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:
Rank: Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on Sunday 20 February 1994 ( aged
Probationary Constable – appointed 19 August 1994 ( aged
Constable – appointed 19 August 1995
Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?
Time employed with NSW Police: From: 19 August 1994 to 18 April 1997 = 2 years, 7 months, 30 days
Served: From 20 February 1994 to 18 April 1997 = 3 years, 1 month, 29 days Service
Retirement / Leaving age: = 25 years, ? months, ? days
Time in Retirement from Police: 0
Stations: Liverpool ( 22 Division )( 19 August 1994 – 19 November 1994 ),
Fairfield ( 20 November 1994 – 18 April 1997 ) – Death
Awards: Commended for Good Police Work & Professionalism displayed in connect with an attempted hold-up of a takeaway food store in Fairfield in February 1996.
Commissioners Valour Award
No find on It’s An Honour
Born: 1971 in Parkes, NSW
Age: 25
Died: Friday 18 April 1997
Cause: Stabbed ( Murdered )
Event date: Friday 18 April 1997
Event location: Cambridge Tavern, Horsley Dve & Alan St, Fairfield
Location of the Murder:
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?
Buried / Cremated: Carty Family property – Parkes, NSW
Memorial location: 1/ Police Dog Carts ( coincidentally also stabbed to death )
2/ David Carty Reserve, Fairfield East, NSW ( cnr Fairfield St & The Horsley Dve )
3/ David Carty Conference Room – Fairfield Police Station, Smart St, Fairfield, NSW ( Dedicated / Opened on 18 April 2017 )
Constable David Carty ( 1997 )
David Carty – whilst a Student Police Officer
DAVID IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
About 8pm on 17 April, 1997 Constable Carty and other police had reason to speak to a number of people in the street at Fairfield while carrying out foot patrols. Some time later the constable and other police, then off duty, attended a local hotel, the Cambridge Tavern. About 2.10am as he was leaving the hotel Constable Carty was set upon by a number of offenders, including some of those he had spoken to earlier, and was stabbed to death. Senior Constable Michelle Auld ( # 23293 ), who had gone to his assistance, was also seriously assaulted in the cowardly attack.
Both Constable Carty and Senior Constable Auld were awarded the Commissioner’s Valour Award.
The constable was born in 1971 and was sworn in as a probationary constable in August, 1994. At the time of his death he was stationed at Fairfield.
Constable David Andrew CARTY touch pad at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra.
A small section of St John Of God, Richmond Hospital, where Police ( and others ) with PTSD have gone for Inpatient Treatment.
This is a small Memorial that previous patients ( Police ) have done to remember our friends who have fallen before us. The Black & Dark Blue Memorial stones are by Army members.
Photo posted up on NSW Cops, Old, Bold & Retired FB Group on 28 May 2017.
Remembering our colleague, Constable David Carty after 25 years.
An Official Ceremony will take place on Tuesday 19 April 2022 @ 10am at the Fairfield RSL ( Due to weather conditions it won’t be held at David Carty Park ).
Senior Constable Michelle AULD ( # 23293 ) at Constable David Carty’s Funeral – 1997
Tuesday 18 April 2017 20 year Memorial
18 April 2017
18 April 2017
Fairfield Police Station Wall of Remembrance Smart St, Fairfield
David Carty Conference Room – Fairfield Police Station ( Dedicated / Opened on 18 April 2017 )
Constable David Carty was remembered as a respected man at the 17th anniversary of his death
Kimberley Caines
Fairfield Advance
April 23, 201412:00AM
Constable David Carty is remembered as a respectable country man.
THE pain of April 18 doesn’t get any easier for Fairfield police officers who recall Constable David Carty as a respectable country man.
Const Carty (pictured) was remembered by police officers and former colleagues at Fairfield police station on Friday, the 17th anniversary of his brutal death.
On April 18, 1997, Const Carty, 25, was stabbed in the Cambridge Tavern car park, after having a drink with colleagues after a late shift.
Superintendent Peter Lennon said April 18 was one date he and his fellow officers would never forget. “He (Const Carty) came from the country and was well-respected by everyone,” he said.
During the memorial service, a minute’s silence was held and wreaths were laid in memory of the young man.
Supt Lennon said being in the police force meant brave men and women confronted dangers as they performed their duties.
“Police officers put their lives on the line every day for their community,” he said. “Whilst this event was after hours, he was still a serving officer because he was known to be a police officer when the incident occurred.”
HONOURING DAVID CARTY
■ David Andrew Carty, from Parkes, joined the NSW Police Force on February 20, 1994
■ After being posted to Liverpool police station, he was transferred to Fairfield police station on November 20, 1994, and confirmed to the rank of Constable on August 19, 1995
■ During the early hours of April 18, 1997, Constable Carty, 25, was stabbed in the car park of Fairfield’s Cambridge Tavern, where he had enjoyed a drink with colleagues after a late shift
■ His memory was honoured at Fairfield police station on Friday for the 17th anniversary of his death
Friday was the 17th anniversary of the murder of David Carty. Fairfield police officers held a minute’s silence at the station’s Wall of Remembrance. Picture: Tim Clapin
Fairfield police officers and former colleagues holding a memorial for the 15th anniversary of the death of Constable David Carty.
The David Carty Memorial set up at this week’s service in Sydney.
NSW Police Force held a memorial service on Wednesday to commemorate the life and service of former Parkes man Constable David Carty, who was slain 15 years ago.
Const Carty was stabbed to death as he left licensed premises in the Sydney suburb of Fairfield in the early hours of Friday, April 18, 1997, after having a drink with colleagues following a late shift.
At 10am on Wednesday April 18, 2012, colleagues and friends gathered at Fairfield Police Station for a memorial service, on the 15th anniversary of his death.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Michael Gallacher, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, South West Metropolitan Region Commander, Assistant Commissioner Frank Mennilli, Fairfield Local Area Commander, Superintendent Peter Lennon, former colleagues, local police officers, local members of Parliament and members of the Fairfield community also attended.
Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Michael Gallacher, and NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, pay their respects to slain local police officer, David Carty and Wednesday’s special memorial service in Sydney.
Senior Catholic Police Chaplain, Father Paul O’Donoghue, led the blessing for serving police and emergency service officers.
Constable Carty’s family also held a memorial service on the family property in Parkes where Lachlan Local Area Commander, Robert Ryan, and local police officers paid their respects.
Supt Lennon said while it was painful to recall the circumstances of Constable Carty’s death, it was important for his memory to be honoured.
“David was a young man with a great future, personally and professionally,” Supt Lennon said.
“He had committed himself to protecting his community and paid the ultimate price.
“Every day, officers confront dangers as they perform their duties, and the memory of a departed colleague reminds us that a safe community can come at a high price for officers and their families,” Supt Lennon said.
Police officers during the ceremony
Constable Carty joined the NSW Police Force on February 20, 1994, attesting as a Probationary Constable on August 19, 1994, and began working at Liverpool.
On November 20, 1994, he was transferred to Fairfield and confirmed to the rank of Constable on August 19, 1995.
Before joining the NSW Police, David Carty worked on the family farm and showed as much dedication and independence there as he did as a Constable.
“Constable Carty’s relatively short experience in the NSW Police Force showed him to be an exemplary police officer,” Supt Lennon said.
Mr GUY ZANGARI (Fairfield) [12.11 p.m.]: On 18 April 2012 Fairfield police station held a 15-year memorial service for the late Constable David Carty. The memorial was to be held at David Carty Reserve but due to the torrential rain it was held at Fairfield police station. Besides the Fairfield memorial, a memorial was held also at the Carty family property in Parkes where Lachlan Local Area Commander Robert Ryan and local police officers paid their respects, together with the Carty family. The memorial at Fairfield was attended by the police commissioner, assistant commissioners, police Minister and local and State government representatives. Local fire, ambulance and State Emergency Service representatives paid their respects on this solemn occasion. Also present were the emergency response officers who, in the words of Superintendent Peter Lennon, moved heaven and earth to save this officer’s life. Inspector Brendan McMahon was the official master of ceremonies, with Commissioner Andrew Scipione offering kind and comforting words to the entire community. Superintendent Peter Lennon brought home the message of the loss to the community of David Carty and how to this day, so many years later, people in Fairfield still feel the pain. Father Paul O’Donoghue offered blessings and prayers to the gathering. Following the prayers a wreath-laying ceremony took place. It was at that point that emotion set in and not a dry eye could be seen in the gathering. Many of those who were present did not know David but they had grieved his loss for years. I recall that David’s death in 1997 was a shock to the entire community. So brutal was his death that churches around Fairfield held masses and services in his memory. At that time I was teaching at Patrician Brothers College, Fairfield, and I remember witnessing the grief that beset the community. Students and teachers held prayer services following David’s death. Sitting at the memorial service gave me the empty feeling that Fairfield experienced in 1997. I can only imagine what it was like for David’s work colleagues and especially for his family. David Carty was a country boy who came to Sydney to fulfil his dream of becoming a police officer. He joined the NSW Police Force on 20 February 1994, was sworn in as a probationary constable in August 1994 and began working at Liverpool. On 20 November 1994 Constable Carty was transferred to Fairfield and quickly established himself in the Fairfield Local Area Command and in the community as a hardworking police officer. On 17 April 1997, whilst on a daily foot patrol, David and other police officers had reason to speak to a number of people on a local Fairfield street. Later that evening, whilst off duty, Constable Carty and his colleagues attended the Cambridge Tavern. At about 2.10 a.m., as he was leaving the tavern, David was set upon by a number of offenders, including some of those he had spoken to earlier that day. Constable David Carty was stabbed to death by his attackers. Senior Constable Michelle Auld also was seriously assaulted whilst giving David assistance. Early that morning a piece of Fairfield was taken away. We will never forget David Carty. As a community we keep his memory alive by having a reserve named in his honour—the David Carty Reserve. There are plans in the Fairfield community to include a memorial garden in the reserve, to create a place where the community can offer prayers and thanks to the late Constable David Carty and reflect on the many sacrifices that he ultimately made as a result of his vocation as a police officer. David was never given a chance to marry, to have children and to experience what so many of us take for granted. What we as legislators can do is to ensure that our police are given the powers and support they need not only to keep the community safe but also to keep uniformed officers safe in the line of duty. Constable David Carty will never be forgotten by Fairfield.
