Service: Frompre February 1974 to 10 September 1986 = 12+ years Service
Awards:
No find on It’s An Honour
Born:
13 February 1952
Died on:
10 September 1986
Cause:
Motor Vehicle Accident – front seat passenger
Event location:
Tweed Heads
Age: 34
Funeral date:
12/09/1986
Funeral location:
St. James Anglican Church, Kingscliff
Buried at:
Cremated
Memorial location:
Tweed Heads Memorial Gardens and Crematorium – Peace Wall
Located in the station area of Tweed Heads Police Station.
Located in the station area of Murwillumbah Police Station.
[alert_green]Warren IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]
About 7.30pm on 10 September, 1986 Senior Constable James was a passenger in a police vehicle returning to Tweed Heads Police Station after attending Lismore Court, when the vehicle left the roadway and collided with a tree. The constable was killed instantly.
The constable was born in 1952 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 26 February, 1974. At the time of his death he was stationed at Tweed Heads.
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NSWBDM – Death Registration 107402/1986 Father = Keith Mother = Gloria
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TIMELINES The Quarterly Newsletter of Murwillumbah Historical Society Inc. April 2016 Vol. 4 No. 4
Murwillumbah Police Station
Thanks to Nick Gouliaev for another excellent installment in his series on our historic buildings. This is the final part (2) of the story of this Main Street icon.
The Police Station is in the Federation style, in complete architectural and visual harmony with the rest of the precinct; an architectural delight. The roof is high pitched with gable roof ends, framed and clad with corrugated metal roof sheets matching the other precinct buildings, although the roof cladding now needs replacement due to the metal sheets showing visible degradation with rust. Facing the main street is a main entry to the Detectives’ part of the building, with a roofed entry porch with double doors entry to the actual building, although today this is hardly ever used.
The porch roof is supported by timber posts decorated with Federation fretwork and brackets, as in the police station entry porch. All windows are original timber framed, clear glazed, of double – hung style and fitted with metal security grilles.
The brickwork is original, as used throughout all the precinct buildings. It is in first class condition and fitted with original terracotta air vents laid in stretcher bond with flush struck joints.
The main entry to the police station has been altered to be facing the main street instead of facing Police Lane. Today a concrete pedestrian access ramp with stainless steel handrails leads from the police entry porch to the entry gate at the Main Street boundary. The original main entry door has been replaced with a contemporary glass sliding door, electronically operated and CCTV monitored for a high level of security.
The internal walls are brickwork finished with smooth cement render, painted, and fitted with wide 150mm grooved Federation style skirtings at floor level. The air vents are original metal, adjustable and with a Federation floral decorative motif and are fitted to all external walls. The doors and windows are fitted with wide Federation grooved jambs and wide architraves. The doors are still in original Federation style; multi – paneled with glazed ventilation window above. The secure
areas have been upgraded with new generation doors and high security locks. The other areas however still retain their original brass locks and latches, retaining the charming originality and authenticity of the internal atmosphere of 1909. The corridors have decorated arched openings and terminating with beautiful arch brackets, in harmony with the wide plaster cornices throughout the building.
The ceilings are a combination of plaster lined ceilings and tongue and groove timber ceiling linings with recent alterations to some areas now lined with flat plaster boards. Wide plaster cornices with flower and leaf imprints decorate the edges of the ceilings throughout. The ceiling heights in the original areas of the building are 4800mm but in altered areas are lower, to 4500mm or less.
Various rooms have an original fireplace but the hearths of all the fireplaces are now closed off with a thin panel of white – painted Masonite. There are a total of four fireplaces in the building, but all would require careful refurbishment to re – awaken their 1909 architectural beauty, not only of the hearth and mantle shelves but also of the rooms.
The floors are of timber construction with timber floor boards, carpeted to some areas and covered with vinyl in others.
The Police lock up area consists of four cells, although only two are in use with the others used as storage rooms. The floors are concrete and all windows are fitted with heavy duty security grill/bars. Tweed Regional Museum Murwillumbah has an original steel cell door complete with “scratched surface graffiti” compliments of past prisoners in its collection. The cell door is solid sheet steel, approximately 25mm thick x 820mm wide x 2040mm high, hung on very heavy duty hinges,
with a rectangular inspection hatch. These days the delivery of individuals in police custody is at the rear of building to a secured area close to the lock up cells.
The Police Officers have use of a recreational area with a BBQ and seating under a timber pergola at the rear of the building. This area is called “The Mango Bar” and was opened Friday 15 Feb 1985 by Hon. W.[Bill] Bugden. The patron is His Honor Judge K.F.E. Torrington. One of the pergola posts has another plaque affixed to it with the wording “SWOS RAIL” in honour of Patrol Officer Warren James.
A third plaque is inside the Police Station, on the wall in one of the corridors, dedicated to “Senior Constable Warren Keith James”, born 13 Feb 1952, died 10 Sep 1980. The plaque was presented by Murwillumbah Jaycees.
Research and Acknowledgements
Murwillumbah Historical Society research team: Nick Gouliaev, Tony Clark , Max Boyd , Joan Cuthel , Judy Keane (TRM)
Police Officers; Dean Wilson and others
Tales of our Times, Ron Johansen
Red Sunday, Kath Pritchard, Murwillumbah Historical Society 2nd Edition 2015
Northern Star (1876 – 1954) 8 Jan 1908 Page 2
Municipal Murwillumbah 24 Oct 1907 (Reprint of municipal announcements)
Georgian Architecture in Australia; Uri Smith in association of the National Trust of Australia
The Federation House, Ian Evans, The Flannel Flower press.
Australia’s Yesterdays, Reader’s Digest Pty. Ltd.
Australia – The First Hundred Years, Being a Facsimile of Volumes 1 and 2 of The Picturesque Atlas of Australia, edited by Hon. Andrew Garran, M.A., L.L.D.,M.L.C.
On 1 September, 1986 Sergeant Jennings was at home at the police residence attached to the West Wallsend Police Station. While he was mowing the lawns (one of his duties) he suffered a fatal heart attack.
The sergeant was born in 18 September 1944 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 22 February, 1965. At the time of his death he was stationed at West Wallsend.
