Rank: Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 7 May 1984
Probationary Constable – appointed 20 July 1984
Constable – appointed 20 July 1985
Constable 1st Class – appointed ?
Detective- appointed ? ? 1991
Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Stations: Regional Crime Squad, Nth West ( Parramatta ), ?
Service: From: 7 May 1984 to To: ? ? ?
Awards: No Find on Australian Honours system
Born: Thursday 25 July 1963
Died: ? ? ?
Cause: Stomach Cancer – H.O.D.
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?
Grave site location: ?
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS MEMBER
GREG IS Mentioned on the Police Memorial Wall, Sydney Police Centre, Surry Hills as of October 2022
25 October 2022
This afternoon, in a quiet and deeply-felt ceremony at the Sydney Police Centre, another thirteen names were added, and the memories of another thirteen dedicated NSW Police Force employees were honoured, at the NSW Police Force Service Memorial:
It took up 451 hearing days, heard from 902 public witnesses and cost an estimated $64 million. Malcolm Brown reports on the Wood royal commission, 10 years on.
It began on June 15, 1995, when an unnamed Annandale detective jumped to his death from the seventh floor of a building, apparently through fear of the Wood royal commission. The detective’s suicide was followed by those of Ray Jenkins, a dog trainer (July 10), and Inspector Robert Tait, the acting patrol commander at Narrabri ( March 29, 1996 ). Nineteen days later a former Wollongong alderman, Brian Tobin, gassed himself.
On May 8 the same year, Peter Foretic gassed himself the day after giving evidence about paedophilia. On September 23, Detective Senior Constable Wayne Johnson shot himselfand his estranged wife after being adversely named in the royal commission. On November 4, David Yeldham, a retired judge about to face the royal commission on questions of sexual impropriety, killed himself. A month later Danny Caines, a plumber and police confidant, committed suicide at Forster, on the North Coast.
Altogether, 12 people enmeshed in the Wood royal commissiontook their own lives. Scores of others were so profoundly affected by proceedings that their supporters and families believe it shortened their lives. A former detective, Greg Jensen, suffered a recurrence of the stomach cancer that ultimately ended his life, while another former detective, Ray McDougall, who faced the threat that commission investigators might expose his extramarital affair if he did not co-operate, succumbed to motor neurone disease.
There is no doubt that the Royal Commission into the NSW Police Service, headed by the Supreme Court judge James Wood, purged the force of a rollcall of rotters. A total of 284 police officers were adversely named, 46 briefs of evidence were sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions and by 2001 nine officers had pleaded guilty to corruption offences and three not guilty. Seven police officers received jail sentences, including the former Gosford drug squad chief Wayne Eade and a former chief of detectives, Graham “Chook” Fowler.
Several high-profile police ended their careers in disgrace, including Ray Donaldson, an assistant commissioner, whose contract was not renewed, and Bob Lysaught, the commissioner’s chief of staff, whose contract was torn up. Charges against 14 officers were dismissed because of irregularities in search warrants and their execution.
That left the question of what to do with police who were on the nose but who could not be brought to account by normal means. The solution was the creation of section 181B of the Police Service Act, under which the police commissioner could dismiss an officer on the basis of what had come out of the royal commission. Section 181D allowed the police commissioner to serve an officer with a notice indicating that he “does not have confidence in the police officer’s suitability to continue as a police officer”. The officer could show cause as to why he should be retained, and if dismissed could appeal to the Industrial Relations Tribunal.
In the wake of the two legislative changes, 380 officers were targeted for dismissal or internal investigation. By March 1998, 19 police officers had been dismissed under section 181B and three under 181D. Another had been dismissed under a separate provision of the act, 14 had resigned, four had been medically discharged and 15 had been given performance warning notices. Others were under consideration, and as the Police Integrity Commission – a legacy of the royal commission which became a permanent watchdog – has demonstrated, even officers who had been corrupt many years before were not necessarily in the clear.The former independent MP John Hatton, who was instrumental in setting up the royal commission, said he thought the Police Integrity Commission was the royal commission’s “greatest achievement”. The Child Protection Enforcement Agency, which launched a purge of sex offenders, is another positive legacy of the royal commission.But 10 years on, was the exercise worth it?To some there were considerable benefits. Some appalling malpractice – known as “process” or “noble cause” corruption – prompted Wood to wonder at one point about the quality of a lot of police evidence he had accepted over the years.Despite this, many officers still believe the royal commission was too puritanical. They claim the investigators, not able to grapple with the really big issues, jumped on anything they could: “They had to have runs on the board,” says Michael McGann, who as a policeman in 1984 participated in the so-called Kareela Cat Burglar case, in which police used mace on an uncooperative thief and sex offender. To some critics this treatment did no serious harm and only required a word of caution. But under the spotlight of the royal commission 12 years later, it ended the careers of high-flying police such as John Garvey, Brian Harding and Steve York. A decade later, Harding works in corporate security but insists that the real sting was that the investigators had fabricated evidence. When that finally came out, he says, the group received a confidential settlement, but it did little to redress the feelings of outrage.
Another former policeman, Dr Michael Kennedy, says the commission was a political response to the police commissioner, Tony Lauer, bringing about the downfall of the then police minister, Ted Pickering.
The attorney-general, ministry and judiciary took little responsibility for the state of the force, Kennedy says, while the responsibility of the police rank-and-file grew to “the size of a Pacific driftnet”. “I don’t think the royal commission contributed anything to the reform process except to provide a template for double standards,” he says.
