Ashley Newton BRYANT

AKA Ash Bryant

Late of ?

Brother to NSWPF Member Jason William BRYANT # 26101 ( R.I.P. )

NSW Goulburn Police Academy Class # 236

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. # 25603

Rank: Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on 9 May 1988 ( aged 18 years, 11 months, 6 days )

Probationary Constable ( # 60233 ) – appointed 29 July 1988 ( aged 19 years, 1 months, 26 days )

Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?

Detective – appointed ? ? ? ( YES )

Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed ? ? ?

Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed ? ? ?

Final Rank:  Detective Sergeant – Retired – Hurt on Duty 6 December 2012

Stations:  Manly, TRG North Region, Manly, Moree, Kempsey, Port Macquarie,
The Rocks, Special Crimes, City Central, Unsolved Homicide, Homicide Squad, Bourke, Ballina

Service:  From 9 May 1988 to 6 December 2012 = 24 years, 6 months, 27 days Service

Age at Retirement:  43 years, 6 months, 3 days

Time in Retirement:  1 year, 0 months, 10 days

In Service Awards:  Detective – 1 March 2000
Bachelor of Policing (Investigations), CSU – 25 October 2002
Detective Sergeant – 9 January 2007
Statement of Attainment in Bachelor of Laws (Posthumous) – 12 April 2014

Awards:  No find on It’s An Honour

Born:  Tuesday 3 June 1969

Died on: Monday 16 December 2013

Cause:  Suicide stemming from PTSD – Jump

Event location:  Minyon Falls, Border National Park, NSW

Age:  44 years, 6 months, 13 days

Funeral date:  Saturday 21 December 2013 @ 11am

Funeral location:  Innes Gardens Memorial Park Crematorium, Phillip Charley Drive, Port Macquarie.

Buried at:  Cremated

* Stemming from the continued work of the wives of four Fallen NSW Police to Suicide – those four names will now be included in the newly refurbished NSW Police Wall of Remembrance, Sydney, as of 2017

Congratulations to those family members who fought the fight to right this wrong.

Inquest:  initially set for 5 days, 18 – 22 May 2015, at Downing Centre Courts, Sydney & being led by the State Coroner, Michael Barnes. 

Now set for 4 days 29 Feb – 3 March 2016 at Glebe Coroner’s Court, Sydney, by State Coroner, Michael Barnes.

Feb – March 2016 vacated at family request. 

Now scheduled for 25 – 29 July 2016, 

Coroner was unavailable for the scheduled Inquest of 25 – 29 July

New Inquest date is from Wednesday  26 April 2017

at Glebe Coroner’s Court, Sydney, by State Coroner, Michael Barnes.

Date of Coronial findings – Tuesday 17 October 2017.  Result

With regret I advise the death of Ashley Newton BRYANT, 44 old, former Regd. No. 25603, a non-member of Port Macquarie.

Ashley passed away on 16/12/2013 and his funeral is proposed to be held at 11am on Saturday 21^st Instant at Innes Gardens Memorial Park Crematorium, Phillip Charley Drive, PORT MACQUARIE.

The family requests the company of former colleagues and friends of Ashley to join them following the service at The Westport Club (Upstairs) Address: 25 Buller Street, Port Macquarie.

https://police.freom.com/calendar/funeral-ashley-newton-bryant/

It’s being recorded: the death of Ashley Bryant

Lou :

14 Aug 2017 11:35:26am

Really powerful.

• Bill Rollinson :

  14 Aug 2017 7:30:28pm

  I joined the Tasmania Police force in 1976.
  Unfortunately, after a couple of years, I started to change but I could not put my finger on the cause.
  I was addicted to the job. I attended every accident I could, went to as many domestic situations as possible and made my aim to attend any occurrence which involved serious injury and death.

  In December 1989 when I had returned to my station, whilst walking down the hall towards the lunch room, I just stopped as if I had walked into an invisible wall and just stood there. In the station at the time was our resident doctor, having a smoke and a coffee.

  He later told me that when he saw me I was just standing erect with a blank look in my eyes. He informed me that he had turned me around and taken me home. I lived in the station residence at the time some 10 metres away. He undressed me, put me into bed and gave me a sedative.

  He returned the next morning and told me that I was unfit to return to work because of PTSD and gave me a certificate to cover me. The doctor arranged an appointment with a Consultant Psychiatrist whom I still see now.

  During the years from 1990 ’til now, I have attempted suicide on too many occasions to count, spent not months but years in psychiatric hospitals and used numerous antidepressants to control my feelings. I was given the nickname “Loopy” by a group of Vietnam Vets.

  And I use this name with pride.

  I have been asked what is my illness like and can I describe it? I just say what I can about it but I do not understand how or why I am the way I am. It is all too hard. I just try to accept it and I don’t care what others think or say so long as it is to my face.

  The Police Force dropped me like a hot brick and did not want to know me. I received no help of any sort from the Police Force and if anything I was ignored totally.

  As the result of my illness, I lost the job I loved, a spouse of nearly thirty years and any love for myself. In fact, I no longer know what it is to love or hate… which may or may not be a good thing.

  I have tried to end it but it never works, i suppose because i am not fair dinkum about ending this misery.

  I have a wonderful daughter, grand daughter and son in law. Sister and partner. But no one to sit with and talk to when the garbage hits the fan. it can happen at anytime anywhere and without notice. The first thing that happens is tears rolling down my cheeks uncontrollably. I can feel for his family, unfortunately my wife of nearly 30 years walked away.

  • • 
      

      Brett carhart :

      15 Aug 2017 3:44:02pm

      You are a top bloke bill, you should remember me from all those years ago on your beat, I went through the same thing as you, tried to take my life 2 times and there are places out there that listen but no one that can answer your questions. Guidance in the right direction is what’s called for. Chin up bill and maybe we have a chat sometime over a coffee about old times. The cop and the crim.

• 
  

  Paul Olsen :

  15 Aug 2017 3:04:57pm

  I read this story and tears started rolling down my cheeks. It is a story that is in a lot of ways similar to mine. I had 34 years as a general duties Policeman in Victoria. The last 20 years as a Sergeant in a busy suburban Police Station. I also spent 5 years on a 2 man station in the bush. Bush Policing in a lot of ways had more stress, trauma than the city. motorcar fatalities, suicides, and even a triple fatal small airplane crash. Working one up and being 22 years old with all that responsibility. None of this worried me at the time. In fact nothing worried me ever in the job. I too grabbed every death message I could get my hands on and found myself drawn to every serious accident situation that I could get to. After 25 years service I noticed changes in my life. Began to withdraw and being super sensitive to things that were happening around me. Conflict in the workplace became a common occurrence and although I would leave for work with the hope of no conflict I would find myself yelling within 5 minutes of arriving at work. I used to think I would see the Doctor but it took me 7 years to actually go and see the doctor about my continuing problems. I saw the doctor and went to work that afternoon. I had a complete breakdown started crying and left the station within 5 minutes of arriving. I have never returned and still now 10 years later I cry for no reason and have been diagnosed with Chronic PTSD, major depressive disorder, anxiety and other assorted mental disorders. Psychiatrists say I will never work again but Workcover send me to the IME every 18 months in the hope that one will say I can work and they will get me off their books. I continue treatment and have been lucky enough to still have my wife of 40 years and 2 kids that still talk to me. I gave up drinking 25 years ago and I think that was a lucky decision. Nightmares poor sleep habits. unable to concentrate or stay focused and basic antisocial behavour are a regular part of my life. I consider myself lucky as the ESSS has looked after me and to date I have never tried suicide or self harm. The Police Force gave me no support and sacked me after I had been off for 2 years. I am a firm believer that there needs to be a Royal Commission into the behavour of Work Cover Insurance Agents and the sooner the better.

• 
  

  Ross Beckley :

  15 Aug 2017 4:43:18pm

  An amazing interview and one that brought tears….many tears as the loss of Ash was so preventable by those supposedly there to help us in times of crisis.
  Insurance Companies / Case Managers the whole Workers Compensation System and Organisational Heads should all feel ashamed for their participation in yet another life lost.
  I have so much admiration for you Deb, in your commitment in making CHANGE and ensuring the loss of Ash and the effects on you and your family aren’t in vain.
  You hold the light of hope for a lot of us still on this journey of PTSD due to our work a Emergency Service Personnel.
  I also am thankful for William Verity and the ABC for airing this well presented story.
  Much respect to you,
  Cheers
  Rossco.
  #herotozero

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/earshot/its-being-recorded:-the-death-of-ashley-bryant/8752908

 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=704403189747550&id=100005336258402

NSW police officer Ashley Bryant called for review into own death

Wednesday  26 April 2017

A former NSW policeman made a triple-zero call minutes before his suicide requesting his death be investigated, a Sydney coroner’s court has heard.

Ashley Bryant fell to his death in December 2013 in the Border National Park after battling for several years with a multitude of mental health problems brought on by exposure to traumatic events in his job.

“I understand this is being recorded and that’s exactly what I want,” the 44-year-old former detective sergeant said a triple-zero call from Minyon Falls shortly before his death.

“I want this to get to the coroner.”

In the call, Mr Bryant said he suffered from PTSD and could “no longer live with the pain”.

Asked by the operator if he could wait for police to arrive at the National Park, he responded “no, I’ll be gone before they arrive, thank you,” and hung up.

Police soon arrived at the falls to find his body.

Chilling The court heard on Wednesday morning that Mr Bryant had suffered from PTSD, alcoholism and anxiety for several years.

Council assisting the coroner Ian Bourke said Mr Bryant had once told his wife that he hadn’t initially disclosed his mental health problems to police because he was scared of losing his job.

A former colleague and friend, Detective Inspector Matthew Kehoe, told the court he had not known of Mr Bryant’s alcohol problems for several years, but there had been a “strong culture of abuse of alcohol” in the NSW police force when he began his career.

“We may go out and drink until the sun comes up,” Det Insp Kehoe said of the 1990s.

Officers were inclined to hide the fact they were struggling as they didn’t want to feel they were letting anyone down by leaving work or seeking help, he added.

“Police are very good at hiding things from people.”

A lawyer for Mr Bryant’s family, Jim Glissan, asked: “They will go on until they break?”

“Yes,” the detective inspector replied.

The inquest continues.

