On 1 September, 1986 Sergeant Jennings was at home at the police residence attached to the West Wallsend Police Station. While he was mowing the lawns (one of his duties) he suffered a fatal heart attack.

The sergeant was born in 18 September 1944 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 22 February, 1965. At the time of his death he was stationed at West Wallsend.

Jillian Cupit HAWKES ( FRAZER )

late of Kirrawee, NSW

New South Wales Police Force

Redfern Police Academy Class 104

Regd. #  P/W 0073

Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday ? July 1965

Probationary Special Constable – appointed Monday 16 August 1965 ( aged 25 years, 10 months, 29 days )

Detective – appointed ? ? ?

Special – Senior Constable – appointed 16 August 1974

Detective Sergeant 3rd Class – retired

Jill was One of Three Police Women to obtain their Diploma in Criminology from Sydney University at the time.

Retired Hurt On Duty on 17 December 1982

Was Awarded ‘ Policewoman of the Year ‘ for bravery in 1979

Died from Arrest Injuries that happened at Milsons Point, North Sydney, NSW – Assaulted on 30 July 1977 which resulted in the amputation of one of her legs.

Born:  Monday 18 September 1939

Died:  Tuesday 22 April, 1986

Age:  46 years, 7 months, 4 days

Funeral Date:  Thursday 24 April 1986

Buried:  Cremated.

Cemetery:  Buried at Woronora cemetery, Linden St, Woronora, NSW

Grave Location:  GG. Rose Garden 18, Position 0080

Jillian IS MENTIONED on the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra.

On 30 July, 1977 Detective Senior Constable Hawkes and another detective attended Sydney’s Luna Park in relation to a complaint. While the offender was being escorted from the park he began to struggle violently and kicked Detective Hawkes’ legs out from under her. When she fell to the ground the offender continued kicking and stamping on her.

As a result she suffered an injury to her right leg which later developed a malignant bone tumour. The leg was amputated and after being fitted with an artificial leg Detective Hawkes returned to work.

On 17 December, 1982 she was discharged medically unfit.

On 19 April, 1986 the former Detective Sergeant Hawkes lapsed into a coma. She died three days later on the 22 April 1986.

The detective sergeant was born in 1939 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 16 August, 1965.

Paul Mitchell QUINN

New South Wales Police Force

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

Cadet #:  3358

Regd. #  18605

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

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

Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Constable 1st Class – appointed 29 May 1984

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

Stations:  Casino & Bathurst – Death

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

Awards:  No find on It’s An Honour

Born:  Sunday  29 May 1960

Died on:  Wednesday 30 March 1986

Cause:  Murdered.  Shot through neck during arrest

Event location:  , Perthville, NSW

Age:  25 years, 10 months, 1 day

Funeral Date:  ?

Funeral Location:  ?

Buried at:  ?

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

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

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

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

 PAUL is mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Childhood pain relived as policeman’s killer poised for release

January 14, 2004

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Constable Quinn was posthumously promoted to sergeant.

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

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

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

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

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

Officer’s death hits local police hard

By BRENDAN ARROW

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It is a great tragedy.”

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

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

 

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

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

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On 24 July, 1985 Detective Constable Tier was the driver, and single occupant, of an unmarked police vehicle engaged in the pursuit of an unknown vehicle on the Princes Highway, Unanderra.  During the pursuit the police vehicle left the roadway and collided with a telegraph pole.

The constable was born in 1960 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 15 January, 1979.

At the time of his death he was stationed at Dapto.

STEPHEN is mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

Police Remembrance Day:

Almost 60 years on, Kenneth Nash still misses his uncle Allen.

Sergeant Allen William Nash, aged 40, was killed in the line of duty by a gun-wielding offender at Primbee in 1956.

Sgt Nash was one of eight officers stationed in the Lake Illawarra local area command who were recognised with memorial plaques on a wall of honour outside Lake Illawarra police station on Monday, as part of Police Remembrance Day commemorations.

Dozens of current and retired officers, families, friends, politicians, councillors and members of the public gathered at Oak Flats for a ceremony to unveil the memorial wall, and honour past and present officers.

Since 1862, more than 250 NSW Police officers have died in the line of duty.