“Chook Fowler put $200 into his pocket from Louis Bayeh. Chook was a lazy, good-for-nothing drunk. But he was put into the same category as Ray Williams and HIH.”McGann says that against the string of petty corrupt activities uncovered, “you have to look at what the government did and did not do with gambling and vice, over the decades. There have been direct links to Parliament for 50 or 60 years. That is hypocrisy.”The critics’ view is that the royal commission has left a demoralised police force, tarnished and rudderless, with limited operational effectiveness and the problem of corruption unsolved. Seven police officers have taken their lives since 2001, including two this year.”It highlights the fact that the structure no longer takes in the needs of the NSW police force,” says Mike Gallacher, the Opposition police spokesman, and a former internal affairs police officer. Gallacher believes, as does the NSW Police Commissioner, Ken Moroney, that the tentacles of corruption no longer spread to embrace entire squads or larger units. But it does not prevent low-level incidents of corruption and there are continuing nests of corruption.In its most recent report, the Police Integrity Commission said it had undertaken 21 major investigations in 2005-06. These dealt with extortion, theft, unauthorised disclosure of confidential government information and perverting the course of justice, police brutality and the handling of $250,000 stolen from automatic teller machines. The then police integrity commissioner, Terry Griffin, said there had been 51 investigations in the 12 months, compared with 44 in 2004-05, and the 1141 written complaints represented a 15 per cent increase. Moroney says all these reports are disappointing, but one of the significant statistics was the number of police who were reporting on other police. “You go back a decade and the number of informants who were police was 5 to 10 per cent,” he says. “In the Ombudsman’s last report, that figure was 49 per cent.”The mechanism for dealing with internal complaints has been expedited: “I have not been afraid to use a section 181D notice,” Moroney says.He believes there is a different mentality in the force. A video of the royal commission had been shown at a recent reunion dinner of the old criminal investigation branch. “It is part of our history. But the interesting thing is that when Chookie came onto the screen, everyone booed. That was a signal to the Fowlers and the Eades that those found to have acted corruptly would not be accepted.”
However, Moroney accepts that corruption is not a thing of the past. “In the contemporary period, there are huge monies to be made from the illicit drug environment. You are talking in some cases of millions of dollars. It is the greatest menace in society today. And the greatest menace to officers is drug money. That is why rotation of officers out of specialist squads on a regular basis is important.”Taking over as commissioner five years ago, he had brought a low-key “Uncle Ken” influence, sorely needed, and had had to balance the principles of police accountability against the public demand for law and order, and the task has been awkward.A senior counsel told the Heraldthis week that the focus on integrity, scrutiny of professional standards and attacks by defence lawyers meant that talented police prepared to do the dirty work were deterred. “In the old days the best and the brightest went into plain-clothes,” he said. “But when the police perceive that when they have to go the extra yard [to get convictions], they are crucified – ‘Why should I go to plain-clothes when I can just get some uniform job with a 12-hour shift, and a second job?”‘Clive Small, a former assistant commissioner who set up crime agencies and established the child protection unit, says that after so many detectives were disgraced in the royal commission, the police force sought to take the spotlight off detectives and put more of the onus of responsibility for crime control onto local area commands. Crime agencies had a continual battle to keep up to strength. Regionalising responsibility for crime control reflected a lack of understanding. “A lot of crime spreads through the metropolitan area, across the state and across the nation,” he says.Kennedy, now a university lecturer, says the “business model” approach is incompatible with good police work. “We cannot expect police to behave like they are in the private sector, where competence is measured in terms of productivity,” he says.Kennedy attended the recent CIB reunion dinner and sat at a table with former drug squad detectives who remained friends of Wayne Eade. He takes issue with Moroney‘s claim that people at the dinner made catcalls when Fowler came on screen. “No one supported Chook,” he says. “But the animosity of the crowd was directed straight at Justice Wood and his commission.”Clive Small, who was also at the dinner, says: “I think it is really a matter of interpretation who they were booing. There were things the royal commission did not take care about. There was a lot of collateral damage. And the implementation [of its recommendations] has been pretty ordinary.”
CRUSADER WHO MADE THE CALL
JOHN HATTON well remembers the audience on May 11, 1994, when he made his speech calling for a royal commission into the NSW Police Service. MPs were listening, of course, but it was a gallery above him, packed with the “top brass of the police force – the commissioner himself, the deputy commissioner, superintendents – they were an intimidating force on the Parliament”.
“They thought they could stare down the Labor Party support for my motion,” Hatton, now retired, says. “It was probably the best indicator of the way in which the police force thought they could control the agenda.”
Hatton won the day, putting paid to a claim by then police commissioner, Tony Lauer, that “systemic corruption” was “a figment of the political imagination”. Hearings started on November 24, 1994, and Justice James Wood delivered his final report on August 26, 1997.
Ten years later, Hatton believes he was vindicated. He says Wood was “the right man” to head the commission and the recruitment of interstate police was crucial, along with the decision to use phone taps and surveillance.
The 11 volumes of material Hatton gave the royal commission had been accumulated over 14 years, he says, from the time he had first spoken up. He had received information on illegal gambling, drug trafficking and police involvement with the mafia.
There had been earlier moves to address police corruption, including inquiries by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, but these had only scratched the surface. “I can remember on one occasion I reported a death threat which had to do with the McKay murder in Griffith and 48 hours later the bloke who had given the information was threatened by a shotgun at his door in Queensland,” Hatton says.
The royal commission came into being because Hatton and other independent MPs held the balance of power in Parliament. The Labor Party may have had high public motives, but also saw a chance to attack the Fahey government. Labor stipulated that an inquiry into police protection of paedophiles, previously in the hands of the ICAC, become part of the royal commission.
The process of gathering information was helped greatly by Trevor Haken, a detective who became an informer and covert investigator as part of a deal to avoid being prosecuted himself.
Hatton says Haken‘s entry was “out of the blue”. Though useful, in the long term it had had a detrimental effect on the fight against corruption. Living in fear and watching his back, Haken had provided “the greatest disincentive for someone coming forward to finger corruption in the system”.
Malcolm Brown
Evan Barry HEINJUS
| 04/12/2014
Evan Barry HEINJUS
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 25954
Academy Class 237? or 238 ?
Senior Constable
Stations: Wagga Wagga G.D’s & HWP in 1995, Tarcutta HWP ( paper transfer only ),
Batemans Bay HWP, Bodalla LUK & Jugiong LUK & HWP
Awards: No Find on Australian Honours system
Service: From ? – To 4 March 2007
Born: 1968
Illness: viral Myocarditis, this illness led to major organ failure.