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/nsw-police-officer-ashley-bryant-called-for-review-into-own-death/ar-BBAnvUL

Death in the line of duty

Death in the line of duty

Sunday 2 March 2014 8:05AM

She believes that nothing short of a change of culture is necessary to prevent further deaths.

‘These people have given their life for their career, and they have gotten to the point where they are broken and they should be recognised for that,’ she said.

‘As far as I am concerned, that’s death in the line of duty.’

This article represents part of a larger Background Briefing investigation. Listen to William Verity’s full report on Sunday at 8.05 am or use the podcast links above after broadcast.

The lack of recognition hit home last year for another widow, Kimberley Galvin, whose husband, Tom Galvin, killed himself after living with chronic post traumatic stress for six years.

She said Police Remembrance Day was one of the hardest times of her life.

‘It came in the same year as an officer killed on duty,’ she said.

‘With all due respect, it was like no-one else had died that year.’

‘It was very difficult for me to comes to terms with … your husband goes to work and he doesn’t come back, as opposed to your husband suffering and suffering and suffering and ends his life.’

‘That those two things are acknowledged in such different ways. Or one is acknowledged extensively and one is not acknowledged at all.’

Although the order of service listed many police who had died from a variety of causes—including old age and ill health—Tom Galvin’s name was conspicuous by its absence.

The story of isolation is repeated by thousands of police officers across Australia who become too sick to work.

Karol Blackley was dux of her class when she graduated and enjoyed a distinguished 22-year career in the NSW Police Force before—in police jargon—’falling off the perch’.

‘They didn’t care about me at all, not one iota,’ she said.

‘It was astounding, disappointing, hurtful, gut-wrenching. Here I am, with what could be a permanent psychological debilitation and they couldn’t give two hoots.’

At her lowest point, Blackley tried to hang herself and then drove to a local hotel, drank as much as she could stomach, and then drove her car in the hope that she would crash and die.

‘The minute you put up your hand and say, listen I am just not coping, I am ill and I can’t sleep and I’m crying uncontrollably in the corner of the office, and you can’t type because your fingers won’t send the message from your brain … that’s career suicide,’ she said.

‘So people hang on and they hang on until they commit actual suicide.’

Blackley runs one of several Facebook support sites set up by former officers—there is no site run by NSW Police—and says isolation can be one of the most damaging effects of post traumatic stress disorder.

‘No-one from the police department contacts you when you are off sick,’ she said.

‘No-one contacts you when you are medically discharged and certainly no-one contacts you when you are not in the police [force] anymore.’

The experience of these officers is in stark contrast to the message from Assistant Commissioner Carlene York, head of human resources at the NSW Police Force.

‘Whilst they are with us we have many intervention programs that we will go through with the officers to make sure those services are given to them urgently and immediately,’ York said.

‘They are very much supported in the workplace by their commanders and fellow officers.’

Although she declined to reveal suicide statistics, York maintained that indicators such as the number of officers leaving the force due to mental stress had improved dramatically in recent years.

‘We put a lot of services in place and we very much rally around the family in the regretful circumstance where there is a suicide,’ she said.

‘We make sure we can help them through those difficult times.’

One aspect of the treatment received by traumatised officers may soon face scrutiny thanks to NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge.

Next week, he will call for an inquiry into the treatment of sick officers seeking compensation from their insurance companies.

Shoebridge became aware of the issue when he represented injured police as a barrister, before entering parliament.

‘We need to ensure that those claims are handled promptly, fairly and independently,’ he said.

‘At the moment, there are many outstanding psychological injury claims that have been running for years. That aggravates the injury.’

The inquiry will look into the treatment of officers such as Andy Peverill, who has been fighting for compensation for three years with no end in sight.

The former constable sits in his farm outside Parkes, in western NSW, with the blinds drawn for fear of surveillance by his insurance company, MetLife.

The company has already made him see 10 psychologists—they all confirm that he has post traumatic stress disorder—but no decision is on the horizon.

Peverill’s wife, Michele, believes it is a tactic to grind them down and told Background Briefing that more than half of the officers who put in a claim end up giving up.

Like other officers, they say they have received no support from NSW Police or from former colleagues.

‘When I ask Andy he says he thinks they are frightened of catching it,’ Michele Peverill said.

‘Almost like it is contagious. I don’t know if there are any undermining things where senior officers say you mustn’t have a bar of him, I don’t know.’

‘They won’t even reply to my texts if I text them, so I don’t know.’

If you need help, or know someone who does, then contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

You will also find useful resources at beyondblue.org.au

Before he died, he called 000.

‘I suffer post traumatic stress disorder,’ he said.

‘I can no longer live with the trauma of it and I want this to go to the coroner.’

‘There needs to be more things put in place for what happens. For partners of those that suffer, because I suffer and so do the partners.’

‘And there has to be more done for them. Alright, I have no more to say.’

His widow, Deborah Bryant, is taking up the campaign and has launched a scathing attack on the lack of support provided by the NSW Police Force.

‘I don’t think we were even a glitch on their radar,’ she told Background Briefing.

As a first step, she is calling for police who commit suicide with post traumatic stress to be included at remembrance days and included on the honour board. Suicides are specifically excluded from the National Police Memorial in Canberra.

As a first step, she is calling for police who commit suicide with post traumatic stress to be included at remembrance days and included on the honour board. Suicides are specifically excluded from the National Police Memorial in Canberra.

She believes that nothing short of a change of culture is necessary to prevent further deaths.

‘These people have given their life for their career, and they have gotten to the point where they are broken and they should be recognised for that,’ she said.

‘As far as I am concerned, that’s death in the line of duty.’

The lack of recognition hit home last year for another widow, Kimberley Galvin, whose husband, Tom Galvin, killed himself after living with chronic post traumatic stress for six years.

She said Police Remembrance Day was one of the hardest times of her life.

‘It came in the same year as an officer killed on duty,’ she said.

‘With all due respect, it was like no-one else had died that year.’

‘It was very difficult for me to comes to terms with … your husband goes to work and he doesn’t come back, as opposed to your husband suffering and suffering and suffering and ends his life.’

‘That those two things are acknowledged in such different ways. Or one is acknowledged extensively and one is not acknowledged at all.’

Although the order of service listed many police who had died from a variety of causes—including old age and ill health—Tom Galvin’s name was conspicuous by its absence.

The story of isolation is repeated by thousands of police officers across Australia who become too sick to work.

Karol Blackley was dux of her class when she graduated and enjoyed a distinguished 22-year career in the NSW Police Force before—in police jargon—’falling off the perch’.

‘They didn’t care about me at all, not one iota,’ she said.

‘It was astounding, disappointing, hurtful, gut-wrenching. Here I am, with what could be a permanent psychological debilitation and they couldn’t give two hoots.’

At her lowest point, Blackley tried to hang herself and then drove to a local hotel, drank as much as she could stomach, and then drove her car in the hope that she would crash and die.

‘The minute you put up your hand and say, listen I am just not coping, I am ill and I can’t sleep and I’m crying uncontrollably in the corner of the office, and you can’t type because your fingers won’t send the message from your brain … that’s career suicide,’ she said.

‘So people hang on and they hang on until they commit actual suicide.’

Blackley runs one of several Facebook support sites set up by former officers—there is no site run by NSW Police—and says isolation can be one of the most damaging effects of post traumatic stress disorder.

‘No-one from the police department contacts you when you are off sick,’ she said.

‘No-one contacts you when you are medically discharged and certainly no-one contacts you when you are not in the police [force] anymore.’

The experience of these officers is in stark contrast to the message from Assistant Commissioner Carlene York, head of human resources at the NSW Police Force.

‘Whilst they are with us we have many intervention programs that we will go through with the officers to make sure those services are given to them urgently and immediately,’ York said.

‘They are very much supported in the workplace by their commanders and fellow officers.’

Although she declined to reveal suicide statistics, York maintained that indicators such as the number of officers leaving the force due to mental stress had improved dramatically in recent years.

‘We put a lot of services in place and we very much rally around the family in the regretful circumstance where there is a suicide,’ she said.

‘We make sure we can help them through those difficult times.’

One aspect of the treatment received by traumatised officers may soon face scrutiny thanks to NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge.

Next week, he will call for an inquiry into the treatment of sick officers seeking compensation from their insurance companies.

Shoebridge became aware of the issue when he represented injured police as a barrister, before entering parliament.

‘We need to ensure that those claims are handled promptly, fairly and independently,’ he said.

‘At the moment, there are many outstanding psychological injury claims that have been running for years. That aggravates the injury.’

The inquiry will look into the treatment of officers such as Andy Peverill, who has been fighting for compensation for three years with no end in sight.

The former constable sits in his farm outside Parkes, in western NSW, with the blinds drawn for fear of surveillance by his insurance company, MetLife.

The company has already made him see 10 psychologists—they all confirm that he has post traumatic stress disorder—but no decision is on the horizon.

Peverill’s wife, Michele, believes it is a tactic to grind them down and told Background Briefing that more than half of the officers who put in a claim end up giving up.

Like other officers, they say they have received no support from NSW Police or from former colleagues.

‘When I ask Andy he says he thinks they are frightened of catching it,’ Michele Peverill said.

‘Almost like it is contagious. I don’t know if there are any undermining things where senior officers say you mustn’t have a bar of him, I don’t know.’

‘They won’t even reply to my texts if I text them, so I don’t know.’

You can view the report in it’s original form on ABC Radio National here.

David introduced a Notice of Motion into the NSW Upper House on Tuesday seeking support for a Parliamentary Inquiry into how the NSW Police Force and insurers deal with serving and former NSW police who have suffered psychological injuries.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh8rC7J7V7o

 http://davidshoebridge.org.au/2014/03/03/death-in-the-line-of-duty-breaking-the-silence-on-police-psychological-injuries/

Our shameful silence on police suicide

Updated 6 Mar 2014, 6:38am

The suffocating silence around suicide in the police force and the lack of support for officers suffering mental trauma amounts to a national scandal, writes William Verity.

If it takes the death of yet another police officer to wake us up to the scandal occurring all around us, his life may not be entirely wasted.

Ashley Bryant was not the last serving or former officer in NSW to take his own life, despite the fact that he only died just before Christmas.

Another officer killed himself in Sydney in January.

In fact, since the last NSW officer – Inspector Bryson Anderson – was killed in the line of duty in December 2012, at least five officers have taken their own lives.

You won’t have heard their names, you won’t hear them honoured at Police Remembrance Days, and their names are specifically excluded from the National Police Memorial in Canberra.