Mr DONALD PAGE (Ballina—Minister for Local Government, and Minister for the North Coast) [12.15 p.m.]: I take this opportunity to thank the member for Fairfield for reminding us of the terrible murder of David Carty. I am sure that all members and the people of New South Wales remember the despicable murder that took place late at night in a car park outside licensed premises when David Carty was off duty. David Carty’s father, John Carty, is a constituent of the member for Dubbo who is in the Chamber. I was interested to hear the member for Fairfield mention the David Carty memorial that is to be established in the Fairfield reserve—a nice tribute to a man whose life was cut short by a most heinous crime.
Rank: Commenced training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 17 August 1981 ( aged 22 years, 6 months, 15 days )
Probationary Constable – appointed 6 November 1981 ( 22 years, 9 months, 4 days )
Constable – appointed 6 November 1982
Constable 1st Class – appointed 6 November 1986
Senior Constable – death
Final Rank: Senior Constable
Stations: ?, Kempsey
Service: From 17 August 1981 to 9 July 1995 = 13 years, 10 months, 22 days Service
Awards: No find on It’s An Honour
Commissioner’s Medal for Valour – posthumously
National Police Service Medal – granted 9 July 2015 – posthumously
Born: Monday 2 February 1959
Died on: Sunday 9 July 1995
Death location: Main Street, Crescent Heads
Cause: Shot – murdered
Age: 36 years, 5 months, 7 days
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: Rose Garden, Innes Gardens Memorial Park, NSW:
Grave location: Lat/Long: -31.462153 , 152.858907
Memorial location: Killuke St, Crescent Head’s
PETER IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
SenCon Peter John ADDISON – shot – 9 July 1995 – Crescent Head
Peter John ADDISON – touch plate at National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra.
Grave plaque for Peter ADDISON
Redfern Police Academy Class 175 – Sub Class A Back Row L to R: R. BARRIE # 19933, R.F. EDWARDS, Peter John ADDISON # 19914, A.J. CATTELL # 20205, J. DeROTA # 19902, G.J. DUNCAN # 19913, D.P. ELLIS # 19906, E.S. BIRCHALL # 19917 Centre Row L to R: Sgt 3/c J.A. SHIPLEE # 11230, P. DAVIES # 19919, D.F. BAILEY # 19916, P.G. DUNWORTH # 19937, M.D. BALDOCK # 20162, P.A. BLAIR # 19942, S.G. BENNETT # 19934, Sgt 3/c R.E. FORD # 10076 Front Row L to R: A.C. BURNS # 19904, J.M. CLUGSTON # 19895, Donna M. BURTON ( Donna McMAHON / Donna Thompson ) # 19929 , M.E. AUSTIN # 19908, Suzanne Joy DEARNLEY # 19945, J.A. CAMPBELL # 19903, M.L. CORNISH # 19898, J.A. DAHLBERG, D.M. CONNELL # 19891
&
Robert Bruce SPEARS
( late of Port Macquarie )
New South Wales Police Force
Redfern Police Academy Class # 227
ProCst # 98500
Regd. # 23854
Rank: Commenced training at Goulburn Police Academy on Wednesday 1 April 1987 ( aged 28 years, 16 days )
Probationary Constable – appointed 26 June 1987 ( aged 28 years, 3 months, 10 days )
Constable – appointed 26 June 1988
Senior Constable – death
Final Rank: Senior Constable
Stations: ?, Liverpool, Kempsey
Service: From1 April 1987 to9 July 1995 = 8 years, 3 months, 8 days Service
Awards: No find on It’s An Honour
Commissioner’s Medal for Valour – posthumously
National Police Service Medal – granted 9 July 2015 – posthumously
Born: Monday 16 March 1959
Died on: Sunday 9 July 1995
Cause: Shot – murdered
Age: 36 years, 3 months, 23 days
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?, Liverpool, NSW
Buried at: ?
Grave location: Lat/Long: -31.462153 , 152.858907
Compass Rose Garden, Innes Gardens Memorial Park, NSW:
Memorial location: Killuke St, Crescent Head’s
ROBERT IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
SenCon Robert Bruce SPEARS – shot – 9 July 1995 – Crescent Head
Bob Spears and his son
Touch plate for Senior Constable Robert SPEARS at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra.
Grave plate for Robert SPEARS
Crescent Head memorial as of July 5, 2013. The memorial to Senior Constables Peter Addison and Robert Spears is being well cared for. 2013 marks the 18th anniversary of their death. Such a sad waste of the lives of such good men. Their bravery was exceptional. R.I.P.
About 12.35am on 9 July, 1995 the constables were performing night shift at the Kempsey Police Station when they were called to a malicious damage complaint at the nearby township of Crescent Head. Having attended one address in relation to the complaint they drove to a dwelling in Main Street, Crescent Head. There they parked the police vehicle in a driveway and began to walk toward the front door.
At 1.22am an urgent radio message was received from Senior Constable Addison requesting urgent assistance. It was later learned that the offender McGowan had hidden near the carport of the dwelling and, camouflaged and armed with a high-powered Ruger rifle, had opened fire on the two police.
While withdrawing to the police vehicle Senior Constable Spears received a severe wound to the head and collapsed onto the ground. After exchanging shots with the offender Senior Constable Addison quickly sought help from neighbours. While apparently seeking a house with a telephone so he could call for assistance for his partner, he was also shot to death.
The murderer then committed suicide with the rifle.
At the inquest into the deaths of the two constables the New South Wales Coroner Mr Derek Hand commended both men for their extraordinary courage. Special mention was made of Senior Constable Addison‘s bravery in that “No-one would have blamed him if he had decided to seek safety. Not only was he obviously concerned about Constable Spears but he was faced with an armed man who could have caused much more death and injury in the neighbourhood”.
Mr Hand also commended the brave actions of Detective Senior Constable Michael Clark, Ambulance Officer Edward Hill and Mr Gregory Barnett.
Senior Constable Addison was born in 1959 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 6 November, 1981. At the time of his death he was stationed at Kempsey. He was posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Medal for Valour.
Senior Constable Spears was born in 1959 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 26 June, 1987. At the time of his death he was stationed at Kempsey. He was posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Medal for Valour.
New South Wales. State Coroner (1995). [Inquests into the deaths of Robert Bruce Spears, Peter John Addison and John Craig McGowan : transcript of the Coroner’s address, findings and recommendations of 13 October 1995.]. New South Wales State Coroner’s Court, [Penrith, N.S.W ( no link )
Commemorative service 10:30am, Thursday 9 July 2015 Addison/Spears memorial site Corner of Baker Dr and Killuke Cr, Crescent Head
Valour not forgotten
A ceremony this month will mark the 20th anniversary of one of our darkest days.
STORY SHAUN FEWINGS
PUBLIC AFFAIRS BRANCH
On the face of it, it was a routine call to a domestic violence complaint but within an hour two police officers were ambushed and shot dead.
When Kempsey-based police officers, Senior Constables Peter Addison VA and Robert Spears VA arrived in the small mid north coast town of Crescent Head, they came under attack from a hidden assassin. Local electrician John McGowan was drunk and dressed in camouflage gear, hiding near a car port on his Walker Street property.
The 35-year-old, armed with a high-powered modified Ruger 14 rifle, opened fire on the officers as they got out of their 4WD. The pair took cover behind their vehicle and exchanged shots with the gunman.
As Snr Cst Addison got back in the car to radio for backup, McGowan shot his partner in the head.
Snr Cst Addison ran to a neighbouring house to seek help but it didn’t have a telephone. He continued to exchange shots with the offender but was also shot dead. The killer then turned the gun on himself.
It happened at 1.22am on 9 July, 1995 and remains one of the darkest days in the history of the NSWPF. The deaths led to major reforms, including the introduction of automatic pistols and bullet proof vests for first response officers, improved radio equipment and coverage, and advances in police tactical training.
A special ceremony will mark the 20th anniversary of their deaths at a memorial site within the town. Commissioner Andrew Scipione will present the widows of Senior Constables Addison and Spears with National Police Service Medals in honour of their courage, service and diligence.