National Police Remembrance Day ceremony in Lake Macquarie
David Stewart
September 29 2017 – 4:27PM
POLICE from Lake Macquarie Local Area Command have unveiled plans for a memorial wall at Belmont to honour the seven local officerskilled in the line of duty since 1863.
Plaques commemorating the seven officers were dedicated to the wall in a ceremony at Belmont police stationthis afternoon, National Police Remembrance Day.
Chief Inspector Murray Lundberg of Lake Macquarie LAC presided over a private ceremony attended by police, local high school students, and the families of the fallen officers.
“This is a time for reflection on the ultimate sacrifice that police officers can give in the execution of their duty,” Chief Inspector Lundberg said.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Brett Greentree, the Northern Region Commander, said the wall of remembrance, to be created on the distinctive blue wall at the entrance to the police station, would be striking.
“It will be a sight to treasure,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Greentree said.
“I want the officers, as they are walking out the front doors of this police station, to stop and reflect on the names, stop and reflect on the sacrifice.”
He said he hoped that the inaugural plaques to be installed on the wall were also the last.
“My dream is that we never, ever, add another name to this wall. I hope and pray that our wall is now complete.”
Acting Assistant Commissioner Greentree reached out to the families of the fallen officers.
“No commemoration or recognition can make good the loss that is unfairly carried by family members,” he said.
“I can only offer you my heartfelt condolences. Please know that your loved ones, who are no longer with us, will always be remembered.”
Across NSW, ceremonies were held to commemorate the service and sacrifice of the 269 officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty, and through injury or illness, since the formation of the NSW Police Force in 1862.
Jillian Cupit HAWKES (FRAZER)
| 27/10/2012
Jillian Cupit HAWKES ( FRAZER )
late of Kirrawee, NSW
New South Wales Police Force
Redfern Police Academy Class 104
Regd. # P/W 0073
Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday ? July 1965
Probationary Special Constable – appointed Monday 16 August 1965 ( aged 25 years, 10 months, 29 days )
Detective – appointed ? ? ?
Special – Senior Constable – appointed 16 August 1974
Detective Sergeant 3rd Class – retired
Jill was One of Three Police Women to obtain their Diploma in Criminology from Sydney University at the time.
Retired Hurt On Duty on 17 December 1982
Was Awarded ‘ Policewoman of the Year ‘ for bravery in 1979
Died from Arrest Injuries that happened at Milsons Point, North Sydney, NSW – Assaulted on 30 July 1977 which resulted in the amputation of one of her legs.
Born: Monday 18 September 1939
Died: Tuesday 22 April, 1986
Age: 46 years, 7 months, 4 days
Funeral Date: Thursday 24 April 1986
Buried: Cremated.
Cemetery: Buried at Woronora cemetery, Linden St, Woronora, NSW
Grave Location: GG. Rose Garden 18, Position 0080
Jillian IS MENTIONED on the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra.
On 30 July, 1977 Detective Senior Constable Hawkes and another detective attended Sydney’s Luna Park in relation to a complaint. While the offender was being escorted from the park he began to struggle violently and kicked Detective Hawkes’ legs out from under her. When she fell to the ground the offender continued kicking and stamping on her.
As a result she suffered an injury to her right leg which later developed a malignant bone tumour. The leg was amputated and after being fitted with an artificial leg Detective Hawkes returned to work.
On 17 December, 1982 she was discharged medically unfit.
On 19 April, 1986 the former Detective Sergeant Hawkes lapsed into a coma. She died three days later on the 22 April 1986.
The detective sergeant was born in 1939 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 16 August, 1965.
Touch Plate – National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra ( 2015 ) for Jillian HAWKES
Woronora Cemetery, Linden St, Sutherland. Police Memorial Section
Paul Mitchell QUINN
| 27/10/2012
Paul Mitchell QUINN
New South Wales Police Force
Redfern Police Academy Class # started with 156 – may have ended with 163
Cadet #: 3358
Regd. # 18605
Rank: NSW Police Cadet – commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 4 July 1977 ( aged 17 years, 1 months, 28 day )
Probationary Constable – appointed 29 May 1979 ( aged 19 years )
Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Constable 1st Class – appointed 29 May 1984
Final Rank: Constable 1st Class – posthumously promoted to Sergeant 3rd Class
Stations: Casino & Bathurst – Death
Service: From 4 July 1977 to 30 March 1986 = 8 years, 8 months, 26 days
Awards: No find on It’s An Honour
Born: Sunday 29 May 1960
Died on: Wednesday 30 March 1986
Cause: Murdered. Shot through neck during arrest
Event location: , Perthville, NSW
Age: 25 years, 10 months, 1 day
Funeral Date: ?
Funeral Location: ?
Buried at: ?
Grave location: Maranatha, Sec: Mar2, Row: A, Grave: 112
Memorials: 1/ Chifley LAC has the ‘ Paul Quinn Award ‘ for the most outstanding Officer each year. Paul is Remembered within the Chifley LAC.
2/ Paul Mitchell Quinn – stone monument near the murder scene
3/ Mt Panorama ( Bathurst ) Police Compound – dedicated to Sgt Paul Quinn
Paul Mitchell Quinn – monument near the murder scene
Paul Mitchell Quinn – murder scene
Police Wall of Remembrance – touch plate for Paul Mitchell QUINN – Canberra
Dubbo Photo News, page 3, Oct 6 – 12, 2016
Late in the afternoon of 30 March, 1986 Constable 1st Class Quinn was involved in the high speed pursuit of a vehicle from South Bathurst towards Perthville.
At Perthville the offender lost control of the vehicle and collided with a bridge railing at the intersection of Bridge Street.
The offender then leapt from the vehicle with a .303 rifle and began to fire at the police who had been chasing him.
Constable Quinn was hit in the neck and killed instantly and Constable Ian Borland was seriously wounded.
The offender, Horan, was shot several times by police before being arrested and charged.
Fortunately Constable Borland recovered from his injuries. Constable Quinn was posthumously promoted to Sergeant 3rd Class.
The sergeant was born in 1960 and joined the New South Wales Police Force as a Cadet on 4 July, 1977. At the time of his death he was stationed at Bathurst.
Other Police who assisted with this incident at the time of the shots being fired were Senior Constable John Andrew BYERS BM.