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

Deadly toll

Alone in his patrol car, Chris Thornton had the police siren flashing as he chased a white sedan through Woy Woy.

Thornton, 35, a highway patrolman, had been in the force for 15 years. He was, his mother says, “the best driver I have ever seen”.

The reason for the chase that night in April 2002 is unknown. Both cars were seen travelling at high speed. Thornton was about 50 metres behind.

Meanwhile, Leonard Rowley, 56, an unlicensed driver, was driving to his local KFC to pick up dinner. He saw the first car flash past and judged – wrongly – that he had time to turn out in front of the patrol car. Thornton tried to avoid Rowley’s car but clipped the back, veered onto the wrong side of the road and hit a power pole.

Thornton died on the spot, which is marked by a permanent stainless-steel cross. Rowley later received a suspended two-year sentence.

“His life from the age of 12 was about helping people,” says Thornton’s mother, Freada Thornton. “He was in the surf club and he was there to rescue people and then he went into the force and he was doing the same thing.” His father, Barry Thornton, says: “He loved life. He had been in Gosford for 15 years and was so popular with the community there.”

Police pursuits are, says Barry, a necessary evil: “If they don’t catch the criminals there will be more deaths on the roads. The ones that they’re in pursuit of are the idiots that have done the wrong thing to start with.”

But pursuits have come at a cost to the NSW Police Department. Fifteen officers have died as a result of high-speed chases, beginning with the death of Constable George Boore in 1937.

Details provided by the NSW Police Association show a steady stream of fatalities involving cars and motorcycles. The full list of casualties is as follows:

April 2, 1937: Constable George Boore;

June 2, 1954: Constable Cecil Sewell;

November 14, 1958: Constable Brian Boaden;

December 23, 1958: Constable William Lord;

October 14, 1961: Constable James Kinnane;

September 7, 1963: Constable Colin Robb;

December 2, 1976: Constable Terry Moncur;

January 3, 1985: Constable Wayne Rixon;

July 25, 1985: Detective-Constable Stephen Tier;

October 20, 1987: Constable Themelis Macarounas;

August 24, 1988: Constable Peter Carter;

June 13, 1989: Constable Peter Figtree;

June 14, 1989: Senior Constable Glenn Rampling;

January 14, 2001: Senior Constable James Affleck;

April 13, 2002: Senior Constable Christopher Thornton.

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

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

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

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NEWTOWN LOCAL AREA COMMAND POLICE COMMEMORATION SERVICE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[divider]

Mark Joseph KOHUTEK

AKA ?

Late of ?

Father to Nathan KOHUTEK #

NSW Redfern Police Academy Class # 152

NSW Police Cadet # 3063

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  17394

Rank:  NSW Police Cadet – commenced 8 July 1974

Probationary Constable – appointed  3 October 1976

Constable – appointed  3 October 1977

Constable 1st Class – appointed ?

Final Rank = Constable 1st Class

Stations: ?, Traffic Branch – Nth Sydney HWP – Death

Service: From 8 July 1974 to 4 March 1982 = 7+ years Service

Awards:  No Find on Australian Honours

Born:  Tuesday  3 December 1957

Died on:  Thursday  4 March 1982  about 5am

Age:  24 yrs  3 mths  1 day

Cause:  Injuries, MVA – Rider – Police Bike – wet weather

Event location:  Berowra Tollway, Mt White, NSW

( approx. 1km south of Mt White exit – south bound )

Event date:  Thursday  4 March 1982 about 5am

Funeral date: ? ? ?

Funeral location: ?

Wake location: ?

Funeral Parlour: ?

Buried at:  Rookwood Cemetery, Lidcombe, NSW

Memorial located at: ?

MARK IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

exact Grave location: TBA

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

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

About 5am on 4 March, 1982 Constable Kohutek was riding a police solo motor cycle along the Berowra Tollway between Newcastle and Sydney on his journey to the Sydney Harbour Bridge for the ‘bridge lane change’ system. As he was negotiating a sweeping bend, in the rain, about a kilometre south of the Mt White exit the cycle crashed into a rock median strip. As a result Constable Kohutek sustained fatal head and internal injuries.