Hospitalised ( St Vincent’s ) 11 September 2006
Heart bypass: 3 March 2007
Died: Sunday 4 March 2007 @ 6.15am
39 old
Funeral: 9 March 2007 at
Wagga Wagga St Johns Anglican Church ( Full Police Funeral )
Evan was Cremated and remains with the family
Memorial: NSW Police force Service Memorial Wall, Sydney Police Centre, Surry Hills, F31 ( left wall )
Evan contracted an illness – viral myocarditis, this illness led to major organ failure. Evan was airlifted to to Sydney St Vincent’s hospital on 11/9/2006, and was placed in a coma for several weeks until a special total heart bypass machine was bought from England.
This Machine kept Evan alive and awake until a donor heart became available.
This machine bought many months of family time that the family will be forever grateful for.
The transplant surgery was a success on the 3/3/2007 but the effects of the prolonged use of blood thinners was unable to be reversed and Evan passed away 6.15am on 4/3/2007.
Evan is survived by his wife Helen, children Hannah, Olivia and Theo Heinjus.
Evan was a much adored country cop, he always said his mouth was his best weapon and he could talk people around with his manner. Evan loved his work as a NSW Police Officer and received many Superintendent and Commissioners commendation’s and awards.
May you forever Rest In Peace Evan.
The Commissioner’s Police Remembrance Day Scholarship
On the 29th day of each September, police officers, fellow officers, wives, husbands, parents, partners, and children gather at sites across the state to remember those police officers who have lost their lives in the course of serving their community.
A commemoration is held at the NSW Police Force Wall of Remembrance in the Domain, Sydney which includes a service and prayers for those fallen officers.
As the dignitaries laid wreaths they were accompanied by some of our young Legatees. We’d like to thank Theo, Olivia and Hannah Heinjus and Brendon Speechley who laid wreaths in honour of their lost parents and all fallen officers.
Each year at the Remembrance Day Ceremony, the Commissioner’s Scholarship is presented to a young Legatee to assist with furthering their education. Congratulations to Theo Heinjus, 11, who was the 2011 recipient of this $5,000 scholarship.
Theo was only six years old when his father, Senior Constable Evan Heinjus, died from complications after a heart transplant, aged 38.
Theo received the award from NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione. “Theo is a popular and enthusiastic boy, who has exhibited a great deal of courage in dealing with the grief of his father’s death,” Commissioner Scipione said.
“He has enormous potential to reach his dreams and I hope this scholarship will assist him to reach his potential.”
The $5000 scholarship will be put into a trust fund for Theo and will be managed by NSW Police Legacy.
“I am immensely proud that he has been able to achieve this award, it will certainly make a difference to his schooling in the upcoming years,” Theo’s mother Helen Foley said.
Legatee, Olivia Heinjus aged 12 records her experience of the 2011 October Camp
below.
This year we went to the Gold Coast, staying for the week at the Christian Youth Camp (CYC). I was in a room with Maddie, Jasmine, Margaret, Eleano and the new girls, Catlin & Katie.
On the first day we went to Dreamworld and I’m sure everyone loved it. I personally had a thrilling time because I went on the CLAW. Lara and Amy dragged me on to it!
On Monday we did stand up paddle boarding and surfing. The weather wasn’t great and some of us were being blown away by the wind but standing up paddle boarding was so much fun!
On Tuesday we did canoeing and tubing and it was great. While we were tubing Iveta and James did a switch and swapped sides and Callum and Mitch tried to flip it.
On Wednesday we went to Wet ‘n Wild and had lots of fun on all the rides. On Thursday we went to the movies at this giant shopping centre and after our movie we went shopping.
Friday was goodbye. When we landed Theo and I were back in our mothers arms. We had a great time and can’t wait to go on our next camp.
Ashes: Sydney War Cemetery, Memorial Ave, Rookwood
Memorial located at:
Lance is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of RemembranceBUT SHOULD BE
37 years later ( 2019 ) and this man is still not recognised by the NSWPF – but WE – the people who Served in NSWPF, still Remember and Honour our Fallen
A Senior Constable Lance Meline committed self harm with a police revolver at Helensburgh Police Station on the 8 April 1982. He was apparently having trouble with hoodlums in the Helensburgh area too.
Lance was born to Daphne ELLIOT ( D: 1980 ) & Leslie MELINE ( D: about 1998 – ex Flight Engineer with RAAF – WWII )
It is believed that Sgt Keith Beacroft, OIC, found the deceased.
Jason Guilbert BAKER
| 04/12/2014
Jason Guilbert BAKER
Late of ?
AKA Jase, Packa, Paka, Packaroon,
NSW Police Academy – Goulburn – Class 234
New South Wales Police Force
ProCst # 99740
Regd. # 25194
Rank: Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on 15 February 1988 ( aged 18 years, 9 months, 16 days )( spent 2 months, 21 days at Academy )( Start of a new, and worthless, Superannuation scheme for Police as of 1 April 1988 )
Probationary Constable – appointed 6 May 1988 ( aged 19 years & 6 days )
Sergeant –
Final Rank = Sergeant
Stations: ?, Maroubra ( 1980s ), Paddington ( 1990s ), Barrier, Broken Hill, Walgett, Castlereagh and Darling River LAC’s
Service: From 15 February 1988 to 13 January 2014= 25years, 10 months, 2 days Service
Awards: No find on It’s An Honour
Born: Wednesday 30 April 1969
Died on: Monday 13 January 2014
Age: 44 years, 8 months, 14 days
Cause: Illness – Depression – Suicide
Event location: Walgett, NSW
Event date: ?
Funeral date: Friday 24 January 2014, 11am
Funeral location: Holy Family Catholic Church, 214 Maroubra Rd, Maroubra
Wake location: Maroubra Seals Club
Funeral Parlour: ?
Buried at: Cremated
Memorial located at: NSW Police force Service Memorial Wall, Sydney Police Centre, Surry Hills, D21 ( right wall )
Memorials: Jason Baker Memorial Cup
JASON IS mentioned on the Sydney Police Centre Memorial Wall
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
Sergeant Jason Baker sadly passed away on Monday 13 January 2014. He leaves behind a young family.
His funeral will be held on Friday 24 January at the Holy Family Church in Maroubra followed by a private cremation.
The wake will then be at the Maroubra Seals Club. I am not sure of times etc. at this early stage.