It’s as if their many years of honourable service leading to the ultimate sacrifice never happened.

Ashley Bryant was 44 years old when the “head noises” (as he called them) of post traumatic stress disorder finally pushed him over the edge.

As his widow, Deborah Bryant, relates, it was an act of mercy. He had become so impossible to be around. His cycling through heavy drinking followed by bouts of manic exercise, his anger, his moods, his nightmares.

He killed himself because he believed it was his compassionate act towards his wife and three young children.

Yet before he died, the former detective sergeant made one last call – to 000 – where he broadcast to the world a desperate plea on behalf of the thousands of police in Australia who suffer mental stress.

“I can no longer live with the trauma of it and I want this to go to the coroner,” he said.

“There needs to be more, more things put in place for what happens. Listen, for partners, of those that suffer, cause I suffer and so do the partners. And there has to be more done for them.

“Alright, I have no more to say.”

We are used to hearing about post traumatic stress in the military, and it was the condition of Vietnam veterans in the 1970s that first formalized the condition in the psychiatric diagnostic manual.

Yet conditions for police can be every bit as traumatic as for soldiers, some would argue worse.

One officer described putting out the washing and seeing a dead body that wasn’t there. Or feeding her cat and when the animal looked up at her, it had the face of a murder victim.

Another officer would bang his headboard as he suffered nightmares and he put a hole in the wall. He would relive crime scenes in his sleep, shouting out orders, so his partner learnt more about his work from his nightmares than his conscious self.

All of them contemplate suicide at some point, many of them attempt either violently or over time, often drinking themselves to an early grave or overdosing on their medication.

If you’ve ever wondered about that semi-comical police jargon used, where a dead man is described as “a deceased male person”, ask yourself, why the special language?

Could it be a defence mechanism, a way of distancing yourself from the daily horror, an imperfect shield against impending head noises?

This need to defend oneself may explain why, almost universally, police who fall sick with mental trauma are shunned by colleagues and isolated from any meaningful help from the police bureaucracy.

As one recent widow put it: “When you can’t do what you’re supposed to do, you’re just out and move up and someone else fills your spot. You’re just out.”

The astonishing fact is that this mental carnage is nothing new. There are many thousands of sick and medically discharged police around Australia, one or more in every suburb. It’s been going on for decades.

So why the silence?

One issue is that police forces and unions will not discuss the issue of suicide, arguing that it will only encourage more. As if police officers, who deal with death on a daily basis and carry a Glock pistol on their belt, could be so easily swayed into taking their own lives.

Another issue may be one of money. Police forces may fear a deluge of claims coming their way if there is any suggestion that they have failed in their duty of care.

A third issue is that in this male culture, post traumatic stress is seen – quite understandably – as a contagious disease. If I lower my defences to become empathetic to my colleagues, I become vulnerable to breakdown myself.

Though blame will not save a single life, there is no doubt that the silence and lack of action by police unions is a national scandal.

Can you imagine the CFMEU staying silent – even having a policy to stay silent – if five of its members had died on building sites in NSW alone in the past 14 months? God knows how many more have died in other states.

Or the journalists’ union? Even the Health Services Union in the hands of Thompson and Williamson would have done a better job.

The systemic problem here, it seems, is that the NSW Police Association is staffed by serving officers, with the same blind spots as other serving officers.

In addition, there appears to be a game played where they can campaign on behalf of their members, but only within certain parameters. Unlike other relationships between employers and unions, the NSW Police Association and the NSW Police Force are so close as to be a single organisation.

There is no room here to describe the shameful treatment – surveillance, delays, harassment – meted out to sick officers seeking the compensation owed to them after years of paying their insurance premiums.

If you want to hear the full catastrophe, you will need to download “Death In the line of duty” from the ABC Radio National Background Briefing website.

Let’s remember, these are men and women who have performed one of the hardest, most selfless jobs in society. And when they become sick, we discard them and leave them to shattered lives or worse.

We all bear a responsibility for that and it’s time we did better. The time for silence is over.

If you or someone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

William Verity has been a journalist for more than 20 years. View his full profile here.

First posted 3 Mar 2014, 9:39amMon 3 Mar 2014, 9:39am

A letter from Deborah Bryant, dated 1 June 2014:

Police officer’s suicide call ‘I’ll be gone before they arrive’

WARNING: This article deals with suicide and could be triggering for some readers.

Police refuse to release figures for the number of serving or retired police officers who have taken their lives as a result of PTSD, but in NSW alone in the last 18 months more than five times as many officers died by their own hand than were killed in the line of duty.

These startling figures are revealed in a Sunday Night investigation into post-traumatic-stress-disorder in the police force.

An emergency call from Detective Sergeant Ashley Bryant also aired. The call was placed before he took his own life and in it he asked for more to be done to assist sufferers.

In December 2012, after 23 years with the force, Bryant resigned from the force due to ongoing PTSD.

He had been treated on and off for a decade and considered quitting the job he loved as a last resort.

“It made him feel much, much, worse,” his wife Deb Bryant told Sunday Night.

“From my point of view I was really happy that he’d finally taken that step, but he was devastated.”

“It’s what he called the pinnacle of his career. There’s no greater privilege than to investigate the homicide of someone and so he was very, very, proud to do that.”

When his disability insurance was denied, his world finally fell apart.

“That just began a downhill spiral, things became really difficult at home again.”

“We discussed him going back to the rehab centre, and again he refused to do that.”

In the recording Bryan requests that his reason for taking his life be recorded by the coroner.

“I understand that this is being recorded and I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. I can no longer live with the trauma of it and I want this to go to the coroner,” he said in the 000 call.

“There needs to be more done, more things put in place for what happens. Listen, for partners, of those that suffer, because I suffer and so do the partners. And there has to be more done for them alright, I have no more to say.”

Mrs Bryant said her husband’s work began affecting him early in his career.

“From the early days there were always incidents and he could come home and was affected by it. Whether it be motor vehicle accidents or self-harm, suicides, infant deaths.”

“It was really heartbreaking to see that strong person become a shell of himself.”

In over 20 years as a cop Allan Sparkes’ experienced the extremes of the job.

Esther McKay was also a dedicated cop for 21 years – most of it as a forensic crime scene investigator – until she was medically discharged with PTSD in 2000.

She said she felt forced to walk away from the job she loved.

“I realised that I was going to lose my career which was quite devastating and I think when you talk to police you will see that they love their job, it’s a real passion.”

“It got to a stage where I was effectively negotiating with myself not jump off a cliff.”

If you are struggling with depression or PTSD click here to visit Lifeline or call 131114

The following titles are by officers featured in our story:
Allan Sparkes: ‘The Cost of Bravery’
Esther McKay: True Stories from the Life of a Country Crime Scene Cop
Jeff Garland: Split Second Story
Belinda Neil: Under Siege

https://au.news.yahoo.com/sunday-night/features/a/25520435/police-officers-suicide-call-ill-be-gone-before-they-arrive/

Former detective sergeant Ashley Bryant had service for more than two decades when he quit the police service in December 2012.

He had endured several traumatic experiences on the job, had been treated on and off for a decade and had regularly contemplated walking away. Eventually it all became too much.

A year later he phoned Triple 0 from Minyon Falls in the NSW Northern Rivers Region.

“I understand that this is being recorded and I suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. I can no longer live with the trauma of it and I want this to go to the coroner,” he said in the call aired by Seven’s Sunday Night program.

“There needs to be more done, more things put in place for what happens.

“Listen, for partners, of those that suffer, because I suffer and so do the partners. And there has to be more done for them all right, I have no more to say.”

The Triple 0 operator then urged Mr Bryant to wait until emergency service arrived. He replied ‘I’ll be gone before they arrive.’

Mr Bryant’s wife Deborah, who played the recording to Sunday Night’s Melissa Doyle, said the rigours of his job took its toll.“From the early days there were always incidents and he could come home and was affected by it,” she said.

“Whether it be motor vehicle accidents or self-harm, suicides, infant deaths.

“It was really heartbreaking to see that strong person become a shell of himself.”

Despite the devastation of leaving a career he had been intensely proud of, Mr Bryant had optimism for the future.

But when his disability insurance was denied his life went on a downward spiral.

According to Sunday Night in NSW alone in the last 18 months more than five times as many officers died by their own hand than were killed in the line of duty.

In a statement to the program NSW Police Minister Stuart Ayres said the welfare of police officers remained one of his highest priorities

“I am committed to working with the NSW Police Force to improve police officer welfare and note the NSW Government has invested $15-million in welfare focused programs.

‘The NSW Police Force now has over 79 activities and initiatives in place to promote wellbeing and prevent injury, improve injury management, and rehabilitate and redeploy injured officers.”

If you need help, or know someone who does, then contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

You will also find useful resources at beyondblue.org.au

Ashley is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance BUT was as of 2017

Further reading:

http://aworkcovervictimsdiary.com/2014/11/police-suicide-workers-compensation-remembering-ashley-bryant/

Police suicide and workers compensation – remembering Ashley Bryant

‘Sex assaults’ at osteopath

4 August 2016 and Garth Duggan is still in the headlines.

Morgan James HILL

New South Wales Police Force

Goulburn Police Academy Class # ???

Regd. # 40683

Rank:  Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on ? ? ?

Probationary Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?

Final Rank:  Constable 1st Class

Stations:  Waverley

Awards:  Commissioner’s Unit Citation for actions on Sunday  11 December 2005

Service:  From  29 April 2005  to  27 March 2009 = 3+ years Service

Born:  Tuesday  25 January 1983

Died:  Friday  27 March 2009

Age:  26 years, 2 months, 2 days old

Cause:  Severe PTSD – Suicide – self inflicted gunshot wound, with Service Glock, at Fishermans Rd, Malabar

Funeral date:  Thursday 2 April 2009

Funeral location:  Our Lady of Sacred Heart Church, 193 Avoca St, Randwick

Grave location:  Ashes Interned at Botany Cemetery on 25 January 2010

RC6 – Roman Catholic FM 6 – 560

Morgan commenced his shift at Waverley Police Station at 8pm on the evening of 27 March 2009.

At 8.39pm, at Fisherman’s Road, Malabar, in his private vehicle, Morgan ended his life whilst suffering severe depression induced by the effects of anti-depressant medication he had been prescribed.

Morgan was born on 25 January 1983 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 29 April, 2005.

