Towse had been present during part of the incident and had known that Mr Harrison was being detained. She had known also that Ms Van Leeuwen was being detained and had been with her some of the time. But mere presence was not enough.
In addition, there was insufficient evidence that the detaining of Ms Van Leeuwen had been for the advantage of Mr Hudson (an element of the charges laid) and he ordered that Ms Towse be discharged.
At the request of her counsel, Mr John Purnell, he ordered police to pay Ms Towse’s costs of $250.
In opposing bail for Mr Hudson, pending his trial, Mr Roser drew the court’s attention to the seriousness of the offences, the threats made to police that had been revealed in tape recordings played to the court on Thursday, a threat made to Mr Jones during the proceedings, and the fear of reprisals held by the victims of the alleged kidnappings.
Mr Dobson refused bail for Mr Hudson but released the other four men on bail of $5,000, with similar sureties, and ordered them to report to police weekly and not approach any witness connected with the case.
Earlier, Detective Senior Constable Leonard Dean, of Queanbeyan, told Mr Roser he had spoken to Mr Ganitis at the Civic Police Station on February 14. Mr Ganitis had told him that he had gone to Mr Harrison’s house in Bungendore with Mr Hudson and a man called Steve on February 10.
While there, Mr Hudson had asked Mr Harrison for drugs. Mr Harrison had told him of the location of some and about 25 grams of “speed”, in one-gram packets, had been found in the back yard. Ms Van Leeuwen had also produced a quantity of marijuana.
Mr Harrison had later been taken to a house in Belconnen and assaulted. He [ Mr Harrison] had said that he and two other men had been involved in the firing of shots at Mr Hudson’s house on an earlier date. Senior Constable Dean said.
During a signed record of interview, Mr Ganitis had denied that any weapons had been produced at Mr Harrison’s home. He had allegedly said that Mr Hudson had said he had a gun but had been bluffing.
Mr Harrison had been tied up at Steve’s house but when he had gone to Mr Hudson’s he had had “the run of the joint”.
Mr Ganitis had said he had made sure that no-one had touched Ms Van Leeuwen “by telling everyone to leave her alone, mainly David”.
Service: From 26 June 1978 to 17 December 1990 = 12+ years Service
Born: 1954
Died: 17 December 1990
Age: 35 – 36
Cause: Illness – Suicide – firearm
Location of event: ?
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?
Grave location: ?
CANBERRA – NATIONAL POLICE WALL OF REMEMBRANCE TOUCH PLATE. NSWPF SUICIDE THAT ” IS ” MENTIONED ON THE POLICE WALL OF REMEMBRANCE.
[alert_green]Peter IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]
Constable Tickle was a member of the Police Tactical Response Group and following a barrage of ill-informed and inaccurate media attacks on the squad he tragically took his own life on 17 December, 1990.
The constable was born in 1954 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 26 June, 1978. At the time of his death he was attached to the Tactical Response Group.
Full name is ‘possibly‘ Peter WAYNE Tickle.
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There are many on this site that served with SenCon Peter Tickle in the TRG. Peter was an excellent copper who was totally dedicated to the job and his workmates. I can’t even begin to count the number of times he went through doors with a shotgun in his hands or was involved in riots at Bathurst, our States Gaols etc. He was one of the bravest coppers I ever worked with and you could always count on him having your back no matter what the odds. It was because of this dedication to his mates that drove him to suicide. TRG were under heavy pressure from Pollies, The Bosses and the Media after the Darren Brennan shooting. Peter was asked to attend a school to show the kids some Police equipment. ONE parent complained to the Media that he had allowed ‘innocent’ little children to play with a fully loaded shotgun (the shotgun was innocuous and unloaded) but the Media had a field day. Peter came under extreme pressure from management and felt that he had brought more pressure on the Group and had seriously let his workmates down. He believed that because of this TRG would be disbanded. His dedication to his mates and the Group was overwhelming and he took his own life. Does the act of doing this wipe out all the brave and excellent work he did as a copper ? Does his service and dedication deserve to be commemorated ? I believe it does.
Friday 21 August 2015 – Barry Lewis
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David Ian OAKLEY
| 27/10/2012
David Ian OAKLEY
Late of ?
NSW Police Academy Class 204
New South Wales Police Force
[alert_yellow]Regd. # 21572[/alert_yellow]
Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 14 September 1984
Constable – appointed 14 September 1985
Detective Course # 21 ( 22 January 1990 – 02 March 1990 )
Detective Constable 1st Class – death
Stations: ?, Wagga Wagga, Chatswood – Death
Service: From? ? pre September 1984? to 14 August 1990= 5+years Service
On 18 December, 1988 Constable Oakley was at the Wagga Base Hospital where he was involved in restraining a berserk offender.
During the struggle the constable was kicked in the face, causing injuries and swelling to his mouth, face and jaw.
When the swelling did not fully subside he was diagnosed as suffering from metastatic melanoma and was required to undergo surgery.
It was found that the condition had been aggravated by the injuries received on 18 December, 1988.
Although he later returned to full duties Constable Oakley died on 14 August, 1990.
The constable was born in 1964 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 15 September, 1984. At the time of his death he was stationed at Chatswood.
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Detective Course # 21. 22 January 1990 – 2 March 1990