Today the ranks of the NSWPF are filled with many officers too young to remember the Crescent Head shootings but who remain protected by the legacy of two brave police officers.July 2015Police Monthly3
The medals awarded to widows of Peter Addison and Robert Spears. Picture: Lindsay Moller
$18 loader may have saved police life
Feb. 6, 2001, 9:02 p.m.
ONE of two police officers killed after being ambushed by a drunken gunmen at Crescent Head in 1995 may have survived if he had been issued with an $18 speedloader the Industrial Relations Court has been told.
NSW WorkCover Authority is proceeding with eight summonses against the Crown over alleged Occupational, Health and Safety Act breaches by the NSW Police Service stemming from the shooting deaths of Kempsey policemen, Senior Constables Robert Spears and Peter Addison.
The matter, being heard by Justice Hungerford, began in Sydney on Monday and is expected to take three weeks to complete.
Senior Constables Addison and Spears, both Port Macquarie residents, were shot by John McGowan on July 9, 1995 when they went to investigate a domestic violence complaint.
In the preceding Coronial Inquest, Coroner Derrick Hand found the two officers had been ‘massively outgunned’, lacked bulletproof vests and were hampered by poor radio communications.
WorkCover alleges the breaches of the Act contributed to the deaths of the policemen and specifically refers to inadequate equipment and training and the alleged failure to provide self-loading firearms.
When the officers arrived at the home of McGowan he was armed .223 calibre Ruger Rifle.
Constable Spears was shot dead in McGowan’s first salvo before Const. Addison managed to enter a house across the road to use a phone for help, when he was told there was not one he left the house only to be shot dead himself.
McGowan then shot himself.
WorkCover alleges the Crown failed to ensure the health and safety of Const. Addison and Spears by not providing them with a speedloader or a self-loader weapon such as a the 9mm Glock pistol, which holds 17 rounds, now used by the service.
WorkCover’s Barrister Steven Crawshaw told the court a speedloader, a round device used to load all six bullets into the then standard police weapon, a .38 Smith and Wesson, would have let Const. Addison reload more efficiently under pressure.
Police Service Barrister, Peter Hastings, QC, told the court Const. Addison did not appear to be reloading at the time he was killed so the issue was irrelevant.
The officers were issued with speed strip reloaders that enable rounds to be loaded two at a time.
The court heard Const. Addison had fired all six rounds from his revolver and investigators found his unused speed strip lying near his body.
WorkCover has also alleged that the police service failed to provide the two officers with training addressing in a practical way the tactics to be employed in a high-risk situation such as they were faced with and the systems the police service had in place to ensure training was deficient.
Training of police attacked May 3, 2001, 9:06 p.m.
SIX years after the shooting deaths of two Kempsey police officers a NSW court has found the NSW Police Service negligent in not providing adequate training and communications for the officers.
Senior Constables Robert Spears and Peter Addison, both Port Macquarie residents, were gunned down by a drunken John McGowan when they went to investigate a domestic violence complaint at Crescent Head on July 9, 1995.
NSW WorkCover, in January, started proceedings against the NSW Police Service through the NSW Industrial Relations Court over breaches of the Occupational, Health and Safety Act in relation to the deaths of Constables Addison and Spears.
On Wednesday, Justice Barrie Hungerford found that the NSW Police Service failed to provide adequate training and radio equipment.
Justice Hungerford found that the radio communications equipment was inadequate.
In the judgement Justice Hungerford said Senior Constable Spears and Addison were placed at risk of injury in that they could not communicate with other officers and vice versa.
“This created a working environment in which there was a greater risk of physical harm,” he said.
Justice Hungerford said there was evidence that supported the proposition that the officers concerned had not received up-to-date training in the various matters relevant to operational situations.
“Those subject matters, specifically, were weapons handling, tactics in high-risk situations, method of approach to buildings, concealment and the use of lights and torches.
“The very nature of the circumstances as they existed at Crescent Head during the subject incident made relevant the type of training the two officers had not recently received,” Justice Hungerford said.
Justice Hungerford dismissed eight other charges brought against the NSW Police Service by WorkCover relating to firearms, firearm equipment and training and operational duties.
The case was adjourned for a number of weeks to give the Police Service time to prepare mitigating evidence to be presented to Justice Hungerford before he announces the penalty.
On that night in 1995, after talking to a woman complaining of domestic violence threats, Constables Spears and Addison attended McGowan’s house in Walker Street at Crescent Head.
It is believed an altercation occurred between McGowan and the two officers. At some point McGowan produced a modified Ruger 14 rifle and the two officers retreated behind their 4WD.
McGowan then fired a number of shots at the officers while they sheltered behind their vehicle. Both officers returned fire from their position. A short time later Constables Addison and Spears got into the 4WD.
While Constable Addison radioed that they were in trouble McGowan shot Constable Spears in the head.
Constable Addison then again radioed that an officer was down before retreating across the road and entering a house in a bid to use a telephone to call for help.
After realising the house didn’t have a telephone Constable Addison left the house and exchanged shots with McGowan who was still beside the police vehicle.
A witness stated that then Constable Addison might have emptied his revolver while retreating to the rear of the house he just exited.
For reasons which were not clear, it is believed that Constable Addison attempted to go forward, with an empty gun and his torch shinning, but was shot dead by McGowan .
McGowan then shot himself and was found the next morning slumped on the lawn.
THE NSW Police Service has been fined $220,000 for not providing adequate training to two Kempsey police officers killed in a shootout at Crescent Head in 1995.
Senior Constable Peter Addison and Senior Constable Robert Spears, both residents of Port Macquarie, were shot and killed by John McGowan when they went to investigate a domestic violence complaint in the seaside village on the night of Saturday, July 9, 1995.
NSW WorkCover started proceedings, in the NSW Industrial Court, against the NSW Police Service in January 2001.
NSW WorkCover alleged a number of breaches of the Occupational, Health and Safety Act in relation to the deaths of Constables Addison and Spears.
In May of last year Justice Barrie Hungerford found that NSW Police had not provided Constables Spears and Addison with up-to-date training in high-risk situation tactics.
Justice Hungerford described the offence as being ‘extremely serious’ and noted that the officers had not undergone mandatory training in the use and reloading of weapons, use of torches, defensive tactics and communications.
In assessing the penalty, Justice Hungerford said the action taken by the Police Service since that fatal day to develop training programs and its previously clear occupational health and safety record.
“It is not unreasonable to conclude, in light of the clearly dangerous nature of the industry in which the Police Service operates, that the fact it has a clear occupational health and safety record is a weighty factor in its favour…,” Justice Hungerford said in his decision.
“Another relevant subjective consideration is the action taken by the defendant in respect of the Police Service in developing training programs for police officers, including the important program of ammunition training, and its leading role in that respect compared with police forces in other states,” he said.
WorkCover NSW acting general managerMichelle Patterson said “this tragic incident highlights the need for all employers to undertake appropriate risk management and to provide adequate training so that employees are able to carry out their duties”.
Honouring their grandfathers: Blake Addison, Joey Addison and Liam Jones.
THE memories of former police officers Bob Spears and Peter Addison are being preserved by three Port Macquarie boys who never met their grandfathers. Blake Addison, 6, Joey Addison, 4, and Liam Jones, 4, were not born when the Kempsey-based senior constables were shot down at Crescent Head in 1995. Late last month the boys were taken into their grandparents’ former world of crime and justice during an open day at Port Macquarie Police Station. They joined retired officers and their families on a tour of the station to uphold their family’s connection with the NSW Police Force.“I wasn’t lucky enough to meet them but my brother Joe and cousin Liam and I were treated so special at the open day we know our pops were important and special,” Blake said. There has been a concerted effort by the Addison and Spears families to ensure the boys understand the sacrifices their grandfathers made to protect the community before their death. Policing had been such a dominant part of the Addison and Spears lives before the shooting that the boys’ parents wanted it to be part of the next generation too. Blake and Joey Addison were an indirect result of the tragedy 12 years ago. The shooting brought their parents Jade Spears and Glen Addison together – Jade Spears and Glen Addison were the children of Bob Spears and Peter Addison. Liam Jones is Bob Spears’s grandson – Liam’s mother Hayley Jones changed her maiden name from Addison when she married.
The web of family connections and history has only brought the Addisons and Spears closer.
The trio of boys, their sisters, their parents, and their grandmothers are almost inseparable.
Next year, they will all attend Police Remembrance Day for the first time as a whole family to reflect again on the lives Bob Spears and Peter Addison.
SACRIFICE and sadness will hang heavy in the air on Thursday for officers and wider family of the Mid North Coast Local Area Command.It will be the 20th anniversary of senior constables Pete Addison and Bob Spears‘ murders at Crescent Head.The two officers, stationed at Kempsey but both of whom lived in Port Macquarie, were killed while responding to a violent disturbance on Main Street about 1am on July 9, 1995.Electrician John McGowan killed Sen Const Spears first by using a .223 calibre Rutger Rifle, before taking the other officer’s life.McGowan then shot himself.The two officers were posthumously awarded the NSW Police Force’s highest honour, the Commissioner’s Valour Award, the following month.More than 200 officers and guests are expected at Crescent Head’s Killuke St memorial tomorrow at 10.30am to commemorate the fallen colleagues.
Killuke St memorial Stone to Addison & Spears – 2015
“It will be an opportunity for all colleagues to show we haven’t forgotten what happened,” Superintendent Paul Fehon said on Monday.