Chifley LAC has the ‘ Paul Quinn Award ‘ for the most outstanding Officer each year. Paul is Remembered within the Chifley LAC.
Childhood pain relived as policeman’s killer poised for release
January 14, 2004
The day Constable First Class Paul Quinn was buried with full police honours, his daughter Rebecca turned four. After a funeral that closed streets in the policeman’s home town of Bathurst, his five-year-old son, Chris, was still asking relatives when Daddy would be coming home.
Lost innocence . . . Chris and Rebecca Quinn aged five and four.
Yesterday the siblings sat together in distress again as the man who killed their sole-parent father was declared ready to return to the community after serving almost 18 years in jail.
Chris has had trouble with the law, but has shown talent as a lightweight boxer. Rebecca runs a coffee shop and turns 22 in a couple of months.
Supporting them was Inspector Ian Borland, who was seriously wounded the day Constable Quinn was killed and still works in Bathurst near where the pair encountered Patrick Francis Horan on Easter Sunday 1986.
The policeman and the Quinn siblings had been told Horan would be granted parole at his third attempt, but the decision moved Chris to climb over the public gallery and storm out the Hospital Road courtroom door.
Weeping outside, he was embraced by Inspector Borland, who still has bullet fragments in his body.
Inspector Borland, the Quinns and the NSW Police Association wanted to keep Horan, 63, locked up until he was dead.
John Watts, for Inspector Borland and the Quinns, had argued that Horan‘s lack of insight into his psychiatric problems and his refusal to acknowledge he had been the aggressor when Constable Quinn was killed made a “potent mix”.
But the Parole Board found Horan, a paranoid schizophrenic, was unlikely to pose a risk to others if he took his medication and that “the jail system is not a substitute for the treatment of people suffering from mental illness”.
Horan‘s prison behaviour had been exemplary and he successfully completed unsupervised work release. He had the family support of a brother and was engaged in “the admirable hobby of bee-keeping”, the board found.
Horan had not been taking his medication when his mother called police about his erratic and violent behaviour on the afternoon of March 30, 1986. One of the officers to respond to the call was Constable Quinn, then 25 and on duty at Bathurst for only his fifth shift since being transferred from Casino, to be near his parents.
After a pursuit that ended 10 kilometres south of Bathurst at Perthville, Constable Quinn got out of his car and ran towards Horan, who shot him in the left clavicle with a .303-calibre rifle.
The officer’s colleagues returned fire as Horan adopted what he described as a Rambo position and emptied the 10-round magazine in his .303.
Constable Borland, then 36, was shot in both legs and a hand, while Horan, who was hit by at least seven of 18 shots fired by police, continued shooting at five other officers.
Constable Quinn was posthumously promoted to sergeant.
In the Supreme Court sitting at Bathurst, Horan pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to mental illness.
Justice Kep Enderby sentenced him to life, with separate terms for wounding with intent to murder Constable Borland and shooting with intent to murder other police.
In March 1998 Justice Peter Hidden set a minimum term of 16 years, which expired in 2002, and a maximum of 22. The crown did not appeal.
Horan will be released next Wednesday, under conditions that include his accepting psychiatric treatment and not entering Chifley Local Area Command, where Inspector Borland works.
ANOTHER LIFE LOST: Chifley Local Area Command Acting Inspector Lionel White ( # 24873 ) said police in Bathurst have been personally affected by the death of Constable William Crews in Sydney on Wednesday night. Photo: BRENDAN ARROW 091010
POLICE in the ChifleyLocal Area Command have been personally affected by the death of trainee detective William Crews.
The 26-year-old died in a Sydney hospital after he was shot while carrying out a drug operation on Wednesday night with seven other officers from the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad in Bankstown, in Sydney’s south-west.
The officers were fired upon outside the targeted property in Cairds Avenue about 9pm. Constable Crews was hit in the head and neck.
Philip Nguyen, 55, has since been charged with shooting with intent to murder and discharging a firearm with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Geehad Ghazi, 27, has been charged with possession of an unauthorised firearm.
Yesterday, Acting Inspector Lionel White said the tragic situation in Sydney had personally impacted on a number of officers who knew Constable Crews.
“It is a very shocking situation, a couple of the officers here at the Bathurst Police Station knew him and have been left very upset by the situation,” he said.
“Some of the officers worked with him and trained with him before he became a detective.
“For those officers, we are offering them support and counselling during this tough time.”
Reminding people of those officers who lost their lives in the Bathurst area in the line of duty is a memorial board naming the 13 policemen who have died in the line of duty.
Since Trooper Robert Lovell McDougall died in 1853 near Sofala, 12 officers have fallen in the line of duty in Bathurst area with Sergeant Paul Mitchell Quinn the last, on the March 30, 1986.
Acting Inspector White said the latest death in Sydney brought to the forefront the difficult circumstances that police can find themselves in daily.
“On top of the very mundane things we do every day this is a stark reminder of the dangers police officers can face while in the front line,” he said. “This very much reminded us of the risk officers sometimes have to take while in the line of duty.
The State government has logged objections to Patrick Horan a NSW prisoner’s planned release, convicted of the manslaughter of a police officer and seriously wounding another. Justice Minister John Hatzistergos says the NSW Parole Board intends to grant parole to Patrick Francis Horan, who committed the crimes near Bathurst in NSW’s central west in 1986.
Horan‘s 22-year sentence expires on March the 29th, 2008 but his 16-year non-parole period lapsed on March the 29th last year. Hatzistergos says he’s discussed the matter with Police Minister John Watkins, who he says is also shocked at the board’s intention to release Horan.
In relation to convicted offenders:
(1) What is the status of attempts by Patrick Francis Horan, who killed one police officer and wounded another, to obtain parole?
(2) What action have you taken to ensure that Patrick Francis Horan remains in jail?
Answer—
(1) I am advised by NSW Police that the review hearing on Mr Horan‘s application for parole has been adjourned by the Parole Board until 13 November 2003 pending reports from Corrective Services Health and the Serious Offender’s Review Board.
(2) I have expressed my concerns in writing to the Parole Board in relation to the release of Mr Horan.
Free… but banned from Bathurst By Brooke Newstead Jan. 14, 2004, 6:38 a.m.