He was 26 years of age at the time of his death by suicide and stationed at Waverley, Eastern Suburbs Local Area Command.

Morgan is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance But Should be

MORGAN ( as of 2017 ) IS mentioned on the NSW Police Wall of Remembrance

* Stemming from the continued work of the wives of four Fallen NSW Police to Suicide – those four names will now be included in the newly refurbished NSW Police Wall of Remembrance, Sydney, as of 2017

Congratulations to those family members who fought the fight to right this wrong.

*

Constable Morgan James HILL – Suicide – 27 March 2009 – Coroners report – 9 Sept 2011

The response, from the Commissioner of Police, to the above Coroners report:

On 2 April 2012, Police Commissioner AP Scipione APM advised the Coroner as follows:

“The NSW Police Force established a Self Harm Prevention Advisory Panel (the Panel) in 2010, following a recommendation of the Deputy State Coroner Dillon in 2009 arising from the death of Sgt Ian Muir. The role of the Panel was recently reviewed and amendments are currently being made to its charter to oversight the NSW Police Force response to Recommendations in all coronial matters involving self-harm by police officers.”

http://www.lsb.justice.nsw.gov.au/agdbasev7wr/_assets/lsb/m500001l1/coronersrecommendationsjune2011to%20december%202011.doc

In Loving Memory of Officer Morgan Hill, Australia, 2009

NSW Police Force

Commissioner’s Unit Citation

Awarded to Constable Morgan Hill

Awarded for outstanding bravery and devotion to duty as a member of the New South Wales Police Force response to civil disorder within the Miranda, Eastern Beaches, St George, and Campsie Local Area Commands.

On Sunday, 11 December 2005, a protracted public order management policing operation commenced in response to a major civil disorder situation in the Cronulla area.  The ensuing violent civil disorder continued in Cronulla and other areas, including Maroubra, Brighton, and Campsie, until Tuesday, 13 December 2005, when the situation was brought under control, with peace and good order restored by members of the Force.

The dedication and devotion to duty rendered by these police who were on the frontline throughout this protracted and dangerous policing response and operation exemplifies the courage, expertise, professionalism and commitment of the New South Wales Police Force.

While protecting members of the community and property from rioters, officers were subjected to various forms of assaults and missile attacks.  These members of the Force, many of whom sustained injury, remained steadfast in the performance of their duty.

Constable Hill warrants due recognition for his courage and meritourious service during this period of civil unrest and thus is highly commended.

A P Scipione APM

Commissioner of Police

Dated 18 September 2008 but NOT signed.

‘Despite the above Commendation being dated 18 September 2008 ( 6 months before Morgan’s death ), the Certificate was handed to the family Posthumously on the very same day that they were also handed documentation stating that Morgan was NOT going to be mentioned on the Wall of Police Remembrance due to the fact he suicided.

These documents were not given to the family until late 2010.’

Today Tonight TV programme  Channel 7, aired this show on Wednesday  23 July 2014.

The below comments were copied and pasted from the TodayTonightadelaide website on 23 March 2016

http://www.todaytonightadelaide.com.au/stories/police-suicide

• Jean Simpson says: The Government should be looking at a change in the whole health system , to ask the question why are so many young , old , just so many of the population coming down with Depression , (The Back Dog) . Definitely more counselling services. As well as the government ,we should all try to be more considerate , compassionate to all in society , there is so much suffering out there , and so many issues to deal with today than there was a few years ago. Teresa Cranes comments about the corruption , threats and underhanded dealings within the force has been talked about for as long as i can remember. It makes me really sad to see the young adults of today joining the force with all good intent , with a passion to help our society , only to find that they go to work each day fighting against an epidemic of corruption within there own work place. Like Teresa on this page i knew of an elderly Sergeant who has now retired , because he was told to take an early retirement . To find someone in the force that is not corrupt would be a hard task. How does the average person tell who is who anymore? So sorry for the ones that are trying to make this world a better place , for the opinion of a lot of people is that unfortunately they get tarred with the same brush , one can only imagine the affect on the innocent ones , Wow what a fight they have on there hands ! Love and light to all .
• 2 years ago : 4 likes
• Amanda Schultz says: Teresa Crane you got it spot on! My dad took hi s life in 1981, right in those good old corrupt years! Made a boss aged 32. Took his life aged 37. Left a wife and three daughters. What else do you do when your “boys” are on the take and the bosses buried their heads? I think there needs to be Royal Commissions to make the brass accountable and expose those we know were hypocrites and criminals. SA Police took a good man and destroyed him and his family….we live with it everyday.
• 2 years ago : 0 likes
• Peter Roberts says: Very interesting story and definitely needs looking into
• 2 years ago : 1 likes
• Heather Johns says: It’s unfortunate that they aren’t required to debrief or to talk about an issue without being labelled. It is not just police, fire, ambos, we see it a huge amount in defence too. Why can’t we remove the stigma of PTSD & depression & help those in need as they are helping us? Where is the government funding for more counselling services?
• 2 years ago : 0 likes
• Ross Beckley says: Great story and thanks for making this public. All emergency service personnel are suffering silently and their organisational management need to start addressing these concerns raised in this story.
• 2 years ago : 1 likes
• Trevor Hardy says: SAPOL officers need to find themselves a good private psychologist and see them regularly. You can work through problems and if SAPOL are going to continue to sweep the problems under the carpet, then members need to do it for themselves. Or quit. No job in this Universe is worth killing yourself over.
• 2 years ago : 0 likes
• Jessica Courtney Evans says: Yep…. Someone I’m my family was an officer in nz and took his own life. It’s tragic and awful. They need more support….
• 2 years ago : 1 likes
• Tanya Eldridge-Tregenza says: It’s no bloody secret it’s been happy for a long time.
• 2 years ago : 1 likes
• Lynette Millowick says: Missed out on story was working
• 2 years ago : 1 likes
• Clare Heiss says: Oh poo!! Was really looking forward to seeing it! Thanks for letting us know though!
• 2 years ago : 3 likes
• Today Tonight Adelaide says: Unfortunately we cannot load the video until it has aired in Perth – at the moment it looks like it may run tomorrow so the video won’t be online until Monday morning
• 2 years ago : 2 likes
• Berrick Boland says: Today Tonight, rocks.
• 2 years ago : 4 likes
• Lauren Busbridge says: Same with paramedics!!!!!
• 2 years ago : 4 likes
• Today Tonight Adelaide says: The video will be uploaded tomorrow
• 2 years ago : 1 likes
• Clare Heiss says: I can’t find the story in this link @TodayTonight
• 2 years ago : 2 likes
• Ann Krieg says: PTSD needs to be told and understood. We need to know what and how it happens and to whom. The service men, whether police, or army or navy or air, or whether it is from work and a bad boss or bad experience from an accident, we need to know. 🙂
• 2 years ago : 3 likes
• Berrick Boland says: The Forgotten 300 Facebook page come on and like us for the families of PTSD and Police suicide victims.
• 2 years ago : 12 likes
• Anne Heinrich says: Well I am only one of many people I know who admire the police for their kindness and care of those in need, their patience and persistence and tenacious spirit to keep people alive! Maybe if more people told them so (and I include the media) they might feel more appreciated and needed. Don’t give up guys- there are lots of us who think you’re great!
• 2 years ago : 2 likes
• Sandy McLellan says: I have known many Policeman, but one in particular tells me of the many who simply cannot cope with the ghastly things they have to deal with. We have NO idea how bad it is, very sad. They put their lives on the line for us all the time. Maybe they need much more support on the job and from us, the public.
• 2 years ago : 3 likes
• Tony Crowley says: They should cover SAPOL . We are not clean either
• 2 years ago : 10 likes
• John Hirst says: Be good to see it’s getting some publicity and not ‘swept under the carpet’. Lost a few good colleagues from this and there are so many more stepping close to the line with little or no support from the employer. Tony Crowley for your info.

Posted  Monday  20 June 2016:

CORONERS COURT

Morgan James Hill:

Deputy State Coroner Mitchell On 9 September 2011 at Glebe and Parramatta

FINDINGS.

I find that Morgan Hill who was born on 25 January 1983 died at Fishermans Road Malabar NSW at about 8.39 pm on 27 March 2009 of a gunshot wound to the head, self inflicted while suffering severe depression.

RECOMMENDATIONS;

That a psychiatrist or psychiatrists be employed in the Health and Well being Unit of Welfare Safety Command or retained so as to ensure qualified psychiatric oversight of all police fitness assessments where mental health or emotional stability are an issue.

2.  That appropriate criteria be developed and established to guide and inform police medical officers in assessing the fitness of police officers for various duties within the police force and the fitness of police officers to have possession of a firearm.

3. In particular, that the criteria so developed and established provide that fitness for duty and to carry a firearm is not merely a matter of the absence of a diagnosable psychiatric condition or mental illness.

4. That police medical officer be encouraged to explore with police officers referred by commanders for a fitness assessment the history of that officer and any current or recent medical diagnoses and treatment plan or plans and the identity of that officer’s medical practitioner and to seek the consent of the police officer to that medical practitioner providing appropriate medical information to the police medical officer and that unwillingness to provide that consent be among the matters to be reported to the referring commander.

5. That psychologists assisting in the preparation of fitness assessments be accorded independence from police medical officers.

6. That police medical officer be reminded of the provisions of the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 and, so far as the provision of information to commanding officers is concerned, be encouraged to act in accordance with its terms.

7. That the practice of placing reliance on psychological tests in the preparation of fitness assessments be reviewed by an independent expert.

8.  That the freedom of commanding officers to make their decisions as to the removal or restoration of firearms informed by considerations other than those dealt with by police medical officers be encouraged.

9. That commanding officers be reminded of their entitlement to the provision of information pursuant to the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002.

10. That consideration be given to the establishment of a mentoring system of young officers by more senior officers with a view to the guidance, support and oversight of the performance of those young officers.

RESPONSE

On 2 April 2012, Police Commissioner AP Scipione AMP advised the Coroner as follows:

“The NSW Police Force established a Self Harm Prevention Advisory Panel (the Panel) in 2010, following a recommendation of the Deputy State Coroner Dillon in 2009 arising from the death of Sgt Ian Muir.

The role of the Panel was recently reviewed and amendments are currently being made to its charter to oversight the NSW Police Force response to Recommendations in all coronial matters involving self-harm by police officers.