Do NOT listen to rumour about the circumstances surrounding this terrible tragedy. Jason was a great man and a great cop and this is time to celebrate his life and pass on condolences to his family.
Deepest condolences to his wife, Alison, and daughters McKenzie & ?.
On Wednesday 18th June, 2014, Police from the Barrier, Castlereagh and Darling River LAC’s met at Cobar to compete for the inaugural “Jason Baker Memorial Cup”.
The event was in remembrance for Sergeant Baker who worked at each of the three Commands.
With Police Bank as a major sponsor the event raised over $5,000 for Jason’s wife and 3 daughters. A huge congratulations and well done to all the teams who participated.
Today in Port Macquarie we had the privilege of attending the annual Jason Baker Memorial Cup, held each year in memory of Sergeant Jason Baker. It was a huge day of touch footy, with teams from around the district competing in a round-robin tournament. After a fiercely fought contest, the Meerkats emerged victorious, with the Hogs coming in a very credible second place. Thanks to all competitors and organisers, and a huge thank you for the money raised for Police Legacy in support of our Police Family.
At the end of October in Port Macquarie, we had the privilege of attending the annual Jason Baker Memorial Cup, held each year in memory of Sergeant Jason Baker. It was a huge day of touch footy, with teams from around the district competing in a round-robin tournament. After a fiercely fought contest, the Meerkats emerged victorious, with the Hogs coming in a very credible second place. Thanks to all competitors and organisers, and a huge thank you for the money raised for Police Legacy in support of our Police Family.
Service: 3 February 1975 to ? ? 1990 = 14+ years Service
Awards: National Medal – granted 27 August 1992 ( Former SenCon )
Born: Thursday 29 August 1957
Age: 46 yrs 2 mths 12 days
Died on: Monday 10 November 2003
Cause: Suicide – Hanging
Funeral date: Monday 17 November 2003
Funeral location: Wauchope, NSW
Funeral location 2: Gold Coast, Qld
Buried at: Wauchope Cemetery, NSW
PAT is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance *NEED MORE INFO
POLICE FOOTBALL. CONSTABLE PAT CARNEY, FROM WOLLONGONG POLICE, RECEIVED THE TOOTH L.A. MAN OF THE MATCH TROPHY IN THE DRESSING SHED OF LYSAGHTS FOOTBALL FIELD, FIGTREE.
POLICE FOOTBALL AT ROSE BAY. CONSTABLE PAT CARNEY, WOLLONGONG POLICE. 20 APRIL 1983
POLICE FOOTBALL. CONSTABLE PAT CARNEY, FROM WOLLONGONG POLICE, RECEIVED THE TOOTH L.A. MAN OF THE MATCH TROPHY IN THE DRESSING SHED OF LYSAGHTS FOOTBALL 13 APRIL 1983
1985 or 1986, Surfers Paradise, Qld
Darren STARLING, Pat COONEY ( RIP ), Gary THATCHER ( RIP ) at the home of John HITCHCOCK. This would have been a Police Footy BBQ.
Pat was born and bred in Wauchope, NSW, and joined the New South Wales Police Force via the Police Cadet system, aged 16, and commenced at the Redfern Police Academy on the 3 February 1975 and was assigned Cadet # 3097.
After the Police Academy, Pat was stationed at various locations including Sutherland. He was later transferred to Wollongong General Duties and also performed duties at Unanderra as part of the District Foot Patrol.
Pat was a funny bastard and always up for a practical joke. He was also a great footballer, playing in the NSW Police Football competition and playing for Wollongong District.
He served his final years back at Wollongong in the Prisoner Security Unit ( PSU ) until his resignation in 1990.
Two funeral Services were held for Pat. One in his old home town of Waucope, NSW, where he was laid to rest and the second was held on the Gold Coast where Pat resided.
Pat was born on the 29 August 1957.
Graeme Francis DONNELLY
| 04/12/2014
Graeme Francis DONNELLY
New South Wales Police Force
Goulburn Police Academy Class # 203 ( the 1st Class to Train at the new Academy )
ProCst # 95801
Regd. # 21504
Uniform # 9444
Rank: Commenced Training at the Goulburn Police Academy on Monday 7 May 1984 ( aged 23 years, 7 months, 29 days )
Probationary Constable – appointed Friday 20 July 1984 ( aged 23 years, 10 months, 12 days )
Constable – appointed 30 August 1985 ( Loss of 40 days Seniority )
Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?
Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed ? ? ?
Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed ? ? ?
Sergeant 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?
Inspector – appointed ? ? ?
Chief Inspector – appointed ? ? ?
Final Rank: Chief Inspector
Stations: Warilla, Albion Park, Wollongong ( 82 Division ), Illawarra LAC ( 79 Division ) – Death
Service:From7 May 1984to 16 August 2013 = 29 years, 3 months, 9 days Service
GPS of Grave: Lat: -34.4880559530445 Long: 150.81964650639043
Memorial: NSW Police Force Service Memorial Wall, Sydney Police Centre, Surry Hills, A29 ( left wall )
Chief Inspector Graeme Donnelly
GRAEME is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance* NOT WORK RELATED
Death of Chief Inspector Graeme Donnelly, 52 old around 11.30am, today, Friday 16 August 2013, who was riding his push bike with a mate around Lake Illawarra ( the actual lake ) this morning and was riding up Mt. Terry when he stopped and said to his mate that he didn’t feel well.
Whilst standing next to his bike, he suffered a massive heart attack.
An Off Duty passing Paramedic commenced CPR and called for assistance. Helicopter assistance was also considered and I am informed that the Paramedics worked on Graeme for a lengthy and extended period and was conveyed to Hospital under Police escort but, unfortunately, he never regained consciousness from the time he fell.
He was aged 52 and was a Chief Inspector ( for those who don’t know him ) and a really nice bloke.
May he forever Rest in Peace and look over the rest of us.
The funeral for Graeme will take place on Monday, 26 August, at 1.00pm at St. Francis Xavier’s Cathedral in Harbour Street Wollongong. Guest’s to be seated by 12.40pm.
I would expect this to be a big funeral with standing room only – out onto the street.