“It’s for us to remember, and for us to let the families know we will never forget their bravery.
“There was an impact on so many people.”
Police chaplain Father Paul Gooley will lead the service, which will be co-celebrated by Fr John Casey who was the LAC’s chaplain 20 years ago and conducted Sen. Const. Addison’s funeral.
Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione will then present the National Police Service medals to the widows of the two officers to mark the men’s heroism and diligence to duty.
Deputy commissioners Catherine Burn and Nick Kaldas will also be at the service, as well as former commissioners, politicians and the heads of Ambulance NSW and Fire and Rescue NSW.
Former State Coroner Derrick Hand, who investigated the murders, is another notable guest.
The general public is also invited to attend, with plenty of space available in surrounding parkland.
The slain officers’ families will lay wreaths, followed by Commissioner Scipione and fellow police.
The community are also able to lay a wreath. A reception will take place following the ceremony at the Crescent Head Country Club.
Families of slain officers Peter Addison and Robert Spears united by love
Samantha Townsend
The Daily Telegraph
July 09, 2015 1:02PM
Glenn Addison (centre back) and Jade Spears (centre front in blue) with family members of Peter Addison and Robert Spears at Crescent Head. Picture: Lindsay Moller
TWO families united in the most horrific of circumstances are forever joined through the generations.
Senior Constables Peter Addison and Robert Spears, both 36, were killed by a gunman after responding to a domestic violence call in Crescent Head on the Mid North Coast on July 9, 1995.
Their children Glenn Addison and Jade Spears, who were 16 and 15 at the time, met after their fathers’ deaths and went on to get married.
The pair, with their children Blake, 14, Joe, 12, and Charlie, 10, joined their mothers Liana and Kathy as well as family and friends today at a ceremony in the coastal town to mark the 20th anniversary of the tragedy.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Liana (Addison) Stewart, said their families would always be connected not only because of their loss but through the marriage of their children.
“There has to be good come out of this,” Liana said. “Our families will always be connected.”
Haley Addison and Liana (Addison) Stewart at the special 20th Anniversary ceremony. Picture: Lindsay Moller
Jade Spears with her son and husband Glenn Addison at Crescent Head. Picture: Lindsay Moller
She said the ceremony was a special day for the family and she knew “without a doubt” their legacy would stay strong.
“It’s nice they have never been forgot,” she said.
Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione presented National Police Service medals to the widows of the slain officers today in honour of the men, who gave their lives while attempting to apprehend an armed offender.
The Kempsey-based senior constables had been dispatched to Crescent Head to investigate a report of domestic violence in the early hours of July 9, 1995.
As they arrived in Walker St, the policemen came under fire from drunken gunman John McGowan, dressed in camouflage gear and hiding near a carport.
The officers returned fire as they sought cover behind their four wheel drive. Addison tried to call for back-up on their police radio when Spears was fatally wounded.
Robert Spears was fatally wounded trying to apprehend an armed gunman.
Peter Addison who was gunned down in the line of duty.
In a desperate bid to seek help for his dying friend, Addison ran to a nearby house but it didn’t have a telephone.
As he tried to enter another property, still returning fire, the 14-year police veteran was also shot dead by the gunman, who then turned his high-powered rifle on himself.
Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the heroic officers had “stood their ground, defending themselves and their community from a cowardly assassin”.
“Peter Addison was not prepared to leave his wounded friend and colleague… together they made the ultimate sacrifice and we will never forget them for it,” he said
Their deaths led to major reforms within the force including the transition from revolvers to automatic pistols, bulletproof vests for first response officers, improved radio coverage and equipment as well as state-of-the-art tactical training for uniformed police.
Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione handing the National Police Service medal to Kathy Spears. Picture: Lindsay Moller
The Spears and Addison families are connected by love and tragedy thanks to a marriage between the officer’s children. Picture: Lindsay Moller
Walker St, the scene of the Crescent Head shootings, on July 9, 1995.
Crescent Heads police killings: Two decades on, ceremony will mark sacrifice made by senior constables on duty
Samantha Townsend Regional Reporter
The Daily Telegraph
July 09, 2015 12:00AM
The scene in Walker Street, Crescent Head, the morning of the shootings, with the body of gunman John McGowan (right) covered by a sheet as police speak with shocked residents.
Pair on night shift when they attended to domestic dispute call
Arrived to find gunman in camouflage gear carrying high-powered rifle
Gunman shot two policemen dead before killing himself
Tragedy led to major reforms within police force
IT WAS supposed to be a routine domestic violence call, but what happened next not only tore apart two families but also stunned a NSW coastal town.
Senior Constables Robert Spears and Peter Addison made the ultimate sacrifice when they were killed in the line of duty while protecting the community of Crescent Head on the Mid North Coast from an armed gunman on July 9, 1995.
Today is the 20th anniversary of their deaths and Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has presented National Police Service medals to the widows of the slain officers in honour of the pair’s heroism and diligence to duty.
Spears and Addison, both 36, respectively the fathers of two and three children, had moved to the Mid North Coast for a better lifestyle.
The Daily Telegraph reported at that time that on the night on July 8, 1995, the officers had kissed their families goodbye and headed out for the late shift at Kempsey Police Station.
At 12.35am the officers received a distress call about a domestic violence incident at nearby Crescent Head from the former girlfriend of electrician John McGowan.
The scene after two police officers responding to a domestic disturbance call were gunned down by John McGowan.
Senior police officers next to the covered body of McGowan.
When they arrived into the township around 1am, The Daily Telegraph Mirror reported the police officers were confronted by a drunken McGowan dressed in camouflage gear and armed with a high-powered rifle.
THE DAY MURDER CAME TO MY SLEEPY BEACH TOWN
The officers were armed with police-issue .38 Smith and Wesson revolvers.
A call for back-up was made around 1.22am.
A NSW police spokesman told The Daily Telegraph yesterday that Spears was fatally wounded first, having been shot in the head.
John McGowan shot and killed the two policemen before committing suicide in the street.
Unable to get radio assistance, the spokesman said Addison dashed to a nearby home to use the landline but the occupants did not have one.
On his way to a second house, Addison was shot dead.
McGowan then turned the gun on himself.
In the hours after the incident, police swarmed into the town, warning residents to stay inside their homes.
Police guard lines route of Senior Constable Robert Spears‘ funeral at Liverpool.
Glen Addison weeps as his brother Scott consoles him at their father’s funeral.
Uniformed police link arms at funeral of colleague Senior Constable Addison.
Police carry the coffin of Senior Constable Peter Addison.
At that stage they did not know the gunman had killed himself.
It has been reported that police found his body around 9am.
Not long after the senior constables deaths, the fallen officers were awarded the Police Force’s highest honour, the Commissioner’s Valour Award.
Their deaths led to major reforms within the force including the transition from revolvers to automatic pistols, bulletproof vests for first response officers, improved radio coverage and equipment as well as state-of-the-art tactical training for uniformed police.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says the shootings of two police officers at Crescent head is the darkest day in the NSW police history.
Around 250 people gathered at Crescent head including families and friends of the dead officers where their widows were awarded with medals for officers valour.
“Senior Constables, Peter Addison and Robert Spears, walked into an ambush,” he said.
“Human instinct would demand you remove yourself from harm’s way in a situation like that, but not these brave officers.
“They knew they had to try to stop this gunman who could have gone on to kill or injure others.
“They stood their ground, defending themselves and their community from a cowardly assassin.
“Peter Addison was not prepared to leave his wounded friend and colleague…together they made the ultimate sacrifice and we will never forget them for it.”
A memorial plaque was unveiled in the town in 1996 just a few hundred metres away from the street where the officers were slain.
The plaque reads: “The Kempsey Shire Council on behalf of the community, has erected this memorial acknowledging the personal courage and sacrifice of Senior Constables Peter Addison and Robert Spears, who gave their lives while attempting to apprehend an armed offender on the 9th July, 1995.”
Police Commission Andrew Scipione joined a host of other dignitaries at the Crescent Head memorial to mark the 20th anniversary of their deaths.
A long list of dignitaries including former Police Commissioners, Tony Lauer and Neil Taylor, attended today’s ceremony to honour the officers for their bravery and dedication to duty.
Following the shooting murders of Senior Constables Peter John Addison and Robert Bruce Spears at Crescent Head, on the 9 July, 1995, the Police Association pressed for a serious review of the firearms on issue to general duties police, with the aim of having
the .38 special Smith & Wesson model 10 revolver replaced with a self loading pistol.
The model 10 had been in service for 30 years. Addison and Spears were shot dead by John McGowan, who was armed with a .223 calibre Ruger Mini 14 self loading rifle.
McGowan had several loaded magazines and his rifle was painted in camouflage paint.
The two policemen went to McGowan’s residence in Walker Street, Crescent Head, following a complaint that McGowan made threats to his former girlfriend. Addison and Spears exchanged shots with McGowan but were obviously outgunned. It appeared that when Spears tried to reload his revolver, the speed strip containing his ammunition fell to the ground. McGowan shot himself dead after shooting Addison and Spears and his rifle was found next to his body. It was estimated that McGowan fired 30 shots from the rifle,
with some of McGowan’s bullets hitting neighbouring houses and killing a stray dog.