”Please click here to link to a table which sets out the full Police Force response to the recommendations made by Coroner Mitchell. (Unavailable)

Bryson Charles ANDERSON

AKA Bryce ANDERSON, Bryson ANDERSON

Son of Rex ANDERSON, NSWPF # 8681

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  23020

Academy Class:  222

Rank: Police Trainee – commenced 18 August 1986,

Probationary Constable – appointed 7 November 1986,

Constable 1st Class – appointed 1991,

Detective Constable 1st Class – appointed November 1993,

Sergeant – appointed 2004,

Detective Inspector – appointed 2009,

Duty Officer – from 19 December 2010

Detective Inspector

Stations:  Goulburn Academy, Parramatta G.D’s, Granville, Ermington, C.I. Duties – Granville, Castle Hill, Task Force Boyne, Ermington, Rosehill, Special Crime, Internal Affairs, Hawkesbury L.A.C.

Service:   From  18 August 1986   to  6 December 2012 = 26 years, 3 months, 18 days Service

Age at Leaving: 45 years, 10 months, 20 days

Time in Retirement:  0

Awards:  National Medal – granted 22 July 1993 ( SenCon )

NSW Police Medal together with 1st & 2nd Clasps

Commissioner’s Unit Citation – 2003 for Highly professional investigations

1st Clasp to the National Medal – posthumously

3rd Clasp to the NSW Police Medal – posthumously

Valour Award – posthumously

Born:  Monday 16 January 1967

Died on:  Thursday 6 December 2012

Cause:  Murdered – Oakville, NSW

Age:  45 years, 10 months, 20 days

 Funeral date:  Wednesday  12 December 2012

Funeral location:  St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta, NSW

Buried at:   Cremated

Memorial location:  Outside of Windsor Police Stn, NSW

Memorial dedication performed on Tuesday 6 December 2022 upon the 10 Anniversary of his Murder.

BRYSON IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

The Commissioners Press conference.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-06/p … ck/4413626

Two people have been arrested after a senior police officer died after sustaining critical injuries in an axe attack in Sydney’s north-west.

Police say Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson was among a number of officers called to a dispute between neighbours at Scheyville Road in Oakville about 2pm (AEDT).

About two hours later, Detective Inspector Anderson was seriously injured in what is understood to have been an axe attack.

	Det Insp Bryson Anderson killed with an axe on Thu 061212

After treatment by paramedics he was rushed to Windsor Hospital in a critical condition but died a short time later.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said a 19-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman had been arrested at the scene and taken to Windsor Police Station where they were assisting investigators with their inquiries.

Mr Scipione said Detective Inspector Anderson was from a police family and had left a wife and three children.

“They are, as you imagine, distraught, but taking strong support from not only their immediate family, but the police family.

“We will console officers that were part of this particular operation.

“They, as you would also imagine, are traumatised and all support services have been put around them.

“I’ve got to say the strength and courage that is being shown inside (the hospital), not only by the police that are there, but also by the family, is incredible.”

Photo: Police say the officer was called to a dispute between neighbours in Oakville.

Det Insp Bryson Anderson killed with an axe on Thu 061212

Mr Scipione said he could not provide too many details of the events leading up to the attack given the investigation was in its early stages.

“I understand the (neighbourhood) dispute did involve the use of some weapons, but again having said that, we want to get to the bottom of this investigation before we start making too many statements,” he said.

“Suffice to say it was a violent neighbourhood incident that caused the police to attend and there were many police there.

“Some time after they first attended, there was an interaction which led to the death of Inspector Anderson.

“I understand they were trying to communicate with affected parties and were looking to resolve this peacefully.”

Mr Scipione said Detective Inspector Anderson had worked for him more than 10 years ago and paid tribute to his skills as an investigator.

“He was nothing short of a role model to those officers that come after him,” he said.

“Today is a stark reminder how dangerous this job is. These people do this in such a way they put their lives before the lives of others.

“You have an idea what the price is today.”

Anyone with information about the incident are being asked to call Crime Stoppers on  1800 333 000  or use the Crime Stoppers website.

RIP  Bryson

A tribute from our Commissioner

Today ( Wednesday 12 December 2012) we honour a brave man. Bryson Anderson. A police officer, and so much more.

A man who was so deeply respected by the community in which he lived, worked and devoted much of his spare time.

Valedictory for Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson

Homily for the Funeral Mass for Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson, St Patrick’s Cathedral Parramatta, Most Rev Anthony Fisher OP, Bishop of Parramatta
Wednesday, 12 December 2012 02:57:38 PM

Any death is a loss. The death of a loved one before time is worse. A senseless, violent, innocent death is even more appalling. But a death in the line of duty hits us especially hard. Why is that?

Our word police comes from the Greek word polis, meaning the city-state, its citizens and civilisation. Police are appointed to keep order in the polis and protect persons and property. The word politician comes from the same root, for they too work for the people, with our bureaucracies and courts. Yet none of these is in the front-line the way police are.

We all shelter behind our police officers’ sense of law and order, their character and courage, their instincts, reactions, negotiating and other skills. Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson devoted his life to providing such shelter for his family, friends and community. He lived for this and this was a gift to us all; he died for this and this affronts us all.

His fellow officers also mourn his passing, as Commissioner Scipione testified. I first got to know the Commissioner and his people in the lead-up to World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008. It was a time when hundreds of thousands of youth threw them kisses and told them God loved them and they loved them. If only it was always so! One such beloved of God and people was described in our first Scripture reading today (Wisdom 4:7-15). Being virtuous, untarnished and God-pleasing, the man in that passage was ready for God sooner than most.

Bryson’s fellow officers tell me he was such a man, and that his integrity inspired them. That his death has left them in shock is a sign of that bond within the police family said to be as thick as blood.

Of course, policing was literally in Bryson’s blood, as his father and brother both served in the force, Rex for many years here in Parramatta. When I saw Donna and the family after the terrible news, there were policemen present as if they were his own brothers. Such a death must make all officers aware of their own mortality, must bring to the surface daily anxiety for the safety of the public, their comrades and themselves, and so too for beloved spouses who might be widowed or children orphaned. But it also brings out into the open their fraternity and courage.

Thousands are here today to pray for Bryson and the Anderson family, to share in their natural sorrow and supernatural hope. But proud as they must be and however comforted by our presence, they still have the very personal grief of ones who’ve lost husband, father, son and brother.

Perhaps they are asking themselves: How could an argument over a bird cage end so horribly? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why does God permit such things? Well, God could have made us robots, obedient to His every command. Instead He took the great ‘gamble’ of making us free, able to choose good or evil. He does everything to persuade, encourage, inspire us to live lives of service and self-sacrifice.

Some of us do. Most of us try. Some don’t. When bushfires, floods or other natural evils hurt innocent people, we know that these are part and parcel of a world that is beautiful and bountiful but has its own law and order.

The real mystery for us is man-made evil: why human beings do terrible things to each other, why they misuse the godlike gifts of freedom and intelligence. Like those in our first reading, we “look on uncomprehending”. Few of us will face death by an assailant’s knife or have that happen in our family. But when our own crosses come, we too must try to make some sense of it. In Jesus Christ, we believe, God fully embraced our human condition, including His own violent death as an innocent man before his time.

Why was it necessary for Christ to suffer? Because that was where humanity was. To redeem us, He had to go where we are. So God became a real human being, with friends and enemies, hopes and fears, who wept for His dead friend Lazarus, and later cried out tired, frightened, abandoned.

God in Jesus Christ is the great realist: no evasion, no false front, no easy escape; no pretending away the sin of the world or the suffering of ordinary lives. But He did what any man, any God-made-man, could do.

The problem of evil drives some to atheism, some to despair. But it draws some to the Crucified One, to unite their sufferings with His, as He united His whole being with them at Christmas and beyond.

This doesn’t ‘magic away’ all that is unpleasant; we may still ache that someone we love has been stolen from us. Our hearts may be troubled as Jesus’ was (John 12:27, 13:31). But in time faith can bring new perspective, the courage to face the human condition, the grace to grow through this stage of our life, and compassion for others who suffer also.

Any faith or philosophy worthy of us must face evil straight on. Every police officer knows this. Euphemisms and positive thinking will not do; neither will glorifying evil or emptying it of its mystery. From the side of the Crucified God flows the blood and water of human life and death. But from there, too, flows hope for every hurting heart, every fragile person, even for the dead.

2012 is the sesquicentenary of the New South Wales Police Force and was supposed to be a year of celebration for them. Yet it began with the killing of Senior Constable Dave Rixon and ends with the killing of Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson. He is the 14th to be killed on duty since 1980. Death is no respecter of office, rank or character. And so this week a family, a force, a whole state join Christ in His Passion. We are joined with Him in His mortal combat with evil: proposing the good and beautiful and true to all; preventing violence and injustice where we can; comforting the victims, those who suffer for justice’s sake and those who mourn them.

In our Gospel passage, Christ called Himself the Way, the Truth and the Life for every troubled heart (John 14:1-6). His life offers us the way, as it did to Bryson, the way of justice, mercy and peace. Christ’s death offers us the truth, as it did for Bryson, the truth about human fragility and promise, freedom and intelligence for good or evil. And His Resurrection offers us the life, as it does for Bryson, life eternal for every noble soul.

2012 should have been a year of celebration for police officers and still it should be: a celebration of what is most worthy in the force and in those who bring it credit. It should have been a time of pride and joy for the Anderson family: that will come later, as they treasure what Bryson gave to them and to us all.

But for now: “We seem to be giving Bryson back to you, O God, who gave him to us.
Yet, as you did not lose him in giving him to us, so we do not lose him by his return. For
you do not give as the world gives, O Lover of souls: what you give you never take
away … For life is eternal, and love immortal, and death is only an horizon, and the
horizon is no more than the limit of our sight.

“Lift us up, strong Son of God, that we may see further. Cleanse our tearful eyes that
we may see more clearly. Draw us closer to yourself, that we may know ourselves to be
nearer to Bryson, now that he is with you. And while you prepare a place for us (John
14:1-6), prepare us also for that happy place, that where you and he are, we may be
also, for evermore.” (Prayer of Fr Bede Jarrett OP)

Detective Inspector Bryson Charles Anderson (1967-2012) – Find a Grave Memorial

---

 

Bryson ANDERSON IS mentioned on the National Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra

---

Mitchell Barbieri and his mother Fiona plead guilty to their roles in killing of decorated officer Bryson Anderson

• Amy Dale
• The Daily Telegraph
• November 05, 201412:24PM

 

THE mother and son charged with killing decorated police officer Detective Inspector Bryson Anderson have pleaded guilty on the morning their trial was due to start.