He was a highly respected policeman who sought relief from his demanding role as chief inspector in his passion for cycling.
Tributes have flowed for long-serving officer Graeme Donnelly, 52, who died of a heart attack while riding around Lake Illawarra last Friday.
Friend and cycling companion Wally Erven said Insp Donnelly loved cycling because it allowed him to de-stress.
“Being in the police force, it gave him a separation,” he said.
Insp Donnelly was the father of junior Australian cycling champion Aaron Donnelly – and Mr Erven said the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree.
“Aaron’s not a professional cyclist for no reason – it’s in his genes and he got that from his father.”
Wollongong acting superintendent Tim Beattie said the policing community had been shocked to learn of Insp Donnelly’s death.
Insp Donnelly spent his career based in Wollongong until about 12 months ago when he transferred to Sydney and was attached to a specialist police unit.
“Graeme was a highly respected member of the police force who performed a significant amount of his service in the Illawarra area,” Supt Beattie said. “He is regarded by all those who knew him as being a good bloke.”
A tribute has also been posted on the Cycling NSW website.
“His loss is greatly felt by the Illawarra Cycle Club and the NSW cycling community,” the statement read.
Insp Donnelly’s funeral will be held at Wollongong Catholic Cathedral, 36 Harbour Street, at 1pm on Monday.
He was one of a kind and his death will leave a hole in the life of his family, friends and the police force.
On Monday a sea of blue police uniforms surrounded an overflowing St Francis Xavier Catholic Cathedral in Wollongong as officers paid their last respects to Chief Inspector Graeme Donnelly.
Insp Donnelly, 52, died on August 16 after having a heart attack while riding around Lake Illawarra with friends.
Yesterday his cycling companions joined police colleagues and formed a guard of honour stretching from the cathedral along Harbour St.
Insp Donnelly’s colleague Peter Lindwall and friend Neil Foster gave a joint eulogy.
They described the high-ranking officer’s passion for the police force and his love for his wife Kerri and sons Aaron and Brad.
Mr Lindwall said the sheer number of fellow officers in attendance, including NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, was testament to how highly Insp Donnelly had been regarded in the community.
“He was a person no-one ever had a bad word to say about,” Mr Lindwall said.
He also made reference to Insp Donnelly’s previous career as a butcher and his skills behind a barbecue.
In a statement read at yesterday’s service, Aaron Donnelly said his father’s entire life had been dedicated to helping others.
“I don’t think there’s a person here who hasn’t been impacted by his kindness,” he said.
Mr Donnelly’s wife Kerri said her husband had been a “selfless” man who gave his time “to so many people”.
In a statement also read to the service, she recalled how proud he had been when his Brad announced he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a police officer.
Mr Scipione also spoke at the service and posthumously awarded Insp Donnelly the National Police Service Medal.
WEDNESDAY 6 APRIL 2016 GRAVE OF GRAEME FRANCIS DONNELLY GRAVE IS ON THE EAST SIDE OF ROAD, PAST THE NEW CRYPTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY BEING BUILT WHICH ARE ALSO ON THE EAST AND TO THE NORTH OF THE OFFICE. THE GRAVE IS ABOUT 3 – 4 ROWS BACK FROM THE ROADWAY AND FACES AWAY FROM THE ROADWAY.
Two people have been arrested after a senior police officer died after sustaining critical injuries in an axe attack in Sydney’s north-west.
Police say Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson was among a number of officers called to a dispute between neighbours at ScheyvilleRoad in Oakville about 2pm (AEDT).
About two hours later, Detective Inspector Anderson was seriously injured in what is understood to have been an axe attack.
Det Insp Bryson Anderson killed with an axe on Thu 061212
After treatment by paramedics he was rushed to Windsor Hospital in a critical condition but died a short time later.
Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said a 19-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman had been arrested at the scene and taken to Windsor Police Station where they were assisting investigators with their inquiries.
Mr Scipione said Detective Inspector Anderson was from a police family and had left a wife and three children.
“They are, as you imagine, distraught, but taking strong support from not only their immediate family, but the police family.
“We will console officers that were part of this particular operation.
“They, as you would also imagine, are traumatised and all support services have been put around them.
“I’ve got to say the strength and courage that is being shown inside (the hospital), not only by the police that are there, but also by the family, is incredible.”
Photo: Police say the officer was called to a dispute between neighbours in Oakville.
Det Insp Bryson Anderson killed with an axe on Thu 061212
Mr Scipione said he could not provide too many details of the events leading up to the attack given the investigation was in its early stages.
“I understand the (neighbourhood) dispute did involve the use of some weapons, but again having said that, we want to get to the bottom of this investigation before we start making too many statements,” he said.
“Suffice to say it was a violent neighbourhood incident that caused the police to attend and there were many police there.
“Some time after they first attended, there was an interaction which led to the death of Inspector Anderson.
“I understand they were trying to communicate with affected parties and were looking to resolve this peacefully.”
Mr Scipione said Detective Inspector Anderson had worked for him more than 10 years ago and paid tribute to his skills as an investigator.
“He was nothing short of a role model to those officers that come after him,” he said.
“Today is a stark reminder how dangerous this job is. These people do this in such a way they put their lives before the lives of others.
“You have an idea what the price is today.”
Anyone with information about the incident are being asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers website.
RIP Bryson
A tribute from our Commissioner
Today ( Wednesday 12 December 2012) we honour a brave man. Bryson Anderson. A police officer, and so much more.
A man who was so deeply respected by the community in which he lived, worked and devoted much of his spare time.
A true man of the people. His service to the community was far greater than simply those days when he wore that blue uniform with such pride and distinction. And of course, Bryson was a loving husband, father and brother to his own family. To this family we owe so much. A debt of gratitude for the support you gave Bryson as he went about his duties. Police officers understand that each day they go to work, they put their lives on the line. This tragedy reminds us all of the sacrifice that goes with that understanding. Our community will always rely on men and women of courage who are willing to put up their hands to serve and protect. Bryson Anderson stood tall in their ranks. Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson, friend, you have left us with an enduring legacy, a standard to which we can all aspire and for which we are forever grateful. You will always be remembered.