The constable was born in 1957 and joined the New South Wales Police Force as a cadet on 8 July, 1974. He was sworn in on 3 October, 1976. At the time of his death he was attached to the Traffic Branch, North Sydney ( under the Sydney Harbour Bridge ).

Approx. location of collision: 

Ronald James BURLEY

New South Wales Police Force

[alert_yellow]Regd. #  13096[/alert_yellow]

Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 1 April 1968

Senior Constable – appointed 1 April 1977

Stations:  ?, Gosford STP ( early 1970’s ), Albury HWP, North Sydney Highway Patrol

Service:  From pre 1 April 1968   to  5 May 1980 = 12+ years Service

Awards:  No find on It’s an Honour

Born: 31 August 1946

Cause:  Motor vehicle accident – Police motor cycle rider

Event location:  Calga Expressway, Berowra

Age:  32

Funeral date:  ???

Funeral location:

Buried at:  Palmdale Memorial Park, 57 Palmdale Road, Ourimbah.

grave photo removed

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

About 3.10pm on 5 May, 1980 Senior Constable Burley was riding a police highway patrol motor cycle home at the completion of his rostered shift. As he was riding along the Calga Expressway at Berowra the stand on the constable’s motor cycle apparently became loose and struck the road surface. Unable to control the cycle Constable Burley was thrown to the roadway, sustaining severe head injuries. He died before the arrival of an ambulance.

The constable was born in 1946 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 1 April, 1968. At the time of his death he was attached to the North Sydney Highway Patrol.

[divider_dotted]

Ian Strahan

RIP.

I remember being told that he had been caring for a young child and was going through the adoption process when the accident happened. It would be nice to know how that child fared in life afterwards.

Les Michael

RIP mate, remembered well from old STPPTB days under the bridge ( Sydney Harbour Bridge ), stood in many a parade with Ron, and shared a laugh or two, at the antics that went on there during the old days.

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Reginald Hugh STEVENSON – QPM

aka  Blowfly

New South Wales Police Force

[alert_yellow]Regd. #   5498[/alert_yellow]

Rank: Police Cadet – appointed 1 March 1943

Probationary Constable – appointed 21 February 1947

Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed 19 May 1968

Detective Sergeant 1st Class – SHOT

Detective Inspector – appointed 6 March 1976

Detective Inspector – Retirement

Joined:  NSW Police Force via

NSW Police Cadet System on 1 March 1943

Cadet # 400

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

Service:  From  1 March 1943  to  ? ? ?

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

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

Born:  20 February 1926

Event Date:  9 December 1974

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

Event location:  Newtown

Died on:  19 January 1980

Age:  53

Funeral date:  11 February 1980

Funeral location:  ?

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

Banks Court Loggia, Wall A

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

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

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

[divider_dotted]

NEWTOWN LOCAL AREA COMMAND POLICE COMMEMORATION SERVICE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[divider]

Sergeant 1st Class John Thomas COLBERT

Regd. # 5981

Age:  58

Motor Vehicle Accident

Kingsgrove

11 March, 1979

At 11pm on 10 March, 1979 Sergeant Colbert commenced duty as the supervising sergeant in the Hurstville Division. Following an inspection of the Kingsgrove Police Station the sergeant set out for the Peakhurst Police Station. About 1.20am he parked behind a panel van in Morgan Street, Kingsgrove where he spoke to the occupants. The sergeant then returned to the police car and as he opened the driver’s door he was struck by a passing vehicle and killed instantly.

The sergeant was born in 1921 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 2 February, 1948. At the time of his death he was stationed at Kingsgrove.

John Henry WALTON

( late of Westleigh, NSW )

NSW Police Training Centre – Redfern Academy – Class  084A

New South Wales Police Force

Regd #  9727

Joined NSW Police Force via the NSW Police Cadet system on 7 July 1958 but appears to have resigned on 7 July 1958 before re-joining around 1960.

Cadet # 1451

Rank:  NSW Police Cadet – commenced Monday 7 July 1958 until 7 July 1958.