Peter Addison joined the police in 1981 and Robert Spears had been in the police since 1987. Both men were posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Medal for Valour.
Since the late 1980s, the adequacy of the revolver for police duties had been in question and the self loading pistol was favoured as a replacement for the Smith & Wesson model 10 revolver. In 1998, the Glock model 22 self loading pistol chambered for the .40 S&W cartridge was being issued to replace the .38 calibre Smith & Wesson model 10 revolver.
The Glock is not the first type of self loading pistol that has been issued to NSW Police.
From the late 1920s, until phasing in of the Smith & Wesson model 10 revolver in the 1960s, an assorted variety of pistols and revolvers were used for police use, many coming from confiscated and surrendered stocks as well as government purchase. Throughout this period leading up to 1965, revolvers such as the .32 Colt Police Positive, the Colt Pocket Positive and also the .38 special Smith & Wesson model 10, were issued to ranks below sergeants 1st class were issued with .25 calibre self loading pistols. While this may have been the desired mode of issue, the types of pistols and revolvers issued depended on things such as supply and availability.
Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),
Friday 14 July 1995, page 6
Firearms amnesty follows tragedy
SYDNEY: The NSW Government has announced a 12 month firearms amnesty effective immediately.
The Premier, Bob Carr, said yesterday that anyone who was holding an illegal firearm should surrender it to police.
” I have asked the Minister for Police, Paul Whelan, to widely publicise the amnesty, ” Mr Carr said.
” The amnesty means the owner of an illegal and prohibited firearm can hand it over to the police without fear of prosecution. ”
The Victorian Government announced a permanent gun amnesty on Tuesday and Mr Carr said then that he wanted an amnesty up and running in NSW as soon as possible.
He made the announcement yesterday after returning from the funeral of Senior Constable Peter Addison, who with his partner, Senior Constable Robert Spears, was gunned down outside a house at Crescent Head on the NSW mid-north coast on Sunday morning.
The pair had gone to the address in response to a domestic dispute.
The gunman, John McGowan, shot himself in the head later.
He had made his Ruger 14 mini-rank rifle illegal by attaching two magazines so the weapon could fire 30 rounds without reloading. The legal limit is five.
And police said the rifle was not licensed.
” The challenge we face here is that there was a gun, illegal under NSW law, in the possession of someone who did not have a shooter’s licence, ” Mr Carr said.
” Now obviously an amnesty that would drain the number of guns out of the community makes sense. ”
NSW had a gun amnesty after the August 1991 Strathfield massacre when Wade Frankum opened fire and shot dead six people in a suburban shopping plaza before turning the gun on himself.
In April 1994, the NSW Police Service switched on its Computerised Operational Policing System list, on which the name and address of every licensed shooter in the state is on the computer database.
There is a also a “persons’ of special interest” category on COPS which would cater for people with a psychological history of violence or a criminal record.
Coastal holiday village woken to the sound of murder
KEMPSEY: The serenity of a north-coast township was broken early yesterday when two police officers were shot dead while on duty and their killer committed suicide by turning his gun on himself.
Police said that just after 1am Senior Constables Peter Addison and Robert Spears, both aged 36, had arrived at a house in Crescent Head, 21km south-east of Kempsey, in response to a call about malicious damage to a car.
Within minutes, the pair, who had transferred to Kempsey with their young families about six months ago, were gunned down as they walked toward the house, by a man reportedly drunk and depressed over a failed love affair.
Police have confirmed that no one else was in the house with the man.
Nearby residents heard a series of shots and shouting then further blasts from a semi-automatic rifle as 35-year-old electrician John McGowan tried to comprehend his deed.
Special Protection Group members and negotiators from Sydney were rushed to the house, and residents were warned to stay in doors.
Traffic was barred from entering the town.
Anita Crowley, who lives a few streets away from the shooting, said she was woken up by the shots.
“I thought it was firecrackers,” she said. “I heard somebody shouting and yelling ‘ get down ‘.”
Police said negotiators were assessing the situation when, just before 9am, McGowan’s body was found on the front lawn of the house. He had turned the gun on himself and died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
The small town is now trying to come to terms with how a man who seemed “just a normal bloke” could shoot two police officers.
One resident, who did not want to be named, said McGowan was well-known. “He was just a normal bloke, just a resident of Crescent Head,” the man said.
“He was a bloke who would go to the club once a week, have a drink with mates, go to work five days a week.”
Another resident, who lives close to Walker Street, said: “This is just a quiet little holiday village where people come to enjoy themselves. This is the last thing you would expect from it.”
Kempsey’s Mayor, Stuart McIntyre, whose shire takes in Crescent Heads, said the shootings were an “absolute disaster” for the close-knit community, which has a population of 1200.
“It has absolutely stunned everybody,” Mr McIntyre said. “It’s one of those things which you think could never happen here.”
NSW Police Commissioner Tony Lauer said he was deeply saddened by the shooting.
“Two young police officers, going about their duties with commitment and dedication, have made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting their community,” Mr Lauer said in a statement. “These tragic events remind us of the unforeseen possibilities any police officer can face while performing their duties.”
NSW Police Association secretary Lloyd Taylor described the killings as “bad and a bloody disastrous day in policing”.
“Policing can be at times a mundane, sedentary job but it is also a job in which you can pay with your life,” Mr Taylor said.
He said the association had sent members to Kempsey to help the dead officers’ wives and children cope with the tragedy.
Local National Party MP Bruce Jeffery called for police to be issued with bullet-proof vests or soft body armour for all potentially dangerous situations.
“What has happened has highlighted the degree of danger police can face every day,” he said.
“The potential cost of these vests is a small consideration when you consider they would be protecting lives.”
The deaths of the constables brought the toll of NSW police shot and killed on duty to six in the past 10 years.
In 1986, Sergeant Paul Quinn died of a gunshot wound received on duty at Bathurst; in 1988 probationary Constable Sharon Wilson died after being accidently shot by a colleague at Leeton; in 1989, Constable Alan McQueen died after being shot when he and his partner disturbed a man trying to steal a car in central Sydney; and in 1992 Constable Juan Hernandez died when he accidently shot himself during weapons training at the Redfern Police Complex.
A police spokeswoman said Senior Constables Addison and Spears would be buried this week. The results of McGowan’s post-mortem examination should be released early this week.
On 2 January, 1989 Detective Baltoski was travelling to the National Crime Authority Offices in Adelaide in company of Mick KEELTY who was later to become the Australian Federal Police Commissioner.
About 2pm as he was driving along the Sturt Highway about 68 kilometres west of Hay when the vehicle crossed to the incorrect side of the roadway and collided head-on with another vehicle.
The exact cause of the accident was not determined.
As a result of the collision Detective Baltoski sustained severe head and internal injuries and died before he reached the Hay District Hospital.
The senior constable was born in 1955 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 17 June, 1975.
At the time of his death he was on secondment to the National Crime Authority. Prior to that, he had been attached to the Homicide Squad.
The Memorial Wall commemorates former local police officers and a former police chaplain who lost their lives in the line of duty. An additional plaque is to be added to the memorial in memory of Amy Christian who was the station’s cleaner for 26 years.
Seven former local police officers and one former police chaplain were remembered as part of a reunion in Deniliquin at the weekend. They were the first to be added to a police memorial wall installed at the front of the new Deniliquin Police Station in Charlotte St.
The wall was officially dedicated on Saturday morning in front of a crowd of about 100 people, blessed by Police Chaplain Reverend Wayne Sheean, whose predecessor Rev David Bond was remembered as part of the ceremony.
Officers honoured on the wall include Booligal’s Constable Charles Chapman (died March 1866), Moama’s Senior Const J Morrison (January 1898), Euston’s Senior Const Thomas Smith (April 1910), Deniliquin’s Superintendent Henry Grugeon (January 1911), Berrigan’s Sergeant 3rd Class George Thomas Whitely (March 1931), Detective Senior Const Risto Vic Baltoski from the National Crime Authority (January 1989) and Moama’s Senior Const Jennifer Louise Edgerton (August 2015).
Also officiating at the dedication ceremony were Deniliquin Local Area Commander Superintendent Paul Condon and Edward River Council Mayor Norm Brennan.
In attendance were many former Deniliquin-based police officers and their partners, who were in Deniliquin for the reunion dinner at the Deniliquin Golf Club on Saturday evening.
Family members of some of the officers memorialised also attended, including the daughter-in-law and grandchildren of Sgt Whitely, who died from injuries during a fire at Berrigan’s Momalong Hotel on March 25, 1931.
He and another officer were helping to control onlookers outside the hotel when a gas cylinder exploded and he was struck in the face by shrapnel.
Supt Condon said the idea of the memorial wall was to highlight the connection between police and community. ‘‘The purpose is to join the local community’s history with the local police history as our police are part of the community,’’ Supt Condon said. ‘‘I encourage the local community to visit the memorial, which has now been fitted with lights to highlight the memorial at night.
‘‘It is a credit to the local community and police, as well as Brunker Fabrication who have done a great job constructing the memorial.’’
Reunion co-organiser Roger Smith, a retired inspector, said reunion participants agreed on a ninth plaque for the memorial wall during the weekend — Amy Christian — who he said was the station’s cleaner for 26 years.