Mitchell Barbieri pleaded guilty to murdering the 45 year old officer, while his mother, 47, pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty of the officer’s manslaughter.

The pleas came as the jury were about to be empanelled and begin to hear the opening address.

Bryson Anderson was killed on December 6, 2012, after being called to the pair’s Oakville home, in Sydney’s north west.

Fiona Barbieri’s plea to manslaughter is being accepted on the grounds of “substantial impairment”, the court heard.

It is expected a sentencing hearing will take place next year.

Mitchell Barbieri, 21, is facing a mandatory life sentence without parole for murdering a police officer.

The Supreme Court was packed with family, colleagues and friends of Det Insp Anderson, some of whom shed tears as the guilty pleas were announced.

Flanked by police officers, Det Insp Anderson’s brother Warwick Anderson thanked the investigating officers for their “support and strength” and the hard work of the DPP.

He said the family was very mindful of the officers who were with his brother on the day he died and who continued to suffer physical and psychological injuries.

“The thoughts, care and prayers of our family go out to them,” he told reporters outside court.

There was still a significant way to go for his family to come to terms with the “senseless and tragic loss of Bryson”, he said

Justice Robert Hulme adjourned the case until next Wednesday, when the Crown will begin calling evidence on sentence.

Defence counsel will give their submissions to court on November 24.

Family and friends of murdered Detective inspector Bryson Anderson and police

---

 

 

David James RIXON, VA BM

New South Wales Police Force

Goulburn Police Academy Class # 247

Regd. # 27947

Rank:  Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy as a Junior Trainee on Sunday 28 October 1990 ( aged 19 years, 2 months, 30 days )

Probationary Constable – appointed 26 April 1991 ( aged 19 years, 8 months, 26 days )

Constable – appointed 26 April 1992

Senior Constable – death

Stations:  Hamilton, Belmont G.D’s, Waratah HWP from 12 February 1995, Gunnedah HWP from 7 May 1995, then Tamworth HWP from 14 July 1996 – Death

Served:  From 28 October 1990 to 2 March 2012 = 21 years, 4 months & 3 days Service

Awards:  Commissioners Valour Award ( VA ) – posthumously

Bravery Medal ( BM ) – posthumously awarded

Born:  Saturday  31 July 1971

Died:  Friday  2 March 2012

Age:  40 years & 7 months

Cause:  Shot – Murdered

Event location:  outside 10 – 12 Lorraine Street, West Tamworth, NSW

Funeral date: Thursday  8 March 2012 @ 10.30am

Funeral location:  St Paul`s Anglican Church, Church St. Tamworth

Grave location:  lawn portion of the Tamworth Regional Council Cemetery, Showground Rd. Tamworth.

GPS:  -31.0903969,  150.9007111

David IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

SenCon David Rixon
Senior Constable

Father of six, shot and killed at Tamworth, NSW, Australia, today Friday 2 March 2012. May you forever Rest In Peace with the rest of our Brothers and Sisters who have paid the ultimate price in Policing.

There is a memorial fund to support the family of S/C Rixon who are dealing with a loss at this time. Donations can be made to this fund with the following details: Account name: David Rixon Memorial Fund, Account number : 269978 (add S1 at the end for Internal transfer by PCU members) Police Credit Union BSB: 815000

RIXON, David James
Dearly loved husband of Fiona
Loving father of Renae, Jemma, Scott, Mathew, Hayley and Patrick.

Loved son, stepson and son-in-law of Gwen & Max Russell, Ken Rixon, Kathryn & Robert Brooking, loved step brother and brother-in-law of Katie and Beau, Tammy, Leanne (dec), Rachelle, Nadina and Damien.
The relatives and friends of David Rixon were respectfully invited to attend his funeral.

The Service was appointed to commence at 10.30 am, Thursday, 8th March, 2012, at St Paul`s Anglican Church, Church St. Tamworth, thence for interment in the lawn portion of the Tamworth Regional Council Cemetery, Showground Rd. Tamworth.

Presented to the family.

NSW policeman honoured after on-duty death

It was meant to be a regular day for Tamworth police officer and father-of-six David Rixon.

The NSW highway patrol officer was carrying out a routine breath check in 2012 when the driver, Michael Jacobs, pulled out a revolver and shot him in the chest.

He returned fire, hitting Jacobs in the abdomen, leg and shoulder, called for back-up and handcuffed Jacobs before collapsing.

His killer went on to receive life-saving surgery and a life sentence.

But Senior Constable Rixon died at the scene, leaving behind a heartbroken wife and six children.

Three years later, he has been honoured for his bravery.

Sen Const Rixon is one of 25 people to receive an Australian Bravery Decoration on Wednesday from Governor-General Peter Cosgrove.

Mr Cosgrove says Sen Const Rixon and the other recipients are a source of courage, support and inspiration, but he acknowledged there can be devastating consequences resulting from their bravery.

“Sadly, there are those whose brave acts mean they are no longer with us,” he said.

“Today, to their families, I express the nation’s sadness at your loss but pride in your loved ones’ actions.”

The Australian Bravery Decorations recognise acts of bravery by members of the community who selflessly put themselves in jeopardy to protect the lives or property of others.

The recipients are nominated by members of the public, with the governor-general deciding the awards.

They vary from Mustafa Ruhi Akkan and Nattapat Penpanussak, who helped police apprehend a man who stabbed three backpackers in 2000, to Jamie Alan Strong, for helping rescue two people trapped in a burning house in 2014.

One of the highest honours, the Star of Courage, is awarded to a 21-year-old RAAF pilot named James Wallace Hocking.

In 1944, he saved his crew and the English township of March by flying his stricken bomber away from civilian danger. He died when the plane crashed into a nearby field.

There are four levels of decoration and a Group Bravery Citation, an award for a group of people involved in a single incident. They are the Cross of Valour, the Star of Courage, the Bravery Medal, Commendation for Brave Effort and the Group Bravery Citation.

AWARDS SINCE 1975

• 5 Cross of Valour

• 146 Star of Courage

• 1217 Bravery Medals

• 1926 Commendations for Brave Conduct

• 157 Group Bravery Citations

https://au.news.yahoo.com/nsw/a/29293039/nsw-policeman-honoured-after-on-duty-death/

An officer and a gentleman: Remembering Senior Constable David Rixon a year on

By Kitty Hill

March 1, 2013, noon

A SOMBRE anniversary falls today as police officers and community members join the family in remembering fallen Tamworth police officer Senior Constable David Rixon a year after his death.

On March 2, 2012, Senior Constable Rixon was fatally shot on a routine traffic stop in West Tamworth.

Senior Constable Rixon’s wife Fiona and their children will be joined by officers from across the state to mark the anniversary, many of whom have spent the past week completing a charity walk in his honour.

Officers will form a sombre march to Tamworth Police Station to arrive at 8am, where the flag will be lowered to stand at half mast.

NSW Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione, will unveil a plaque honouring Senior Constable Rixon, during a ceremony at Tamworth Community Centre at 11am.

Fiona Rixon said she will take a private moment during the day to remember her husband, the man who she described as her “other half”.

“He was my best friend, we did absolutely everything together, everything,” she said.

About 60 police officers of the 140 who walked arrived in Tamworth last night after a 370km journey titled “Our Mates, Our Families,” which began in Wyong last Monday.

Rainy weather welcomed the walkers as they completed the last few kilometres of their 10-day trek, ending at the Longyard Hotel.

Senior Constable Rixon’s stepdaughter and Probationary Constable Jemma Galea, who walked alongside four officers from the Oxley Local Area Command, said today’s memorial services would be bittersweet for her and her family.

“I guess it’s hard to say how it will affect you until the day,” Probationary Constable Galea said.

Completing the last of the walk alongside her mother yesterday, she was wearing the bright pink cap she wore for the the duration of the walk.

The cap was the subject of a personal joke between her and her stepfather.

“David said to me when I bought it, ‘When are you ever going to wear that hat?’” Probationary Constable Galea said.

“So now I wear it, to remember him.”

Ms Galea said the walk was harder than expected, and she was full of “sore muscles, blisters and a bit of sunburn”, and everyone was looking forward to a hot shower before the fundraising event at Wests’ Diggers last night.

The walkers camped along the way, passing through six police local area commands, many of whom sent officers to Tamworth to help out in the days and weeks after the tragedy.

Organising police from Tuggerah Lakes said they were inspired by the Cooee recruitment march, a famous walk that began in Gilgandra in 1915 with 35 men, its ranks swelling to 265 by its end in Sydney, all eager to join the Australian war effort for WWI.

Oxley Local Area Commander Superintendent Clint Pheeney said his officers were honoured to take part in the walk, and ceremony, to remember their former colleague.

“David’s death was heartbreaking for all of us at Oxley Local Area Command,” Superintendent Pheeney said.

“But when a police officer is killed it’s not only the local police and their immediate colleagues who are touched, it’s the entire police force and community as a whole.”

“I’m extremely proud of all the officers who have taken part in the gruelling walk as it shows their resolve and determination to honour their mate, and to raise funds for not only his family, but the families of other fallen officers.

“I’m particularly proud of all of David’s colleagues here at Tamworth who have continued to do their job on a daily basis since his death, even though all their hearts have been broken.

“David has never been far from our minds and this will certainly be the case tomorrow, especially during the ceremony. The plaque will serve as a permanent honour to him in the community and one I’m sure all who knew him will be extremely proud of.”

Commissioner Scipione said the relay-style walk from Wyong Police Station to Tamworth was raising money for both the NSW Police Legacy and the David Rixon Memorial Fund.

“Last year we experienced the tragedy of losing two of our officers and so we all have extremely heavy hearts today,” Commissioner Scipione said. “However the ceremony gives us the opportunity to reflect on Senior Constable Rixon’s life and career, and to remember the outstanding husband, father, friend and colleague that he was.

“The walk and ceremony are testimony to the honour that exists among those who have chosen to become part of the police profession. It also demonstrates our respect, our grief and our resolve to continue, despite the hardships that may confront us.”

The official ceremony will take place at 11am at Tamworth Community Centre in Darling St.