POLICE killer Patrick Francis Horan will walk free next week.
However, he will not be allowed to return to Bathurst for at least five years.
The NSW Parole Board yesterday granted Horan full parole with the condition that he is not to enter the Chifley Local Area Command district.
His release date is set for January 21 and he will remain on parole for five years.
Horan was originally sentenced to life plus 125 years after shooting dead Bathurst police officer Sergeant Paul Quinn and injuring then Senior Constable Ian Borland at Perthville in 1986.
On November 13, 2003, he was granted day release and after being released for just seven day-release days since that date, he will now be allowed to fully integrate back into the community.
Subsequent conditions imposed by the Parole Board state Horan must undergo regular psychiatric assessment and counselling.
He is also never to approach any of the victims of the fateful night during which he shot dead Sergeant Quinn.
A prisoner advocacy group has welcomed news convicted police killer Patrick Francis Horan will walk free in a week.
Horan, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, has served the minimum 16-years sentence for the manslaughter of Bathurst police officer Sergeant Paul Quinn and the wounding of his partner, Inspector Ian Borland.
The New South Wales Government has criticised the granting of parole and promised to reform the composition of the parole board.
But a spokesman for Justice Action, Brett Collins, says it was obvious 17 years ago the man had mental health problems and his case needed special treatment.
“Instead we have a tragic situation where we have a policeman killed and another one disabled,” he said.
“Now for the police to actually present themselves at this stage as vengeful, as angry … when it’s clearly a mental health issue, one which requires compassion and requires understanding, it’s a shame.
“It’s not what we should expect from the police force and we certainly should expect better than that from the State Government.”
Mr Collins says it is important in this case to listen to the experts.
“So if you don’t listen to them and if in fact you still at the end of it as a government or as a police association are still saying at the end of it we are still angry, we still have hate, we want vengeance then that’s a misleading situation,” he said.
“We should accept the fact that the institution is there for the purpose of making a decision and accept the judgment of the umpire and give support to them.”
Horan is to be released next Wednesday on the condition he does not enter the Chifley local area command where Inspector Ian Borland works, for the next five years.
It is expected convicted police killer Patrick Francis Horan will issue a statement this afternoon after being released from Sydney’s Long Bay Jail.
Horan shot and killed Sergeant Paul Quinn during an incident in the State’s central west 17 years ago.
He served his minimum of 16 years in jail for killing Sergeant Quinn and injuring then Senior Constable Ian Borland outside of Bathurst in 1986.
Horan fired at police with a rifle after a high-speed car chase.
Corrective Services says Horan will read a statement to the media at the jail’s boomgate, just after his release at 3:00pm AEDT today.
The department cannot say where Horan will be moving, or what possible security arrangements have been made on his behalf.
The parole board has ruled that Horan will not be able to return to the Chifley local area command, where surviving officer Inspector Boland is still serving.
The board says Horan is not a danger to the public, provided he takes regular medication to treat his paranoid schizophrenia.
PROUD MOMENT: The parents of the late Sergeant Paul Quinn, Brian and Barbara, with the inaugural winner of the Paul Quinn Award, Acting Sergeant John Gallop ( # 35307 ). Photo: BRIAN WOOD 051712
SERGEANT Paul Quinn epitomised everything a police officer should be and yesterday the inaugural award named in his honour was presented at the Chifley Local Area Command’s medal ceremony.
Sergeant Quinn made the ultimate sacrifice when, on March 30, 1986, he was shot in the line of duty trying to arrest Patrick Francis Horan at Perthville.
Sergeant Quinn’s parents, Brian and Barbara, attended the ceremony, with Mrs Quinn presenting the recipient, Acting Sergeant John Gallop ( # 35307 ), with the prestigious award.
Local Area Commander, Superintendent Michael Robinson ( # 24785 ) said he approached the Quinn family with the idea of a perpetual award, after marking the 25th anniversary of Sergeant Quinn’s death last year.
“With the consent of Brian and Barbara, the Chifley Local Area Command has introduced a new award – the Paul Quinn Memorial Officer of the Year Award,” he said.
“It is a prestigious award which from now on will be a permanent part of the history of this command.”
Supt Robinson said what will make this award so special is the fact it will be awarded to an officer who has been nominated by his or her colleagues.
He said the award will focus on the officer who continually achieves; the person who epitomises the traits of excellence in policing.
“It’s not about a single effort – the best job, the most difficult or dangerous job,” Supt Robinson said
“This award targets officers who consistently perform to a high level; the officer who gets the job done, who goes the extra yard for the good of the community whether it’s for victims, witnesses, hunting down offenders or proactively engaging in the workplace.”
Presenting the award, Mrs Quinn described the day as both “proud and sad”.
“It never goes away,” she said.
Recipient, Acting Sergeant John Gallop said he was humbled by the award.
“It’s a massive honour to be judged by your peers,” he said.
“But I can’t help feel there are people more deserving,” he said.
Horan was released by the Parole Board on the evidence of a social worker who’s evidence was preferred over a forensic psychiatrist and Ron Woodham, who the Judge described as a public servant when dismissing his forty years experience dealing with the worst of the worst.
As the social worker approached the witness box to give evidence she stopped, hugged and kissed Horan. She has five years experience with Corrective Services.
There were six QC‘s representing many people including the Commissioner of Police, Corrective Services Commissioner, The Justice Minister, Attorney General, the Premiers Department, Ian Borland and Paul’s kids. All those representations were completely ignored in favour of her evidence.
Even worse, the Commissioner of Police’s representative on the Board voted to let him out. He went along with the unanimous decision of the Board.
To his good credit John Hatszistigos got rid of the Judge the next day.
Decision was unable to be reversed, C.O.P. did nothing about his representative as he is independent of the Commissioner?
Horan served nineteen years of a cumulative sentence of life plus a hundred and twenty seven years.
Hi Greg, just a quick note on the great work that you and your pages do, and that of the Wall to Wall Ride.
You keep the memories of those we have lost, very much alive.
On the Wall ride, all the individual groups and sometimes the whole ride, travel to places where our kin have lost their lives, and stop or salute to remember them.
Kudos to NSW for the great job they do on the memorials on the highway, and congratulations to ACT for the best procession on record.