Andrew Scipione
12 December 2012
Valedictory for Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson
Date
As delivered by NSW Police Force Commissioner Andrew Scipione APM
At 3.30pm on the 6th of December 2012, Detective Inspector Bryson Charles Anderson arrived at the scene of a neighbourhood dispute at Oakville near Windsor that had escalated beyond all reason.
He went to lend support to fellow officers who were seeking to bring matters to a peaceful resolution.
It was not to be.
The approach of police was resisted and Detective Inspector Anderson was fatally wounded.
Detective Inspector Anderson was rushed by ambulance to Hawkesbury Hospital but died as a result of his injuries.
Bryson Charles Anderson began his career as a trainee police officer on the 18th of August 1986 and attested on the 7th of November 1986.
His first general duties posting was here in Parramatta. That was followed by others to Granville and Ermington.
While at Granville in 1991, Constable First Class Anderson commenced criminal investigation duties, successfully gaining his designation as a Detective in November 1993.
Bryson’s designation was a defining moment in his policing career and he quickly displayed an aptitude and an enthusiasm for criminal investigation that was soon recognised by his commanding officers.
At Castle Hill, Task Force Boyne, Ermington, Rosehill and then within Special Crime and Internal Affairs, Bryson honed his detective skills. He was dedicated, analytical and meticulous.
A thoroughly good bloke. I worked with Bryson … and I can vouch for that.
In 2004, promoted to sergeant, Bryson returned to general duties. This time it was to Hawkesbury Local Area Command, where he was to spend three years as a supervisor.
In 2007criminal investigation was again to beckon, Bryson seizing the opportunity to return to Special Crime and Internal Affairs … now known as Professional Standards … where he applied his skills to covert investigations. There he was promoted to the rank of Detective Inspector in 2009.
What was to prove Bryson’s final posting was back in Hawkesbury. He took up the role of Duty Officer in Hawkesbury Local Area Command on the 19th of December 2010, and served with distinction in that role until the moment of his passing.
Throughout his service Detective Inspector Anderson undertook extensive internal training in his chosen policing specialisation.
He was awarded the NSW Police Medal; the National Medal; as well as the first and second clasps to the NSW Police Medal.
In 2003 he received a Commissioner’s Unit Citation for highly professional investigations.
He will posthumously receive the first clasp to the National Medal and the third clasp to the NSW Police Medal.
Impressive as they are, the bare facts I have recounted do Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson little justice. Those who knew him … know that Bryson the man transcended … in achievements and in potential … any chronology of this type.
Those that know it best of all are Bryson’s wife, Donna, and his three children, Olivia, Darcy and Cain. It is with them that Bryson, devoted husband and father, was closest. And it is they who, tragically, must now manage without his love, strength and support.
Bryson’s father, Rex; mother, Shirley; and brothers Warwick and Damian also know the calibre of the man. Bryson’s is a profound loss, but be assured his life was just as profound a credit to you. I know for certain that he enriched the lives of all of us in the NSW Police Force who had the good fortune to know him.
What the record does not disclose is Bryson’s wholehearted embrace of community service.
Even when on holiday, Bryson was thinking of what he could do for others. On packing his bags last year for Vanuatu, in with the board shorts and sunscreen he found room for gifts and sporting equipment for the local village kids.
The demands of policing are great: more than enough for most of us, and often more than a full-time job. But not for Bryson. He was retained as a fire-fighter, serving for eight years between 1994 and 2002 at Number 81 Station, Windsor, rising to the rank of Deputy Captain.
And it didn’t stop there. Bryson coached a number of junior soccer teams for the Colo Soccer Club. And on the day before he died he took part in the final leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics, held in Windsor, an event which five months earlier he volunteered to organise.
Bryson loved the Hawkesbury area, where he lived and worked most of his adult life.
And innumerable people, from the Hawkesbury and elsewhere, loved and admired Bryson in return. His personnel file is full to overflowing with complimentary remarks and letters of appreciation, many from the community and victims of crime, moved to write in gratitude for the care, dedication and professionalism with which he went about his work.
In Vanuatu, upon hearing of his passing, the villagers whose lives Bryson had so selflessly touched while on holiday held a service in his memory.
He was equally admired by his fellow police officers, myself among them. On the one hand, a tenacious and committed police officer, driven to pursue offenders for the darkest and most serious of crimes. Yet retaining the most extraordinary empathy, compassion and concern for the victims of those crimes.
He showed initiative and leadership; intelligence and perseverance; dedication and humility; and, memorably, a ready smile and an engaging way. Bryson drew people to him, without guile and without effort. The workplace was a better place for him being there.
The tributes from his fellow officers were immediate and many. They tell variously of a proud husband and father, a keen motor cyclist, an active participant in sporting clubs, and, invariably, of a superb police officer.
He made his vast store of policing wisdom available to young officers but never imposed it. More likely were those officers to hear from Bryson an encouraging “Just play your natural game, it’s first class” – one of his favourite sayings – to go with some tip or insight he’d somehow manage to convey.
Reflecting on her career, one officer … echoing the thoughts of many others I am sure, wrote: “Bryson you are an amazing officer and an even nicer gentleman. I formed this opinion 20 years ago as a naïve female probationary constable. I still hold the same opinion now. You will be truly missed”
There can be no doubt Bryson will be missed.
He lived for the community, died serving it and deserved much better.
His death reminds us that law and order are not givens. They come at a price and that price, on occasion, is a prohibitive one.
With Bryson’s death we realise, suddenly, even if belatedly, that ours is a society worth defending.
We realise that our hard won freedoms and protections are vulnerable and easily demolished.
We realise that not only is each individual’s life precious and fragile … but that so too is our way of life.
We meet Bryson’s death with grief and tears, but that can’t be allowed to suffice.
If he could lend us his voice, I’m sure Bryson would agree that now is not the time to be timid or defensive. It is not a time to be apologetic, nor a time for retreat.
The anger and regret we all feel – for Bryson’s sake and for the sake of all of the officers who have fallen before him – need to find constructive expression. As a society we need to rise up to repudiate violence, however and wherever we can, with all the energy we can muster.