• Amy Dale, Chief Court Reporter
• The Daily Telegraph
• October 04, 20132:45PM

THE man who shot Senior Constable David Rixon has become the first person jailed for the term of his natural life for murdering a police officer.

Michael Allan Jacobs has this afternoon been sentenced to life with no parole for murdering Sen-Constable Rixon, the crime described by Justice Richard Button as “a life irrevocably taken”.

Jacobs is the first person to be convicted of murdering a police officer since the O’Farrell government introduced legislation in 2011 to ensure such an offence is punished by a sentence of life with no parole.

He said the murder of a police officer “is a direct assault on the system of parliamentary democracy and the rule of law.”

“The offender informed the intention to kill him,” Justice Button said.

“That intention may have been held utterly fleetingly and irrationally … but it has been established to a criminal standard.”

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione and NSW Police Minister Mike Gallacher joined more than 20 police officers in court for the landmark sentence.

Sen-Constable Rixon was shot once in the chest with a bullet fired from a .38 calibre revolver after approaching Jacobs’ stopped Holden Statesman for a random breath test early on March 2 last year.

The policeman returned fire and hit Jacobs three times, leaving the man with “an out of control drug addiction” critically wounded, before he collapsed from his injuries.

“The offender almost died from his injuries,” Justice Button said, adding that in his dying moments Sen-Constable Rixon had handcuffed Jacobs to arrest him.

The court heard Jacobs screamed “ah die, I’m sorry sir, sorry” just after the shooting and while “lying gravely wounded could be heard repeatedly saying ‘I’m sorry.'”

But Justice Button said he couldn’t be more satisfied “that the offender is responsible for this murder.”

Police arrived shortly after the shooting but Sen-Constable Rixon couldn’t be revived, while Jacobs received lifesaving surgery and eventually recovered after spending more than a month in hospital.

The Crown claimed he was high on ice at the time, making him more prone to aggression, and shot the policeman to avoid being locked up and convicted for repeatedly driving unlicensed.

Justice Button said of Jacobs‘s motive to avoid “being briefly refused bail or at worst a sentence of a matter of months … the offender saw fit to fire a handgun at a police officer.”

He said Sen-Constable Rixon would have had “less than a second before the shot was fired.”

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David Rixon murder: Michael Jacobs gets life in jail

Date  October 4, 2013

Paul Bibby

Court Reporter

The sun had only recently risen over the roof of Tamworth police station when the white, dark-windowed bus arrived.

One by one about 30 officers filed on and settled in for a six-hour journey that they hoped would end with justice for a fallen comrade and perhaps a small measure of closure for those left behind.

Eight hours and 400 kilometres later, a NSW Supreme Court Justice gave the family, friends and colleagues of murdered police officer Senior Constable David Rixon the result they desired – a life sentence for the man responsible for his death.

In a landmark decision, Michael Alan Jacobs, 49, became the first person sentenced to life in prison under new laws requiring a mandatory life sentence for anyone who murders an on-duty police officer in NSW.

”Let this serve as an example to all those in the future who think it’s OK to harm our police officers,” NSW Police Minister Mike Gallacher said after the sentence was handed down.

”This decision today draws a line in the sand.”

Nearly a quarter of the Oxley Local Area Command were present to hear the sentence, forming a guard of honour as Senior Constable Rixon‘s widow, Fiona Rixon, and their children left the court.

”I’m very proud of my children – we’ve been through this hurricane, tornado, roller-coaster ride, whatever you want to call it, for the last 18 months,” an emotional Mrs Rixon said.

”Hopefully now life will be a little bit more quiet.”

On March 2 last year, Jacobs shot and killed Senior Constable Rixon, a 40-year-old father of six, during what was to have been a regulation breath test on Lorraine Street, West Tamworth.

During a month-long trial earlier this year, the court was told that the experienced highway patrolman had recognised Jacobs as a disqualified driver and followed him from nearby Gunnedah Road to the quiet side street.

Senior Constable Rixon’s police microphone recorded him saying ”G’day mate, how you going?”

In an increasingly distressed voice he is then heard to say: ”I’m just gonna breath test you, buddy.”

Jacobs then fired a single shot from a .38 calibre pistol that went straight through Constable Rixon’s left wrist and into his chest, puncturing his heart and lung.

The officer returned fire, hitting Jacobs in the leg, abdomen and shoulder. He collapsed soon after.

Jacobs is heard to say ”die … I’m sorry sir, sorry, sorry”.

The officer’s last act was to handcuff his killer.

Jacobs later claimed that it was not he but a local drug dealer, Terrence James Price, who fired the fatal shot after the policeman ”interrupted” them in the middle of a drug deal, but this was rejected by the jury.

In sentencing Jacobs to life in prison, Justice Richard Button said the 49-year-old had no apparent motive for committing the crime and had shown little or no remorse.

”It is almost impossible to believe that, in order to avoid a short period of being denied bail or, at worst, a sentence of a matter of months for driving whilst disqualified, the offender saw fit to fire a handgun at a police officer,” he said.

”The murder of a police officer in such circumstances is a direct assault upon our system of parliamentary democracy and the rule of law.”

As well as providing some relief to Senior Constable Rixon’s family and fellow officers, the life sentence represents a landmark decision for the state’s mandatory life sentencing laws.

Jacobs’ case was seen by many as a test of the laws, introduced in 2011, which require judges to impose a life sentence on any offender found guilty of murdering an on-duty police officer.

Crucially, Justice Button found that Jacobs’ crime met all the criteria set out in the mandatory life sentence legislation, including that he had acted with the intention to kill the officer.

”That intention may have been held only fleetingly and utterly irrationally, but nevertheless I consider that it has been established to the criminal standard,” he said.

”The result is that the mandatory life sentence is to be imposed.”

William Arthur George CREWS  VA

aka  Bill, Will, Crewsy

New South Wales Police Force

Goulburn Police Academy Class # ???

Regd. # 42481

Rank:  Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on 25 June 2006

Probationary Constable – appointed 30 January 2007

Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Final Rank:  Posthumously promoted to Detective Constable

Service:  From ? ? ? to 9 September 2010 = ? years Service

Stations:  Bathurst, Campsie, Bankstown

Cause:  Accidentally Shot – friendly fire

Event location:  Cairds Avenue, Bankstown

Born:  Tuesday  29 May 1984

Died on:  Thursday  9 September, 2010

Age:  26 years, 3 months, 11 days

Funeral:  16 September 2010 at St Andrew’s Cathedral, central Sydney, NSW

The constable was accidentally shot during the execution of a search warrant in Bankstown on 9 September, 2010. He was posthumously awarded Commissioner’s Valour Award.

At the time of his death the constable was aged 26 years and had joined the New South Wales Police Force in 2007.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/shot-officer-awarded-posthumous-promotion-and-valour-medal-20100916-15dib.html

Shot officer awarded posthumous promotion and valour medal

Date    September 16, 2010

William Crews remembered at funeral

Tributes to William Crews from his brother and the NSW Police Commissioner at his funeral in Sydney.

NSW police officer William Crews, who died during a drug raid a week ago, has been posthumously awarded the Police Commissioner’s Valour Award and promoted to detective.

The 26-year-old trainee detective had been with the force for just three years when he was accidentally shot by a fellow police officer during the operation in Sydney’s southwest on September 9.

He loved his job and gave it everything that he could offer and I believe that this was why he was so successful in his chosen profession. He was a larrikin and loved to laugh but also knew when the job had to be done.

About 5000 well-wishers, mostly made up of members of the NSW Police Force and including members of the emergency services, public and political leaders, gathered in and outside of St Andrew’s Cathedral in central Sydney to pay their respects at his funeral.

Officers carry the coffin into the cathedral. Photo: Peter Rae

After graduating from Goulburn Police Academy in 2007, the newly promoted Detective Constable Crews served at Campsie Local Area Command before he was rapidly promoted to the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad earlier this year.

It was an extraordinary achievement, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said at his funeral today.

“William was not in the NSW Police Force for long, but by anyone’s record, he was on a rapid upward path,” he said.

Fellow officers carry the coffin to the altar. Photo: Peter Rae

Positions within the State Crime Command were highly sought after, Mr Scipione added.

“It is a place where our most-skilled detectives want to go,” he said.

“If you get there at all, it’s usually after a long apprenticeship.

William Crews.

“If you get there quickly, it is because you have something that sets you apart.

“And William had that certain something.”

Along with the Valour Award, for “conspicuous merit and exceptional bravery” during the raid at Bankstown, Mr Scipione also posthumously promoted Constable Crews to the rank of detective.

The detective constable’s coffin, draped with the Australian flag and native flowers, was carried into the church by officers including his brother, Constable Ben Crews. ( #41398 ).

Moments earlier, a pianist played an uplifting version of the pop music ballad He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.

Ben Crews described his younger brother as a larrikin who loved to laugh, loved his job and motor bikes, camping and farm life.

“He was man of great achievement, a man of integrity, a man of loyalty and a man of honour, a man of ethics and, lastly, a man who never gave up and kept fighting to the end,” Ben Crews said.

“I will never forget you and miss you with all that I have.

“I know you will be looking down upon us today with that smile which touched and enriched the lives of so many, thinking how lucky you were to be loved so much by so many people.

“Rest in peace mate.”

Senior Constable Ben Kemp ( #34819 ) from Det Const Crews‘ home town of Glen Innes, where it is believed he will be buried, told police mourners the fallen officer was a reason for them to keep getting up each day to go to work.

“His legacy is our legacy …” he said.

“He is 15,000 of us …

“He made a difference.”

The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Dr Peter Jensen said the family had set an example for the community on how to grieve.

They had met with the officer who accidentally shot Det Const Crews to assure him they did not hold him responsible for his death.

“In particular, we want to thank you for showing us how to forgive,” Archbishop Jensen said.

“Like it or not, some people in your position may have responded with anger and even cries for vengeance.”

After the service, police officers formed a guard of honour down George Street.

The funeral procession included mounted police, a police band and colleagues from Campsie Local Area Command and the Middle East Crime Squad.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/shot-officer-awarded-posthumous-promotion-and-valour-medal-20100916-15dib.html#ixzz2JwkU56iw

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/a-courageous-larrikin-who-gave-his-life/story-e6frg6nf-1225925057994

A courageous larrikin who gave his life

He is their hero, our hero, my hero.
He is Will Crews. May he rest in peace.