Even a far away place like Perthville near Bathurst was visited and a token of remembrance 30 years on, was placed and left.
Remembrance is not a burden, its an obligation you can choose to carry… Lest we forget!
Stephen John TIER
| 27/10/2012
Stephen John TIER
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 18680
Redfern Police Academy Class # 163
Rank: Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 9 April 1979 ( aged 18 years, 11 months, 6 days )
Probationary Constable – appointed Monday 25 June 1979 ( aged 19 years, 1 month, 2 days )
Constable – appointed 25 June 1980
Detective – appointed ? ? ?
Constable 1st Class – appointed 25 June 1984
Final Rank: Detective Constable 1st Class
Stations: ?, Dapto – Death
Served: From 9 April 1979 to24 July 1985 = 6 years, 3 months, 15 days Service
Memorial location: External Wall leading into Lake Illawarra Police Station and photo, on wall, inside Lake Illawarra Police Station
On 24 July, 1985 Detective Constable Tier was the driver, and single occupant, of an unmarked police vehicle engaged in the pursuit of an unknown vehicle on the Princes Highway, Unanderra. During the pursuit the police vehicle left the roadway and collided with a telegraph pole.
The constable was born in 1960 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 15 January, 1979.
At the time of his death he was stationed at Dapto.
STEPHEN is mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
Stephen Tier holding his son, Joshua Tier.
Det Cst Stephen John Tier – 20 April 1983 playing Police Football for Wollongong.
Stephen TIER – Touch pad at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra.
Stephen John TIER Memorial inside Oak Flats Police Station, NSW.
Police Remembrance Day:
JOSHUA BUTLER
Family members lay a wreath for Det Const Stephen John Tier. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI Lake Illawarra Commander Acting Superintendent Andrew Koutsoufis to the left.
Almost 60 years on, Kenneth Nash still misses his uncle Allen.
Sergeant Allen William Nash, aged 40, was killed in the line of duty by a gun-wielding offender at Primbee in 1956.
Sgt Nash was one of eight officers stationed in the Lake Illawarra local area command who were recognised with memorial plaques on a wall of honour outside Lake Illawarra police station on Monday, as part of Police Remembrance Day commemorations.
Dozens of current and retired officers, families, friends, politicians, councillors and members of the public gathered at Oak Flats for a ceremony to unveil the memorial wall, and honour past and present officers.
Since 1862, more than 250 NSW Police officers have died in the line of duty.
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:
Wayne IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
About 5pm on 3January, 1985 Constable Rixon and Probationary Constable Meredith Ireland were travelling in a Police Highway Patrol vehicle in Bannerman Crescent, Rosebery when they became involved in the high speed pursuit of a stolen vehicle. As the pursuit continued along Hayes Street the stolen vehicle sped through stop signs at the intersection of Dunning Avenue. The police vehicle slowed at the intersection but unfortunately collided with a truck that had been travelling along Dunning Avenue. After hitting the truck the police vehicle spun around and slammed into a brick wall. Constable Rixon sustained severe head and internal injuries and had to be released from the police vehicle by the PoliceRescueSquad. He was conveyed to the Royal South Sydney Hospital where he was found to be dead on arrival. Constable Ireland was treated at the Prince of Wales Hospital for lacerations and shock before she was allowed to leave.
The constable was born in 1957 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 23 January, 1978. At the time of his death he was attached to the Maroubra Highway Patrol.
Wayne Allen RIXON – touch pad at the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra
A plaque that Wayne’s family had engraved, then placed in position by former members of Maroubra HWP and visited every year. At the intersection of Hayes St & Dunning Ave, Rosebery.
Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),
Thursday 10 January 1985, page 9
Hundreds attend funeral of constable at Bega
From BRONWYN YOUNG, in Bega
Hundreds of people packed the church and lined the streets of Bega yesterday for the police funeral of highway patrolman Constable First Class Wayne Rixon, 27, killed in a high-speed car chase in Sydney last Thursday.
About 100 police in uniform and plainclothes had been arriving in Bega for the funeral since Tuesday.
Constable First Class Rixon was working with Maroubra highway patrol when he died on Thursday, but he grew up in Bega. Many of the people in the church and watching from the street had gone to school with
him. Police closed two roads for the funeral procession and its police escort.
The coffin draped with the Australian flag was carried from the church by six police officers.
Some of them had worked with Constable First Class Rixon in Maroubra. A seventh police officer, Sergeant Grahame Langford, of the NSW Police Academy, Redfern, walked in front of the coffin carrying the constable’s cap on a blue cushion. The caps of the six pallbearers lay on the roof of the waiting hearse.
Two mounted highway patrolmen in full ceremonial uniform
headed the solemn procession which escorted the hearse from the church. Among those marching were Acting Commissioner Barney Ross, Assistant Commissioner, Traffic, Bill Fleming, and Assistant Commissioner, General, Ted Bunt. The police marched in slow step down the street to the pipes of the NSW Police Pipe Band.
When the procession neared the Bega Courthouse the ranks broke and formed a guard-of honour. The hearse passed between the lines and gathered speed as it turned on to the road to the Bega Cemetery.
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:
Both Wayne Rixon and Glenn Rampling formed part of a 3 man team at the Mounties, going around mainly to country fairs performing vault tricks with the draft horse. Tragically both lost their lives in High Speed pursuits after leaving the Mounties for other duties. RIP, both were good men.
John Benjamin HUTCHINS
| 27/10/2012
John Benjamin HUTCHINS
AKA ?
Late of ?
NSW Redfern Police Academy Class # 130
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 15???
Rank: Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on ? ? ?
Probationary Constable – appointed 14 February 1972
Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?
Detective – appointed ? ? ?
Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?
Final Rank = Senior Constable
Stations: ?, Regents St Police Stn, Balmain, Five Dock, Police Communications Branch – VKG1
Service: From? ? pre 1972? to17 November 1983 = 11 years Service
About 12.25pm on 17 November, 1983 Senior Constable Hutchins was riding his motor cycle to work along Victoria Road, Ryde.
He failed to notice a vehicle that was stationary in front of him and collided with the rear of the vehicle.
Senior Constable Hutchins was conveyed to the Ryde Hospital where he was found to be dead on arrival.