For his wider police family … of which all police officers and their families are a part … Bryson’s death will neither be forgotten nor be in vain. Bryson’s courage and conviction inspire us now … and will into the future. We will continue to protect and serve the community as Bryson did. Of that he can be sure.
It is my honour today to posthumously confer two awards on Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson.
The National Police Service Medal: recognising Bryson’s ethical and diligent service in protecting the community.
And the Commissioner’s Valour Award for the conspicuous action and exceptional courage he displayed at the incident in Oakville where he lost his life. After being attacked with a knife and sustaining wounds that would prove fatal, Detective Inspector Anderson went to the aid of a fellow injured officer without hesitation.
In part the valour citation reads:
Conferred for conspicuous merit and exceptional bravery whilst under attack during the execution of his duties at Oakville on Thursday, 6 December 2012.
By his conspicuous actions and exceptional courage in a dangerous situation, Detective Inspector Anderson evinced the highest standards of the New South Wales Police Force and is so conferred with the Commissioner’s Valour Award.
I am deeply honoured, and indeed privileged, to be able to represent every member of the New South Wales Police Force here today to farewell a man who served his community with courage, honour, and distinction.
A loving husband and father.
A prized friend and colleague.
A police officer.
Our prayers are with you Bryson. May you rest in peace.
Homily for the Funeral Mass for Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson, St Patrick’s Cathedral Parramatta, Most Rev Anthony Fisher OP, Bishop of Parramatta
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 02:57:38 PM
Any death is a loss. The death of a loved one before time is worse. A senseless, violent, innocent death is even more appalling. But a death in the line of duty hits us especially hard. Why is that?
Our word police comes from the Greek word polis, meaning the city-state, its citizens and civilisation. Police are appointed to keep order in the polis and protect persons and property. The word politician comes from the same root, for they too work for the people, with our bureaucracies and courts. Yet none of these is in the front-line the way police are.
We all shelter behind our police officers’ sense of law and order, their character and courage, their instincts, reactions, negotiating and other skills. Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson devoted his life to providing such shelter for his family, friends and community. He lived for this and this was a gift to us all; he died for this and this affronts us all.
His fellow officers also mourn his passing, as Commissioner Scipione testified. I first got to know the Commissioner and his people in the lead-up to World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008. It was a time when hundreds of thousands of youth threw them kisses and told them God loved them and they loved them. If only it was always so! One such beloved of God and people was described in our first Scripture reading today (Wisdom 4:7-15). Being virtuous, untarnished and God-pleasing, the man in that passage was ready for God sooner than most.
Bryson’s fellow officers tell me he was such a man, and that his integrity inspired them. That his death has left them in shock is a sign of that bond within the police family said to be as thick as blood.
Of course, policing was literally in Bryson’s blood, as his father and brother both served in the force, Rex for many years here in Parramatta. When I saw Donna and the family after the terrible news, there were policemen present as if they were his own brothers. Such a death must make all officers aware of their own mortality, must bring to the surface daily anxiety for the safety of the public, their comrades and themselves, and so too for beloved spouses who might be widowed or children orphaned. But it also brings out into the open their fraternity and courage.
Thousands are here today to pray for Bryson and the Anderson family, to share in their natural sorrow and supernatural hope. But proud as they must be and however comforted by our presence, they still have the very personal grief of ones who’ve lost husband, father, son and brother.
Perhaps they are asking themselves: How could an argument over a bird cage end so horribly? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does God permit such things? Well, God could have made us robots, obedient to His every command. Instead He took the great ‘gamble’ of making us free, able to choose good or evil. He does everything to persuade, encourage, inspire us to live lives of service and self-sacrifice.
Some of us do. Most of us try. Some don’t. When bushfires, floods or other natural evils hurt innocent people, we know that these are part and parcel of a world that is beautiful and bountiful but has its own law and order.
The real mystery for us is man-made evil: why human beings do terrible things to each other, why they misuse the godlike gifts of freedom and intelligence. Like those in our first reading, we “look on uncomprehending”. Few of us will face death by an assailant’s knife or have that happen in our family. But when our own crosses come, we too must try to make some sense of it. In Jesus Christ, we believe, God fully embraced our human condition, including His own violent death as an innocent man before his time.
Why was it necessary for Christ to suffer? Because that was where humanity was. To redeem us, He had to go where we are. So God became a real human being, with friends and enemies, hopes and fears, who wept for His dead friend Lazarus, and later cried out tired, frightened, abandoned.
God in Jesus Christ is the great realist: no evasion, no false front, no easy escape; no pretending away the sin of the world or the suffering of ordinary lives. But He did what any man, any God-made-man, could do.
The problem of evil drives some to atheism, some to despair. But it draws some to the Crucified One, to unite their sufferings with His, as He united His whole being with them at Christmas and beyond.
This doesn’t ‘magic away’ all that is unpleasant; we may still ache that someone we love has been stolen from us. Our hearts may be troubled as Jesus’ was (John 12:27, 13:31). But in time faith can bring new perspective, the courage to face the human condition, the grace to grow through this stage of our life, and compassion for others who suffer also.
Any faith or philosophy worthy of us must face evil straight on. Every police officer knows this. Euphemisms and positive thinking will not do; neither will glorifying evil or emptying it of its mystery. From the side of the Crucified God flows the blood and water of human life and death. But from there, too, flows hope for every hurting heart, every fragile person, even for the dead.
2012 is the sesquicentenary of the New South Wales Police Force and was supposed to be a year of celebration for them. Yet it began with the killing of Senior Constable Dave Rixon and ends with the killing of Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson. He is the 14th to be killed on duty since 1980. Death is no respecter of office, rank or character. And so this week a family, a force, a whole state join Christ in His Passion. We are joined with Him in His mortal combat with evil: proposing the good and beautiful and true to all; preventing violence and injustice where we can; comforting the victims, those who suffer for justice’s sake and those who mourn them.
In our Gospel passage, Christ called Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life for every troubled heart (John 14:1-6). His life offers us the way, as it did to Bryson, the way of justice, mercy and peace. Christ’s death offers us the truth, as it did for Bryson, the truth about human fragility and promise, freedom and intelligence for good or evil. And His Resurrection offers us the life, as it does for Bryson, life eternal for every noble soul.