Supt Condon said the memorial dedication was followed by a tour of the new Deniliquin Police Station, which replaced the station which was constructed from 1961 and officially opened in 1965. Denilquin Pastoral Times, 20 February 2018.
Location: 405 Charlotte St, Deniliquin Police Station, NSW
IT SAYS something of Mick Keelty’s humble origins and his modest ambitions as a young man that when his uncle – a NSW copper – urged him to join the police force, he chose the constabulary of the sleepy national capital.
The son of a butcher who grew up in a large Irish-Catholic family in a two-bedroom fibro home in Parramatta, Keelty says “going to Canberra as one of six kids and being the first one to leave home … it was almost like an adventure for a 19-year-old”.
Keelty was a diligent student, by all accounts, and settled well. But a long five years in the ACT Accidents Squad was no portent of things to come, nor a posting soon after to lecture at Goulburn’s police academy.
The rise of the Australian Federal Police Commissioner, who this month begins a second five-year term overseeing a law enforcement empire of global reach, can be traced to the 1980s when the fresh detective cracked one of the seminal cases of that halcyon era of corrupt cops, colourful racing identities and underworld kingpins.
Keelty had been seconded to the National Crime Authority, which was still grappling with the fallout from the death of the anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay, the Italian Mafia and its extensive cannabis production.
Barry Moyes was the high-profile head of South Australia’s drug squad. A long investigation led Keelty down an intriguing path – his sources were saying a large dope operation was flourishing under the protection of Moyes. It was stunning information.
“He was involved in a crop at the time and distributing drugs from the drug safe,” Keelty says.
“Nobody believed that South Australia had a problem. You heard about police corruption in NSW and Victoria but no one had heard of it existing in South Australia.”
After exhaustive police surveillance of Moyes, a magistrate approved a warrant and Keelty searched the drug tsar’s office while Moyes looked on. Seized drugs that were supposed to have been destroyed were found in Moyes’s personal safe.
Moyes protested his innocence and invented a novel alibi – he was consorting with known Mafia figures because he was, secretly, infiltrating organised crime and couldn’t tell his possibly corrupt colleagues.
The alibi flew, at least until Keelty visited a heroin addict on Bondi Road who turned informant during a quiet negotiation in a room splattered with vomit.
Moyes confessed all at trial and Keelty’s star rose, an ascent confirmed soon after when he led the team that put the underworld kingpin Lenny McPherson behind bars.
Keelty says he always loved the “thrill of the hunt” and his partner during those days, NSW policeman Mike Edgtton, says Keelty “worked with anyone from everywhere. He drew the best out of everyone.”
“The Italian Mafia case was a big one. It was a triumph but there was also tragedy.”
Keelty’s partner, Risto Baltoski, was killed after a head-on collision on the baking Hay plain after one of many long-haul trips the two men made to South Australia.
The young detective cradled his partner in 40-degree heat during the long wait for the ambulance.
“Mick thought [Baltoski] was OK but when he headed back to town he heard on his police radio that Risto had died. It was terrible. He was one of his best mates,” Edgtton says.
A few big nights on the drink was the traditional remedy and Keelty still won’t talk about the incident but, as Commissioner, he has ploughed resources into trauma counselling. The AFP has won awards for its family-friendly polices, and Keelty’s close personal protection officer is a woman.
The first commissioner to emerge from within its ranks, Keelty is immensely popular within the AFP and has an unprecedented public profile.
During his tenure, the force’s annual budget has grown from $385 million in 2001 to $1.1 billion, while staffing levels have doubled to 5200. Along the way, the force has taken over jobs that used to be the domain of the National Crime Authority, the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and, arguably, the military.
His fame, of course, was cemented in 2004 by the “Keelty affair”, his frank remark to the journalist Laurie Oakes that the Iraq war would have motivated the Madrid terrorist bombings.
The Prime Minister, John Howard, was mortified and Keelty considered his future as he was condemned as an al-Qaeda propagandist by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, and misinformed by the chief of the Defence Force, General Peter Cosgrove.
Cosgrove remains a mate, but the saga is instructive. It betrays Keelty’s abiding interest in the social and economic factors that underpin crimes of all descriptions and his recognition of the limits of law enforcement.
“I’ve always thought about what puts a person in the position they are in,” Keelty says. “If you understand the reasons why they have committed the crime, you have a better chance of solving the crime.”
In the context of terrorism, that means combating the “radicalisation” of young Muslims.
Note it is Keelty who is advocating what he calls the “deprogramming” of Islamic extremists if they are placed under house arrest under controversial new powers.
For drugs, it’s about social support, harm minimisation and going offshore to attack suppliers at source. Pedophilia – the subject of large AFP investigations – abhors and intrigues him.
“Pedophilia is really to me an enigmatic crime,” he says. “[Pedophiles are often] people who are otherwise intellectually very capable. They are not from the lower socioeconomic group.”
As the AFP launched its wide investigation into internet child porn, Keelty took the extraordinary step of counselling his officers that they could be excused from the job if they found the material involved offensive, or tempting.
“Nothing can guarantee me that the people I would put into the investigation of that crime may or may not have those tendencies,” he recalls.
“One of the things I announced to the organisation was that anybody that was unhappy or anyone who was not certain whether they could investigate that sort of crime ought to be encouraged to say it up front.”
One former officer who has worked with Keelty says his casual, almost guileless manner often masks the depth and intelligence of the Commissioner.
But the officer questioned Keelty’s uncommon focus on “socioeconomic causes of crime”.
“It can erode the effect of policing, and it can complicate things,” the former staffer says.
With more than 30 postings around the world, including the first and only permanent Western policing presence in China and Vietnam, the internationalisation of the AFP has been perhaps the defining feature of Keelty’s reign.
As well as extensive co-operation with overseas police forces on transnational crime, including terrorism, the AFP has sent large contingents as peacekeepers to East Timor, the Solomon Islands and, briefly, Papua New Guinea.
Keelty has been the consummate diplomat, helped by his fascination for different cultures and his drive to tackle crime globally and bring down the big players in illegal and illicit activity.
His deference to Jakarta during the East Timor crisis – he always visited the Indonesian capital before heading on to Dili – laid the groundwork for the quick co-operation in the wake of the Bali bombings.
It didn’t hurt that Keelty had studied with Indonesia’s General I Made Pastika in Canberra, and helped him with his homework, during the mid-1990s.
“There have been a lot of on-the-ground operational, and public perception, problems that have come out of working with overseas forces,” says one former AFP staffer.
“The Bali nine is a classic example. So is Schapelle Corby.”
There is little doubt that in the court of public opinion, the AFP’s reputation took a beating in these drug mule cases.
The AFP had been tipped off about some of the young men and women who were part of the Bali nine but Keelty says they had eight names, of whom just five travelled.
He could not have tipped off the youngsters – as many have argued the AFP should have – because the whole investigation would have collapsed, he says.
The Indonesians had every right to arrest the Australian couriers. “It was their sovereign land,” Keelty says.
As for the fuss surrounding Corby, Keelty is blunt and unsympathetic.
“If Schapelle Corby wasn’t a very attractive young lady, the reaction might have been quite different.”
Consider it from the Indonesian side, he adds. Protesting that the cannabis in Corby’s bodyboard bag had been planted was the “universal excuse” of drug traffickers and would open the floodgates if accepted with no hard evidence.
Even so, Keelty remains popular. He is probably the only prominent security figure regarded highly by both the Prime Minister and Australia’s Muslim community.
Ali Roude, the vice-president of the Islamic Council of NSW, credits Keelty for a “great relationship” between the AFP and the Muslim community.
“He has a good grasp of issues. He is the first federal police commissioner to have taken a leadership role in initiating contact with Australian Muslim community,” Roude says.
Certainly, Keelty won’t join the conga line of politicians decrying multiculturalism and uttering dark warnings about the imposition of sharia law.
Noting the Protestant versus Catholic schism of his childhood, not to mention the Italians he and his mates branded “wogs”, Keelty says of the tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims that they are worrying but not necessarily new.
“We have been down this road before, if we think it through,” he says.
“I think there is great credit in trying to develop a very tolerant society and a very understanding society. It can be our competitive difference over the rest of the world.”
YES, COMMISSIONER
On Schapelle Corby “Every courier, whether they are coming into Australia or whether they are going into Vietnam, going into Thailand, will say the drugs are not mine. It’s the universal excuse … If Schapelle Corby wasn’t a very attractive young lady, the reaction might have been quite different.”
On the AFP abroad “The justice systems are very different to ours. There are issues of corruption, nepotism and wantok [tribal allegiance]. You have to work with and around those systems [in a way] that preserves your integrity.”
On policing “You can get yourself into a routine where you are locking up the same people over and over again and you really don’t believe you are making a difference.”
On multiculturalism “I was brought up in the western suburbs of Sydney in the days when we used to call the local Italian snack bar the wog shop. But all immigrants have given us a rich culture … and what a strength that is.”
On terrorism “We have got to deal with this radicalisation process somewhere along the line. If we don’t, I think we risk having the problem for a lot longer than we might otherwise have it.”
Memorial 1: Memorial Tree planted at NSW Police Academy, Goulburn
Memorial 2: Memorial plate on the front outside wall of Leeton Police Station. Dedication done on 30 November 2015. Photos below.