The constable was born in 1951 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 14 February, 1972. At the time of his death he was attached to the Police Communications Branch.
Source: Beyond Courage
Mark Joseph KOHUTEK
| 27/10/2012
Mark Joseph KOHUTEK
AKA ?
Late of ?
Father to Nathan KOHUTEK #
NSW Redfern Police Academy Class # 152
NSW Police Cadet # 3063
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 17394
Rank: NSW Police Cadet – commenced 8 July 1974
Probationary Constable – appointed 3 October 1976
Constable – appointed 3 October 1977
Constable 1st Class – appointed ?
Final Rank = Constable 1st Class
Stations: ?, Traffic Branch – Nth Sydney HWP – Death
Service: From8 July 1974to4 March 1982 = 7+ years Service
About 5am on 4 March, 1982 Constable Kohutek was riding a police solo motor cycle along the Berowra Tollway between Newcastle and Sydney on his journey to the Sydney Harbour Bridge for the ‘bridge lane change’ system. As he was negotiating a sweeping bend, in the rain, about a kilometre south of the Mt White exit the cycle crashed into a rock median strip. As a result Constable Kohutek sustained fatal head and internal injuries.
The constable was born in 1957 and joined the New South Wales Police Force as a cadet on 8 July, 1974. He was sworn in on 3 October, 1976. At the time of his death he was attached to the Traffic Branch, North Sydney ( under the Sydney Harbour Bridge ).
Approx. location of collision:
Keith Alfred HAYDON
| 27/10/2012
Keith Alfred HAYDON
Late of West Wallsend
New South Wales Police Force
Regd. # 10930
Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 24 February 1964
Constable – appointed 24 February 1965
Constable 1st Class – appointed 24 February 1969
Senior Constable – appointed 24 February 1973
Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed ???
Sergeant – Death
Stations: Western District, Nyngan Lock Up Keeper, West Wallsend ( from February 1980 ) – Death
Service: From? ? pre Feb. 1964 to 24 November 1980 = 24+ years Service
Awards: National Medal – granted 20 January 1981 ( Posthumously )
Memorial located at: The Memorial was apparently located at the site of the incident ( as per above GPS details ) but was constantly being vandalised.
It was then removed from the incident site and moved to the grounds of West Wallsend Police Station in the mid 1980’s.
The West Wallsend Police Station was decommissioned in the 2006 ( now a private residence ) and the Memorial was relocated to Waratah Police Station – Newcastle City LAC.
KEITH IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
Funeral location: TBA
FURTHER INFORMATION IS NEEDED ABOUT THIS PERSON, THEIR LIFE, THEIR CAREER AND THEIR DEATH.
About 12.20pm on 24 November, 1980 Sergeant Haydon drove to Mount Sugarloaf, near West Wallsend, following a report of shots being fired on the mountain. The sergeant did not know at the time that the person firing the shots was wanted for a double murder whilst robbing a gun store at Bondi two years earlier.
When Sergeant Haydon located and confronted the offender he was shot to death.
Police were quickly informed of the situation by Forestry Department worker Cliff Hogbin, who had made a note of the offender’s vehicle registration number shortly before finding the sergeant’s body. Mr Hogbin displayed outstanding courage in remaining with Sergeant Haydon and the police vehicle at the crime scene and directing police to the location.
A description of a suspect vehicle seen in the area by Mr Hogbin was then broadcast by Police Radio VKG and a short time later that vehicle was spotted by Constable Alexander Pietruszka ( Regd # 17592 ) of Beresfield Police.
Due to confusing and continual radio transmissions ( relating to the sergeant’s murder), and despite many attempts to do so, Constable Pietruszka was unable to ascertain the reason for the alert on the suspect vehicle. Having little choice in the matter he stopped the vehicle and spoke to the driver. Constable Pietruszka was then also shot in the stomach and seriously wounded. He later recovered. ( On the 27 June 1986 he was promoted to Senior Constable ).
At this time more police arrived, and the offender was disarmed and arrested by Senior Constable Ken Goodfellow ( Regd # 14949 ).
The Canberra Times of 25 November, 1980 reported the following account.
“MAN KILLS POLICE SERGEANT”
SYDNEY: A gunman shot dead a police sergeant yesterday near the Mount Sugarloaf Lookout Road, near Newcastle, and shortly after shot and seriously injured a constable at a roadblock near Newcastle.
Sergeant Keith Haydon, 37, of West Wallsend, died when he was shot once in the head and twice in the back. He leaves a wife, two daughters and a son. Constable Alexander Pietruszka, 30, was shot in the stomach after he pulled over a car at an intersection near Beresfield a short time later. He was in a satisfactory condition in the Mater Misericordiae Hospital at Waratah last night.
Sydney homicide detectives went to Maitland, near Newcastle, last night to question a man, 31, about another murder in Sydney recently.
The shootings started when Sergeant Haydon, the officer in charge of West Wallsend Police Station, was called to the mountain to investigate a minor complaint about a man shooting at targets in the bush.
After the shootings the man was taken to Maitland police station for questioning.
Police found five pistols, four .38 calibre and one .22 calibre in the car driven by the man.
The deputy chief of the Sydney CIB, Superintendent Geoff Hammond ( possibly Regd # 4990 ), said, “A good policeman is dead and another injured when they shouldn’t be. It was only a small matter, an ordinary inquiry”. A fund to aid the sergeant’s widow and children has been established by the town’s RSL and workers’ clubs.”
The Canberra Times of 14 April, 1981 also reported on the conclusion of the trial of the offender, Berwyn Rees.
“FIREARMS OBSESSION – MAN SENTENCED FOR 1977, 1980 KILLINGS
SYDNEY: A man was sent to a jail for life in the Central Criminal Court in Sydney yesterday for murders in 1977 and last year.
Mr Berwyn Rees, 31, unemployed, of Ponderosa Caravan Park, Raymond Terrace, near Newcastle, pleaded guilty.
Two men were shot dead in a Bondi Junction gun shop on August 4, 1977, and a policeman was shot dead at Mount Sugarloaf, near Newcastle, on November 24, 1980. Mr Rees also pleaded guilty to having maliciously wounded a policeman at Beresfield on November 24, 1980, with intent to avoid apprehension.