2012 should have been a year of celebration for police officers and still it should be: a celebration of what is most worthy in the force and in those who bring it credit. It should have been a time of pride and joy for the Anderson family: that will come later, as they treasure what Bryson gave to them and to us all.
But for now: “We seem to be giving Bryson back to you, O God, who gave him to us.
Yet, as you did not lose him in giving him to us, so we do not lose him by his return. For
you do not give as the world gives, O Lover of souls: what you give you never take
away … For life is eternal, and love immortal, and death is only an horizon, and the
horizon is no more than the limit of our sight.
“Lift us up, strong Son of God, that we may see further. Cleanse our tearful eyes that
we may see more clearly. Draw us closer to yourself, that we may know ourselves to be
nearer to Bryson, now that he is with you. And while you prepare a place for us (John
14:1-6), prepare us also for that happy place, that where you and he are, we may be
also, for evermore.” (Prayer of Fr Bede Jarrett OP)
Bryson ANDERSON IS mentioned on the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra
Mitchell Barbieri and his mother Fiona plead guilty to their roles in killing of decorated officer Bryson Anderson
Amy Dale
The Daily Telegraph
November 05, 201412:24PM
Police officers arrive for the trial for Fiona and Mitchell Barbieri charged with the murder of Inspector Bryson Anderson. They pleaded guilty to their roles in his death at the start of the trial this morning. Picture: John Grainger
THE mother and son charged with killing decorated police officer Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson have pleaded guilty on the morning their trial was due to start.
Detective inspector Bryson Anderson, 45, who was killed when he attended a neighbourhood dispute in Oakville on December 6, 2012.
Mitchell Barbieri pleaded guilty to murdering the 45 year old officer, while his mother, 47, pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty of the officer’s manslaughter.
The pleas came as the jury were about to be empanelled and begin to hear the opening address.
Bryson Anderson was killed on December 6, 2012, after being called to the pair’s Oakville home, in Sydney’s north west.
Fiona Barbieri’s plea to manslaughter is being accepted on the grounds of “substantial impairment”, the court heard.
It is expected a sentencing hearing will take place next year.
Mitchell Barbieri, 21, is facing a mandatory life sentence without parole for murdering a police officer.
The Supreme Court was packed with family, colleagues and friends of Det Insp Anderson, some of whom shed tears as the guilty pleas were announced.
Artist impression of Fiona Barbieri and her son Mitchell in the dock of Central Local Court last year. Artist impression by Bernd Heinrich
Flanked by police officers, Det Insp Anderson’s brother Warwick Anderson thanked the investigating officers for their “support and strength” and the hard work of the DPP.
He said the family was very mindful of the officers who were with his brother on the day he died and who continued to suffer physical and psychological injuries.
“The thoughts, care and prayers of our family go out to them,” he told reporters outside court.
There was still a significant way to go for his family to come to terms with the “senseless and tragic loss of Bryson”, he said
Justice Robert Hulme adjourned the case until next Wednesday, when the Crown will begin calling evidence on sentence.
Defence counsel will give their submissions to court on November 24.
Family and friends of murdered Detective inspector Bryson Anderson and police
Grave of Bryson Anderson
Glenn Edward McENALLAY
| 04/12/2014
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:
About 11.25pm on 13 June, 1989 police in Byron Bay commenced a high speed pursuit of a panel van. The pursued vehicle drove south in the Coast Road, followed by the Byron Bay Police vehicle, and into Ballina. As both vehicles continued south through Ballina, a local Highway Patrol vehicle driven by Constable 1st Class P. Beaver ( # 20992 ), with Senior Constable Rampling and Constable 1st Class Figtree as passengers, joined the pursuit. More police vehicles arrived to assist as the pursuit continued through the township of Wardell. About five kilometres south of Wardell the Ballina Highway Patrol vehicle began to draw level with the offending vehicle. As it did so, the driver of the pursued vehicle drove across to the centre of the roadway and clipped the front of the Byron Bay Police car. As a result, the police vehicle veered across the road and skidded in loose gravel before colliding with a power pole.
All three police were trapped for some time in the badly damaged police car and when freed were conveyed by ambulance to the Lismore Base Hospital. Constable Beaver recovered from internal injuries received, however Constable Figtree died before he reached hospital and Senior Constable Rampling died a short time later.
Senior Constable Rampling was born in 1959 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 15 January, 1979. At the time of his death he was attached to the Ballina Detectives. Constable Figtree was born in 1964 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 28 November, 1983. At the time of his death he was attached to the Ballina Highway Patrol. Beyond CourageGlenn, whilst working with the Mounted Police Unit, would often work traffic duty on Anzac Pde, Kensington. He is described as a Champion boxer ( Australian Police Boxing Champion ) & athlete, the funniest guy, a loyal mate & great husband & Dad.*****
Gezza J KtBelieve it or not, I was working the radio comms for this at Lismore station that night. Called the whole thing & did all the post crash co-ord. A horrible night shift with Sgt GJ Menzies, S/C Mark Burridge, Const’s Jordan, Gahan & Me.
*****
30 year memorial – Senior Constable Glenn Rampling – Constable First Class Peter Figtree – A memorial service will be held at the Ballina Surf Club, Lighthouse Parade, Ballina on Thursday, 13 June 2019 at 1000hr to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the death of Senior Constable Glenn Donald Rampling and Constable 1st Class Peter Allen Figtree.
Senior Constable Rampling was tragically killed on duty on 14 June 1989 and Constable 1st Class Figtree was tragically killed on duty on 13 June 1989, both as a result of motor vehicle collision at Wardell, south of Ballina.
Attended this morning quite a moving 30 year memorial service for Glenn Rampling and Peter Figtree killed in a car chase near Ballina. May they rest in peace.
Photo by: Glenn Taylor
Photo by: Glenn Taylor
Photo from: Beyond Courage
Photo: Ken Medway – 2014
Both Wayne Rixon and Glenn Rampling formed part of a 3 man team at the Mounties, going around mainly to country fairs performing vault tricks with the draft horse. Tragically both lost their lives in High Speed pursuits after leaving the Mounties for other duties. RIP, both were good men.