Sharon Louise WILSON – centre, front row. Class 215
About 2.15pm on 30 November, 1988 Constable Wilson was on duty at the Leeton Police Station when she suffered a severe gunshot wound to the head when another member’s service revolver discharged. Although treated at the scene by colleagues until the ambulance arrived, she passed away at the Wagga Base Hospital at 5.45pm the same day.
The constable was born in 1968 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 9 May, 1988. At the time of her death she was stationed at Leeton.
Touch plate at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra
Sharon is mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
Alan Cope ( # 23769 ? ) thanks guests for attending. Alan spoke about Sharon Wilson and her short time in Leeton.
Superintendent Mick Rowan # 22980 ? ) with Father Robert offer kind words. — with Robert Patrick Murphy
Superintendent Mick Rowan unveiled the new memorial plaque.
Alan Cope closes the ceremony. Monday 30 November 2015
Dedicated: Monday 30 November 2015
2 December 1988
“CHARGES POSSIBLE OVER SHOOTING
SYDNEY: The NSW Police Commissioner, John Avery, will decide whether charges should be laid against a constable allegedly involved in the shooting death of her 20 year-old colleague on Wednesday.
A police spokesman said yesterday a team of detectives was waiting to interview the young officer over the death of policewoman Sharon Wilson at the Leeton Police Station, in the state’s Riverina district.
He said results of the investigation would be forwarded to Mr Avery for consideration.
A police spokesman said the detectives — including two from Sydney’s Internal Affairs department, two from homicide, a ballistics expert and a police psychologist — were waiting to talk to the 19-year-old constable.
Probationary Constable Wilson was shot in the head by one bullet from a service revolver while on duty at Leeton Police Station, at 2.15pm on Wednesday.
She was rushed to Wagga Base Hospital, but died 3 1/2 hours later.
The policewoman awaiting questioning had been treated for shock and was being cared for by friends and welfare personnel, the spokesman said.
Detectives hoped to talk with her last night.
Miss Wilson, of Uralla, in the Northern Tablelands, was well known in the small community. She was regarded as a fine athlete and her 188cm frame was well known in the local basketball league.
Miss Wilson was studying visual arts at the Riverina Murray Institute of Higher Education in Wagga.
Her body will be transported to her home at Uralla, where a funeral will be held at 1pm on Monday.”
SYDNEY: Junior police officers could be made to leave their guns at work after a young constable accidentally killed his best friend while cleaning his service revolver at home on Monday.
An internal police investigation into the shooting would look at the controls on probationary constables’ possession of weapons, the NSW Minister for Police, Ted Pickering, said yesterday.
Constable Andrew Pearce, 20, was cleaning his .38 service revolver in the bedroom of his Greystanes home in Sydney’s west at noon on Monday when the gun discharged and hit his friend Andrew James McDonald in the chest.
Mr McDonald, a 20-year-old bank teller from Greystanes, died an hour later in Westmead Hospital.
The incident was the second fatal shooting by a probationary constable in the past four months.
Last November Probationary Constable Sheree Schneider, 19, ( ProCst # 60370 ) accidentally shot Constable Sharon Wilson in the head at Leeton police station in the Riverina region. The young constable now faces a manslaughter charge.
Acting Police Commissioner Angus Graham refused yesterday to comment on Monday’s shooting and was unable to say whether Constable Pearce, an officer with one year’s service, would be charged over the incident.
He said the fatal shooting was the subject of a full investigation by the police’s Internal Affairs Department.
“When we have these incidents we always review our arrangements,” he said.
A policewoman fatally wounded a colleague with a shot from her service revolver which she believed was empty, the Leeton Local Court, in south-west NSW, heard yesterday.
Sheree Ann Schneider ( ProCst # 60370 ), 20, of Pine Avenue, Leeton was charged with the manslaughter of Constable Sharon Louise Wilson, 20, at Leeton Police Station on November 30 last year.
Constable Wilson died of head injuries at the Wagga Wagga Base Hospital as a result of the shooting.
Constable Harvey McRae told the court that he was sitting at a computer terminal when he heard the firing pin of a police revolver strike the empty chamber. Constable Wilson had said, “Oh God, don’t do that. You scared the living daylights out of me”.
He said Schneider pointed the revolver toward Constable Wilson and said: “No, it’s empty, see?” The gun then discharged.
Schneider said she went into the sergeant’s office and re-loaded her gun. The court heard that four live bullets and one spent one were later removed from the revolver.
ALBURY: A policewoman who fatally shot a colleague has been cleared of manslaughter after a hearing in the Albury District Court. Sheree Ann Schneider, 20, of Pine Ave, Leeton, was charged with the manslaughter of Sharon Louise Wilson, 20, of Leeton, who died from injuries received in the shooting.
Constable Wilson was shot in the head while speaking on the telephone in the communications room of Leeton police station on November 30 last year.
Miss Schneider gave evidence at the committal hearing on Friday.
She said she had gone to the sergeant’s office where she had unloaded her special issue five-shot .38 service revolver. She told the court she was sure five bullets had fallen from the revolver’s cylinder and into her hand.
Miss Schneider said she had left the bullets in the office and returned to the inquiry counter area.
Thinking the gun was empty, she “dry fired” it.
Miss Schneider said Constable Wilson had become frightened and said: “Oh God, don’t do that. You scared the living daylights out of me.”
She had said to Constable Wilson: “No, it’s empty, see” and then pulled the trigger “to reassure her she had nothing to worry about.” The gun had discharged.
Asked by her counsel, Mr John Dailly, what she had thought when the gun discharged, she said: “I couldn’t believe it! I was sure I had counted five bullets.”
It was not until she had returned to the sergeant’s office that she realised she had made a mistake.
Although Miss Wilson had been shot, Miss Schneider said she was unaware at the time the gun had been pointing at her colleague.
Miss Schneider said she had returned to help Miss Wilson, who lay on the floor bleeding profusely from a wound to the left temple.
She said she placed both hands over the wound to try to stop the bleeding.
The court was told Miss Schneider had received 200 minutes pistol training at the police academy and had been issued with the smaller five-shot revolver after failing her first shoot with the larger six shot model.
Mr Dailly said the shooting had been an accident.
“It was totally unintended, unexpected and unforeseen,” he said.
In discharging Miss Schneider, Magistrate Barry Wooldridge said she had made a “great mistake” when counting the bullets. But the fact remained that there was no intent on Miss Schneider‘s part, no animosity between the two and no evidence she had deliberately pointed the gun at Constable Wilson.
SYDNEY: The Director of Public Prosecutions said yesterday he would review a magistrate’s decision to dismiss a manslaughter charge against a police woman who shot dead a fellow officer.
The director, Reg Blanch, QC, said he would direct Constable Sheree Schneider to stand trial if he found that Leeton Magistrate Barry Wooldridge had made an error in judgement.
Constable Schneider, 20, shot dead Sharon Wilson, also 20, with a service revolver at Leeton police station on November 30. She said she thought the revolver was empty.
Mr Blanch said he would make a decision in four to eight weeks. Constable Schneider, suspended with pay, was to answer a charge on August 31 of using a firearm with disregard for safety.
Schneider Case
In New South Wales, at Leeton police station on 30-Nov-1988, a junior policewoman produced a pistol and shot dead another officer. Sheree Ann Schneider claimed it was an accident. Satisfied the pistol was unloaded, she pulled the trigger without looking where the gun was pointed. The charge of Felonious Assault was dismissed in the lower court on 28th July 1989 under section 41 (vi) – the presiding officer ruled that no jury would convict. Use Of A Firearm In Disregard For Another Persons Safety was dismissed on 27th April 1990. The female did not even lose her job, presumably her fellow officers hope she will be more careful in future.
Court Ignores Duty
It is axiomatic with all weapons training that they never be pointed at anyone unless they are intended to be used —even in jest. Deliberately pulling the trigger without looking where the .38 pistol was pointed was criminal irresponsibility. Sharon Wilson was killed as the result of criminal negligence; a failure that should not be tolerated from any citizen, much less a police officer. Not knowing the gun was loaded is no excuse for anyone, least of all a trained professional. For the courts to fail to penalise this action is to commit more crimes; the denial of the importance of duty and the magnitude of taking a life.
The Law Repeats The Role Of Indulgent Parents
Schneider escaped penalty by adopting the infantile excuse that she was merely the hapless victim of the inadequate police weapons training program; that this was accepted by the authorities is not an aberration. Trial for murder is no longer a matter of resolving fact; it has become a re-enactment of the spoilt child caught by their indulgent parents; if the miscreant can deflect blame while generating sympathy then all is forgiven.
Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 2 April 1979 ( aged 20 years, 5 months, 1 day )
Constable 1st Class – appointed 29 August 1984
Final Rank = Constable 1st Class
Stations: ?, Sydney Inner City Cycles, St Ives Driver Training, Warilla HWP – Death
Service: From? ? pre April 1979? to24 August 1988= 9+years Service
Awards: No find on It’s An Honour
Born: Saturday 1 November 1958
Died on: Wednesday 24 August 1988 about 8.40pm
Age: 29 years, 9 months & 23 days
Cause: Motor Vehicle Collision – Police Bike – Rider
Event location: Five Islands Rd, Cringila just south of the right sweeping bend ( southbound ) from Springhill Rd and just prior to Cringila Railway Stn
Event date: Wednesday 24 August 1988
Funeral date: ? ? ?