“Police said Mr Rees had used a .38 special Smith and Wesson revolver he had stolen from the gun shop to murder Sergeant Keith Alfred Haydon. The men killed in 1977 were Mr Raymond James, 26, the gun shop proprietor, and Mr Christopher Greenfield, 26, a customer.
Mr Justice Begg said the evidence revealed “wanton and merciless killings“.
The law in NSW permitted only one sentence to be passed on murder charges and Mr Rees was sentenced to life imprisonment on each and 10 years‘ jail for the malicious wounding of Constable Alexander Pietruszka.
Mr Justice Begg told Mr Rees that it appeared that he had “an obsession with firearms since you were a small child”, and that “you have lived a somewhat lonely and solitary life”. The case pointed to the free use of firearms and the question of whether their availability should be restricted.
“Detective Sergeant J. F. Elsworthy ( Regd # 9114 ) told the court that on the morning of November 24 Mr Rees had gone to a remote place near Mount Sugarloaf with five handguns, a quantity of ammunition and the Smith and Wesson. Over three years he had visited the spot about once a month to try out guns shooting at cans.
Sergeant Haydon had blocked a car driven by Mr Rees and Mr Rees had admitted he had been shooting in the area. Mr Rees had shot Sergeant Haydonthree times in the body. He had gone to move the police vehicle but Sergeant Haydon had taken the keys from the ignition, and he had returned to Sergeant Haydon and seen that he was moving. He had then shot him in the back of the head.
The same day Mr Rees had been apprehended by Constable Pietruszka and other police at Beresfield. Constable Pietruszka had approached Mr Rees’s car and shortly afterward had been shot in the stomach.
“Detective Sergeant J. McGregor said that after the gun shop robbery and murders Mr Rees had taken away a quantity of guns and ammunition. He had taken the weapons and ammunition home and a week later taken them to his secluded spot, near where he was arrested on November 24, and for the next three years practised firing weapons.
“Giving evidence in a claim for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act, Constable Pietruszka said his wounding had contributed to the break-up of his marriage. Some weeks after the incident his wife had told him she wanted him to leave the police force, and when he had disagreed she had left him.
Mrs C. A. Haydon, the widow of Sergeant Haydon, also applied for compensation for herself and three children. Mr Justice Begg adjourned both applications.”
Sergeant Haydon was born in 1943 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 24 February, 1964.
At the time of his death he was stationed at West Wallsend.
Kevin BanisterExtract from an environmental report dated 2012.
“The only location carrying a distinctive historical cultural significance was located just outside the study area close to Mount Sugarloaf at an area locally known as Summit Point.
Plaque commemorating death of Sgt Keith Alfred Haydon in grounds of old West Wallsend Police Station – 10-12 Withers Street, West Wallsend. Photo Ref: 25216 Creator: Clark, Mr Greg Sergeant. Keith Haydon was in charge of West Wallsend Police Station, when he was killed whilst on duty at Mt. Sugarloaf in 1980. This memorial plaque was originally placed at the spot where Sergeant Haydon was killed, but was relocated to the grounds of the West Wallsend Police Station after it was damaged by vandals. When the station closed in 2006, the plaque was moved to Waratah Police Station and rededicated in a service held 8th December 2006. Creative Commons License This work by Lake Macquarie City Library is licencsed under a CCA
Newcastle City Command welcomed Peter Haydon who intends to participate in the police remembrance ride, proudly supporting NSW Police Legacy. Peter is the son of Sergeant Keith Haydon who was stationed at West Wallsend Police Station and tragically murdered at Mount Sugar Loaf, whilst on duty on 24 November 1980. Peter was only 14 years at the time of his father’s passing.
On behalf of Superintendent John Gralton, Senior Sergeant Craig Thompson, who is also a legatee, proudly presented Peter with a cash donation made by Newcastle City staff. Senior Sergeant Thompson is the son of Senior Constable Allan Thompson who was Stationed at Cessnock Police Station when tragically killed in a motor vehicle accident, 40 years ago on the 3rd May 1977. Those donations include a full cash tin which Crime Prevention Officer, Senior Constable Mark Bird had been personally contributing to over the past years – which now finds its way to the intended cause.
Participates have so far raised $90,739 which will be donated directly to NSW Police Legacy which will be used to support the direct family of member of the NSW Police Force killed in the line of duty. Newcastle City Command wish Peter all the best, who will be challenged by blistery westerly winds and a gruelling 300km ride from the Wall of Remembrance in Sydney’s Domain to the National Police Wall of Remembrance in Canberra – all in the effort to raise money for NSW Police Legacy.
Please search facebook – Remembrance Bike Ride supporting NSW Police Legacy – if you would like to support those participating in the ride from 28 – 30 April 2017.
I hope this okay to pop this fundraising page on here? Just delete if not.
But today I would like to ask for your support in raising funds for the families of deceased NSW Police Officers.
My dad, Sgt Keith Alfred Haydon was killed in the line of duty 24th November 1980 at Mt Sugerloaf while responding to reports of a firearm being discharged in the vicinity. Little did he know that the offender had only 2 years earlier murdered 2 people while robbing a gun store in Sydney Eastern Suburbs.
Dad was only 36 years old. He had recently been promoted to the rank of Sergeant and taken a transfer to West Wallsend in the February of 1980. He moved with his wife of 16 years, 2 daughters and a son. He moved to Westy to be close to home. Dad was born in Wallsend in 1943. His mum and sister lived at Swansea at the time of our move. This was supposed to be a much easier and rewarding chapter in my dad’s life after travelling around rural NSW for 16 years at various stations.
I am riding 300km in 3 days with a great bunch of Policemen and woman and policing community in order to raise funds for NSW Police Legacy. I am currently very unfit but have a month to train for the journey, your support will be so encouraging.
If you can help please donate on the link attached. All donations are tax deductible and will towards helping a very worthy cause.
National Police Remembrance Day ceremony in Lake Macquarie
David Stewart
September 29 2017 – 4:27PM
POLICE from Lake Macquarie Local Area Command have unveiled plans for a memorial wall at Belmont to honour the seven local officerskilled in the line of duty since 1863.
Plaques commemorating the seven officers were dedicated to the wall in a ceremony at Belmont police stationthis afternoon, National Police Remembrance Day.