Probationary Constable – appointed 15 August 1960

Constable – appointed 15 August 1961

Constable 1st Class – appointed  15 August 1966

Detective – appointed 22 March 1968

Detective Senior Constable – appointed 15 August 1970

Detective Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed 28 April 1976

Final Rank:  Detective Sergeant 3rd Class

Stations:  Police Training Centre ( 150860 – Trainee ), Regent St ( 2 Division GDs from 190960 ), Regent St ( Traffic – Probation from 030161 ), Regent St ( Traffic – Permanent from 030261 ), Wagga Wagga ( transfer cancelled ), Canowindra ( GDs from 080563 ), 11 Division ( GDs from 101163 ), Vice Squad – H.Q. ( from 220365 ), Darlinghurst ( 3 Division – Vice Squad from 251065 ), Liverpool ( 22 Division – C.I. Duties from 280966 ), 9 Division ( C.I. Duties from 250869 ), C.I.B. – Special Crime Squad ( from 260273 ), C.I.B. – Armed Hold-up Squad to death

Service:  From 7 July 1958 to 7 July 1958.

Pre August 1960  to 23 June 1978 = 18+ years Service

Awards:  No Find in Australian Honours

Born:  Sunday  22 June 1941

Died on:  Friday  23 June 1978 ( day after his 37th birthday )

Cause:  Motor Vehicle Accident – passenger

Event location:  Carlingford Rd & Glenview Parade, Carlingford

Age: 37 yrs  1 day

Funeral date:  Tuesday  27 June 1978

Funeral location: Macquarie Park Cemetery & Crematorium, Delhi & Plassey Rd, Macquarie Park, NSW

Buried at: RC Lawn, Block 12 / 0445

GPS:  Lat: -33.790614478   Long:  151.142994

Grave Location: 

JOHN IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

About 2.45am on 23 June, 1978 Sergeant Walton was a passenger in a police vehicle travelling along Carlingford Road, Carlingford. A vehicle approaching in the opposite direction drove onto the incorrect side of the roadway, forcing the police vehicle off the road where it collided with a parked horse float which was parked, without lights, on the southern side of Carlingford Rd at the intersection of Glenview Parade. Detective Sergeant Walton was killed instantly.  Extensive inquiries made to locate the driver of the unknown vehicle responsible for this accident have to date proved unsuccessful.

The sergeant was born in 1941 and joined the New South Wales Police Force, as a Cadet, on 7 July 1958. At the time of his death he was attached to the Armed Hold-up Squad.

Beyond Courage

Prior to joining the NSWPF, John was a Junior Clerk for 10 months then joined the NSWPF Cadet system from the 7 July 1958 and finished on the 17 August 1958 for reasons unknown to me.

He then appears to have been a General Hand for 4 months and then a Clerk for 18 months before coming back to the NSWPF – Attesting as a Probationary Constable on the 15 August 1960.  His re-join date is also unknown to me.

He was 5′ 11″ tall, 12 stone 12 lb in weight with Hazel eyes, brown hair and of a medium build.  He was born in Young, NSW and was single at the time of joining but married on 23 November 1963.  He obtained his School Intermediate Certificate.

He obtained an 82.5% at completion of Training Class 84A and he had a 23 w.p.m. rate of typing – on the 4 April 1961

He also completed a three day course in Civil Defence in 1961.

He passed his Constable 1st Class exams on the 22 September 1964.

He failed his first attempt at the Sgt 3/c exams on 18 May 1973 but passed on the 16 May 1974.

He passed the Detective qualification course on 25 October 1967 and was designated a Detective on the 22 March 1968.

On the 14 November 1977 he was ” Commended for the good policemanship, excellent teamwork and devotion to duty he displayed as one of the Police responsible for the prompt arrest of Phillip WESTERN, Michael STOGIO, Lawrence JOHNSON and Robert PATTEN for the armed hold-up of the Randwick Branch of the Bank of New South Wales on 29 December 1975. 

During committal proceeding at the Central Court of Petty Sessions on 28 April 1976 the Chief Stipendiary Magistrate, Mr. Farquhar, complimented him, along with all Police connected with the case while His Honour, Judge Muir, in passing sentence on the offenders made favourable comment regarding the briefs prepared by Police for the trial.

Mervyn T Wood – Commissioner”