Funeral location: ?, Berkeley
Wake location: ?
Funeral Parlour: ?
Buried at: Cremated
Memorial located at: ?
CARTSIS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
About 8.40pm on 24 August, 1988 Constable Carter and Constable Eric Renes were riding police motor cycles in Five Islands Road, Cringila in pursuit of a motor vehicle. As the cycles travelled around a sweeping right hand bend Constable Carter‘s cycle became unstable and despite his best efforts left the roadway. The cycle collided with a light pole and the constable was killed instantly.
The constable was born in 1958 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 2 April, 1979. At the time of his death he was attached to the Warilla Highway Patrol.
Carts in 1980 with Inner City Cycles.
Cst 1/C Peter Carter, Warilla HWP. Playing Police Football for Wollongong on 20 April 1983 at Rose Bay.
PETER CARTER & JAMIE WILSON-CALLANDER JET SKIING AT BERKELEY HARBOUR.
WOLLONGONG POLICE FOOTBALL
PETER CARTER WITH MARK JONES IN BACK GROUND
MARK JONES & PETER CARTER WITH KID’s FROM YELLOW ROCK (ALBION PARK) M.M.C.C. M. Motor Cross Club 1988
[divider_dotted]
Deadly toll
By Jonathan Pearlman November 6, 2004
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:
Touch plate at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra
TIM IS Mentioned on the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra
About 3.35am on 12 October, 1987 the constable was driving a police vehicle along Oxford Street, Paddington assisting a Rose Bay Police vehicle in the pursuit of a stolen car.
As the constable’s vehicle travelled around a sweeping left hand bend, the stolen vehicle, followed by the Rose Bay Police vehicle, was attempting a U turn at the intersection of Oatley Road.
Constable Macarounas applied the brakes however the wheels of his vehicle locked and the vehicle spun around before colliding with a light pole.
After being trapped in the damaged vehicle for about forty minutes, Constable Macarounas was conveyed to St Vincent’s Hospital suffering severe head, chest and internal injuries.
He died on 20 October, 1987 @ 4pm.
The constable was born in 1965 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 5 January, 1987. At the time of his death he was stationed at Paddington.
Source: Kevin BANISTER Inscription Themelis (Tim) Macarounas 28.1.1965 – 20.10.1987 Aged 22 Yrs 9 Mths. In Memory Of Our Beloved Son And Brother Who Passed Away On The 20th October 1987 As A Result Of Injuries Sustained In An Accident On the 12th October Whilst In Pursuit Of A Stolen Vehicle In Oxford St. Paddington. “We Miss You So Much” Dad & Mum Anthony & Christopher-Troy.
Deadly toll
By Jonathan Pearlman November 6, 2004
Alone in his patrol car, Chris Thornton had the police siren flashing as he chased a white sedan through Woy Woy.
Thornton, 35, a highway patrolman, had been in the force for 15 years. He was, his mother says, “the best driver I have ever seen”.
The reason for the chase that night in April 2002 is unknown. Both cars were seen travelling at high speed. Thornton was about 50 metres behind.
Meanwhile, Leonard Rowley, 56, an unlicensed driver, was driving to his local KFC to pick up dinner. He saw the first car flash past and judged – wrongly – that he had time to turn out in front of the patrol car. Thornton tried to avoid Rowley’s car but clipped the back, veered onto the wrong side of the road and hit a power pole.
Thornton died on the spot, which is marked by a permanent stainless-steel cross. Rowley later received a suspended two-year sentence.
“His life from the age of 12 was about helping people,” says Thornton’s mother, Freada Thornton. “He was in the surf club and he was there to rescue people and then he went into the force and he was doing the same thing.” His father, Barry Thornton, says: “He loved life. He had been in Gosford for 15 years and was so popular with the community there.”
Police pursuits are, says Barry, a necessary evil: “If they don’t catch the criminals there will be more deaths on the roads. The ones that they’re in pursuit of are the idiots that have done the wrong thing to start with.”
But pursuits have come at a cost to the NSW Police Department. Fifteen officers have died as a result of high-speed chases, beginning with the death of Constable George Boore in 1937.
Details provided by the NSW Police Association show a steady stream of fatalities involving cars and motorcycles. The full list of casualties is as follows:
Rank: Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on 18 August 1986
Probationary Constable – appointed 7 November 1986
Final Rank: Probationary Constable
Stations: Pennant Hills October 1986 to 3 June 1987
Awards: Nil
Service:
From 18 August 1986to 3 June 1987 = 11 months
Born: ? ? 1966
Died: Wednesday 3 June 1987
Age: 20
Cause: Illness – Suicide by Service firearm
Location: at Lane Cover River Park, Lane Cove.
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location:
Eastwood
Grave Location:Cremated
Memorial plaque at Northern Suburbs Crematorium, Delhi Road, North Ryde, NSW
Niche: Row ‘TO’, plaque # 348
Touch plate at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra.
Andrew Thomas DIXON. Plaque condition as of 8/9/2020
ANDREW IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
In April, 1987 Constable Dixonand other police attended a serious motor vehicle accident at Mt Colah. A person trapped in the vehicle became violent when released and Constable Dixon assisted in restraining him. During the struggle the constable was covered in a considerableamount of the injured person’s blood. It was later discovered that this person suffered from HIV/AIDS. Due to stress and concern over the disease, Constable Dixon drove to the Lane Cove River Park on 3 June, 1987 and committed suicide.
The constable was born in 1966 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 18 August, 1986. At the time of his death he was stationed at Pennant Hills.
From Kevin Banister – I remember this very well. I was working at Pennant Hills when Andrew arrived as a fresh faced Probationary Constable. He was a fine young man built like a brick s**thouse. When he was told that the accident victim had HIV/AIDS he began to withdraw very quickly. All at the station were concerned for his welfare and tried to help where possible.
On the afternoon of 3/06/87 Andrew had worked morning shift and I was on afternoon shift. At the hand over Andrew said goodbye with a smile on his face and went home, or so I thought. I was not aware that he was supposed to be attending the PMO (Police Medical Officer) for an appointment after work. I got a call from his mother just before sundown to say that Andrew had not come home and were concerned for his welfare. Pennant Hills was a Rescue Squad/General duties station at the time and I was the senior operator rostered on. I made a number of phone calls including to the Lane Cove station and Marrickville Rescue base. Not long after we received info that Andrew’s car had been located in a dead end street off Delhi Road beside the Lane Cove river.
As a result I and my offsider Bob Hanson attended in the Rescue vehicle. Numerous other Police vehicles arrived along with the Water Police. I organised a number of search parties and headed into the scrub towards the river. Reached the riverbank and saw that the Water Police had also began a search in the area we were in. Again, a short time later I and my offsider found the body of Andrew with his service revolver by his side. I indicated to the Water Police to come over (not using the radio) and told them that they were no longer required. The boat crew saluted and left the scene. A discrete message was sent to the command post as I knew that his parents were at the post and could hear the radio transmissions.
When we emerged from the bush with Andrew’s body many of the Police were in tears as he was a local boy and well known. His funeral was standing room only and the street blocked off for the overflow. During the period of the time of the accident and Andrew’s death he had a number of blood samples taken, but due to the technology of the time he was told that it could be some time before they knew if he had became infected. About a month after his death we were informed that he had not become infected. R.I.P. my friend.
Dana Therese HEFFERNAN
| 27/10/2012
Dana Therese HEFFERNAN
aka Therese
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 22775
Goulburn Police Academy Class 219
Rank: Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on Monday 14 April 1986 ( aged 19 years, 3 months, 11 days )
Probationary Constable – Attested Friday 27 June 1986 ( aged 19 years, 5 months, 15 days )
Constable – No
Stations: Waverley – Death
Service: From14 April 1986to 17 April 1987 = 1 year, 3 days Service
Awards: No Find on Australian Honours system
Born: Thursday 12 January 1967
Died on: Friday 17 April 1987
Age: 20 years, 3 months, 5 days
Cause: Motor Vehicle Accident – Driver – On Duty going to work
Event location: Cnr Avoca & Darley Rd’s, Randwick
Funeral date:
Funeral location:
Buried at: Woronora Memorial Park, Linden St, Sutherland, NSW
Loc: General Plaque Lawn Sec: Wattle Lawn Lot: 5
Lat / Long: -34.03604, 151.04950
DANA IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
On 17 April, 1987 Constable Heffernan was travelling to work at Waverley Police Station. At the intersection of Avoca Road and Darley Road, Randwick another vehicle drove through a red traffic light and collided with the constable’s vehicle. As a result Constable Heffernan suffered severe head and internal injuries and was found to be dead on arrival at the Prince of Wales Hospital. The driver of the offending vehicle was later charged with serious offences relating to the collision.
The constable was born in 1967 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 14 April, 1986. At the time of her death she was stationed at Waverley.
The parents of Dana are organising a memorial service for Dana at the Woronora Cemetery on Friday 19 July 2019 at 10.30 am.
They are calling on classmates from 219 (June 86) and workmates from Waverley who might be available, to join family and colleagues to remember this great young copper and mate, taken from us too early.
For unknown reasons, this Memorial Service has been cancelled.
Grave plate for Glenn Edward McENALLAY