Chief Inspector Murray Lundberg of Lake Macquarie LAC presided over a private ceremony attended by police, local high school students, and the families of the fallen officers.
“This is a time for reflection on the ultimate sacrifice that police officers can give in the execution of their duty,” Chief Inspector Lundberg said.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Brett Greentree, the Northern Region Commander, said the wall of remembrance, to be created on the distinctive blue wall at the entrance to the police station, would be striking.
“It will be a sight to treasure,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Greentree said.
“I want the officers, as they are walking out the front doors of this police station, to stop and reflect on the names, stop and reflect on the sacrifice.”
He said he hoped that the inaugural plaques to be installed on the wall were also the last.
“My dream is that we never, ever, add another name to this wall. I hope and pray that our wall is now complete.”
Acting Assistant Commissioner Greentree reached out to the families of the fallen officers.
“No commemoration or recognition can make good the loss that is unfairly carried by family members,” he said.
“I can only offer you my heartfelt condolences. Please know that your loved ones, who are no longer with us, will always be remembered.”
Across NSW, ceremonies were held to commemorate the service and sacrifice of the 269 officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty, and through injury or illness, since the formation of the NSW Police Force in 1862.
Man who ‘executed’ three victims could be paroled despite multiple life sentences
By A Current Affair Staff
A man who was sentenced to three terms of life in prison for three murders could be about to walk free on parole, sparking calls for him to be kept behind bars.
Berwyn Rees was jailed in 1981 for a murderous spree that saw him kill three men in cold blood, and attempt to shoot dead a fourth.
On November 24, 1980, Sergeant Keith Haydon, 37, was gunned down in a wooded area in Lake Macquarie.
Berwyn Rees was jailed with three life sentences over three murders and the shooting of a police officer. (A Current Affair)
His body was found shot in the back of the head, and twice more in the body at close range.
“I knew as soon as they walked in, and I just said, ‘How bad?'” Sgt Haydon’s wife Anne said of the moment two police officers arrived at her door to inform her.
“And he just said it was the worst.”
The killer, Rees, was later pulled over by Constable Alexander Pietruszka, who almost died for doing his job.
Sergeant Keith Haydon was gunned down in Lake Macquarie in 1980. (A Current Affair)
Mr Pietruszka, now retired, said Rees had raised his gun “without warning”.
“The first bullet went through my hair,” he said.
“The second bullet flicked my ear and because I was turning sideways the third bullet hit me there, luckily hit the rib and bounced out rather than in.”
Despite the pain of his wound, Pietruszka was able to let off two shots.
Sgt Haydon’s wife Anne still remembers the moment she learned her husband was dead. (A Current Affair)
“I was trying to psych myself up to roll over and face him,” he said.
“I wasn’t just going to lay there and let him shoot me. I was going to face him.”
He believes that fortitude saved his life.
But he said he still remembered what he felt as he looked into Rees’s eyes.
Constable Alexander Pietruszka was shot after pulling Rees over. (A Current Affair)
“This bloke was nothing,” he said.
“I can’t explain to somebody how cold he was, how expressionless, just – just evil.”
At the time of these shootings, Rees was on the run after having committed two other murders in Sydney three years previously.
The victims then were gunshop owner Ray James and customer Christopher Greenfield.
Mr Pietruszka said he saw “nothing” in Rees’s eyes. (A Current Affair)
Rees shot them both in the back of the head at point blank range, Ray James’s daughter Tracy said.
“It never leaves you,” Christopher Greenfield’s mum Betty said.
In 1981, Rees was convicted and jailed for three life sentences over the killings.
But now, the New South Wales State Parole Authority has revealed it has formed an intention to grant parole for Rees.
Years previously, Rees had shot gun store owner Ray James. (A Current Affair)
And Mr Pietruszka and the loved ones of Rees’s other victims are demanding he stay behind bars.
“If he gets out, if he gets in a corner, he’ll kill again,” Mrs Haydon said.
Ms Greenfield said she had been told Rees had shown no remorse during his time in jail.
Ray’s customer Christopher Greenfield was also killed in the shooting. (A Current Affair)
“Well, after this length of time, if someone hasn’t come to their senses and realised what exactly they’ve done, and to have no remorse, seems unbelievable to me,” she said.
Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin is also opposing Rees’s bid for freedom.
The final decision will rest with the five-member panel at the State Parole Authority, with a public hearing to take place on Friday.
Betty Greenfield, Anne Haydon and Tracy James all plan to be there.
Christopher’s mum Betty said the pain had never left her. (A Current Affair)
Mr Pietruszka recalled the words of the sentencing judge – that Rees should never be released.
He said Rees had “executed” his three victims.
“I believe that somewhere deep inside him, there is still evil lurking,” he said.
[alert_green]RON IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance[/alert_green]
Touch plate at the National Police Memorial, Canberra
About 3.10pm on 5 May, 1980 Senior Constable Burley was riding a police highway patrol motor cycle home at the completion of his rostered shift. As he was riding along the Calga Expressway at Berowra the stand on the constable’s motor cycle apparently became loose and struck the road surface. Unable to control the cycle Constable Burley was thrown to the roadway, sustaining severe head injuries. He died before the arrival of an ambulance.
The constable was born in 1946 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 1 April, 1968. At the time of his death he was attached to the North Sydney Highway Patrol.
I worked with Ron at Gosford way back in the early seventies. One story that sticks in my mind was my introduction to the old truckstop at Kangy Angy, near Ourimbah.
It was an absolute dump, but Ron convinced me to stop off for dinner one night. He knew the old woman that owned the place. He was that well known, that he didn’t bother going into the dining area, instead he took me out the back to the kitchen, to meet the old sheila, who also did the cooking.
He ordered us a couple of steaks with vegetables. I was extremely concerned about the state of the kitchen, as it was filthy, but what did it for me, was she used an old pair of stockings to use as a strainer for our veggies. ???????? RIP old mate.
I remember being told that he had been caring for a young child and was going through the adoption process when the accident happened. It would be nice to know how that child fared in life afterwards.
RIP mate, remembered well from old STPPTB days under the bridge ( Sydney Harbour Bridge ), stood in many a parade with Ron, and shared a laugh or two, at the antics that went on there during the old days.