STAY STRONG BROTHER

Those words commemorate a great man.

http://www.news.com.au/national-news/nsw-act/prosecutors-to-appeal-seven-year-sentence-given-to-philip-nguyens-who-was-responsible-for-the-death-of-william-crews/story-fndo4bst-1226608221814

Prosecutors to appeal seven year sentence given to Philip Nguyen’s who was responsible for the death of William Crews

Amy Dale

• The Daily Telegraph
• March 28, 2013 9:54AM

PROSECUTORS will appeal the seven year sentence given to Philip Nguyen, the man responsible for the death of trainee detective William Crews. NSW Attorney General Greg Smith released a statement this morning saying he has been informed by the DPP Lloyd Babb SC that they “have decided to appeal against the sentence handed down to Philip Nguyen.”

The 57-year-old was sentenced to at least seven years behind bars, but with time already in custody he will be eligible for release in September 2017.

He pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Constable Crews, who was killed from a bullet to the neck while on a raid of a Bankstown garage in September 2010.

The gunshot which killed the promising 26-year-old officer came from his colleague’s gun, but the court found Nguyen had been responsible for the death by starting a shoot-out with police.

In sentencing him to a maximum of nine years and six months in prison, Justice Elizabeth Fullerton said “although he didn’t fire the shot which killed him, he caused his death.”

Mr Smith and Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said on the day of Nguyen’s sentence earlier this month they hoped the DPP would appeal.

Constable Crews’ father Kel said outside the courtroom following the sentence “it doesn’t seem to us to be appropriate for our family, for the police and for the community.”

“He has given his life in the line of duty, we have been sentenced to life- the sentence that has been given down has been nothing to what we have been sentenced to,” Mr Crews said.

The matter will be mentioned in the Court of Criminal Appeal later this year.

 

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http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/first-interview-policeman-who-shot-constable-bill-crews-talks-about-the-pain-of-the-dark-day-that-claimed-his-mate8217s-life/story-fni0cx12-1226694791012?sv=21594397341dde5ed0034d1b90af49ac#.UgcRY52gDmI.facebook

First interview: Policeman who shot Constable Bill Crews talks about the pain of the dark day that claimed his mate’s life

• Yoni Bashan
• News Limited Network
• August 11, 2013 12:00AM

THE incident lasted just 2.8 seconds – from the time police shouted “search warrant” to the last of five bullets being fired. For three years Detective Senior Constable Dave Roberts, 42, has been struggling to understand how a routine warrant ended with his mate killed from a bullet he fired.”For a long time I couldn’t think clearly about the matter,” Roberts said.

In 2010, his team from the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad were in the carpark of a Bankstown unit block to search drug supplier Philip Nguyen, 55.

It was considered so low-risk that detectives walked into the garage without guns drawn.

Constable Crews, 26, had just joined the squad as a highly recommended recruit. He was carrying a folder under his arm.

Extensive intelligence checks would tell police Nguyen was not armed.

Then they spotted him.

Roberts remembers an incredibly cramped space, Nguyen walking quickly out of his garage, the muzzle of his gun flashing as it fired, and Crews promptly returning fire three times.

“I’ve dropped what I was holding, drew my gun and fired once,” he said. “All that took less than three seconds.”

His words slow as he recalls regrouping with his colleagues behind a brick wall when the shooting stopped. They realised Bill was missing.

“We were looking down the garage … we saw Bill lying motionless.”

He exhales deeply before continuing.

“I was expecting to see Nguyen on the ground as well. I was hoping like crazy my round had struck him.

“About 10 seconds after it dawned on me that my round may have struck Bill.” Roberts‘ world fell apart after that night – his colleagues’ too. The commanding officer who approved the warrant later quit the force and to this day blames himself for the whole incident.

Another detective who saw the tragedy unfold self-medicates with alcohol and medication. He is a mess.

Roberts suffered the most. He has held his silence since but agreed to share his story in the hope it might assist others suffering extreme trauma.

His path has been a lonely one. It is the only friendly fire case in NSW Police Force history where a policeman has died in the line of duty.

After the incident he was taken to hospital and treated for injuries caused during a grief-stricken rage. His knuckles still bear the scars from that night as he tried to punch holes through brick walls inside the garage.

He woke to discover Nguyen was in custody and uninjured, ending any hope his bullet struck its intended target.

A carload of senior police would arrive on his doorstep later that evening to break the news his bullet struck Crews.

“That was one of the worst days of my life.”

At his lowest point Roberts was gambling heavily and dependent on Xanax to regulate his moods. He also began experiencing debilitating panic attacks. He had previously never gone near a poker machine now he was addicted. His marriage of 18 years nearly collapsed.

“I lost thousands over a 12-month period. Initially I played low amounts _ $10 at a time _ but on occasions I would put in $500. It was an escape … a very expensive way to numb the mind.”

With the help of sessions at a post-traumatic stress clinic he managed to walk away from gambling in April last year but there would be other struggles.

Crews’ desk had been left untouched when he returned to work a month after the incident. Little reminders of him were everywhere. They exchanged two emails just before heading off that night.

“I’ve only just deleted them,” Roberts said. “I kept them for two years.

“When I hit send on those emails everything was good. Bill was still alive. They’re a painful reminder.” Compounding his grief were reports suggesting the search was “botched”, implying he was clumsy or ill-prepared.

“It hits hard,” he said. “I knew the word `botched’ wasn’t a nice word. I looked it up and the definition is everything I’m not.”

Nguyen‘s solicitor would later assert in court that Roberts, a stickler for safety precaution, was the only officer wearing a ballistic vest that night. Incorrect. Another detective, Tom Howes ( # 40442 ) was wearing body armour – and for good reason. Howes was with Roberts the night of December 27, 2007, when a Comanchero bikie pointed a gun in their direction during a traffic stop, prompting two shots to be fired.

Both officers, ever since, insist on body armour.

Until just a few months ago, Roberts said he could not forgive himself. Nagging questions were dogging his mind. What if he had aimed better? What if the bullet had been two centimetres to the right? What if the gun was angled higher?

He would return to the Bankstown garage several months after the shooting with two police colleagues – one a tactical weapons expert, the other a detective – to reconstruct the incident and seek their impartial advice.

Statistically it was impossible to replicate the circumstances of the shooting. The whole thing was a tragic, freakish one-in-a-million, they said.

“I beat myself up for a long time over this,” Roberts said, citing family, close friends, police colleagues and the police chaplain, Frank, as those who brought him back from his living hell. “I don’t `what if‘ so much anymore. I don’t blame myself anymore.”

Nguyen has been sentenced to seven years jail over the death of Crews that night. Prosecutors have appealed, saying the punishment was “manifestly inadequate“.

Roberts is still in the force, but in a different command. He has several important reasons for staying – he wants to set a positive example for people and show life can go on after even the worst tragedies. The job, he says, is an extremely noble profession. But a major factor that is close to his heart is Crews‘ mother. “I made a promise to Sharon … She said if we left the cops it would compound her grief.”

On September 8, the anniversary of Crews’ death, Roberts will visit the memorial. Every year he goes by himself, looks at Crews‘ name, and remembers that night and his colleague in private.

“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about what happened and not a day goes by where I don’t think about Bill. And there hasn’t been for the past three years.

“I think about Bill only being a young man and he had everything ahead of him.

“I know he was well-loved by his family, by his friends.

“I know there isn’t a day that goes by (that) they wouldn’t miss him either.”

 

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Officer’s death hits local police hard

By BRENDAN ARROW

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“It is a great tragedy.”

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

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Bill Crews inquest: Errors in planning, execution of drug raid contributed to police officer’s death

By Claire Aird

Updated Mon 21 September 2015 at 5:29pm

Photo: Constable Bill Crews died after being accidentally shot by a fellow officer in 2010. (Police Media)

Related Story: Dramatic footage shows chaos after shooting of officer Bill Crews

Related Story: Raid in which officer was killed ‘mistakenly classified’

An inquest into the shooting death of a Sydney police officer in a botched drugs raid five years ago has found errors in the planning and execution of a search warrant, stemming from “inadequate training” and “ineffective supervision”.

Constable William ‘Bill’ Crews was unintentionally shot by a colleague in returning fire from a drug dealer, in the underground car park of an apartment block at Bankstown in Sydney’s south west in September 2010.

He later died in hospital.

In handing down his findings, New South Wales Coroner Michael Barnes said Crews was killed as a result of “cascading, compounding errors“.

“Sadly, it seems likely that had these errors not occurred Bill Crews may not have died,” Mr Barnes said.

Outside the Glebe Coroners Court, Crew’s father Kelvin Crews said he was emotional.

“Our family has tragically been affected for the rest of our lives,” he said.

“It’s a tragic incident that’s occurred and we never want it to happen again.”

Young and ‘relatively junior’

Crews was “a good bloke and a good cop” committed to learning his new role as a detective in the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad.

On September 8, 2010, the 26-year-old was one of several “relatively junior detectives”, who thought they were attending a routine search after being tipped off about a man dealing cocaine and heroin from a garage to Middle Eastern crime families, including the Hamze and Kalache families.

None of them had advanced weapons training and none were prepared for what unfolded, according to the coroner.

When the group, led by Crews, entered the basement, they headed towards the wrong garage.

Affected by drugs and with little English, 58-year-old Philip Nguyen fired on the seven undercover officers who were not displaying identification, thinking they were robbers.

Detective Senior Constable Dave Roberts returned fired whilst trying to get cover.

The coroner said Detective Senior Constable Roberts did not know exactly where Crews was at the time and his movement meant he could not control where his gun was pointing when it fired.

This is contrary to police procedures and training.

Risk assessment ‘critically compromised’

Police expected a drug deal would occur at Nguyen’s garage that night involving Middle Eastern crime families; however, the operation was deemed low-risk.

The NSW coroner was highly critical of the risk assessment and its approval by more senior ranking officers.

The court heard Detective Inspector Michael Ryan ( # 20029 ) sought to downplay the risks by suggesting Nguyen, an Asian male, was less likely to possess weapons or attack police because “Asians tend to be businessmen”.

Inspector Ryan also asserted the Kalache family was “a spent force”.

Mr Barnes said the risk assessment was also informed by inadequate intelligence gathering and reconnaissance, which could have prevented the officers attending the wrong garage that night.

“To merely drive by the premises and stop outside briefly when two inhabitants of the unit block were able to facilitate access was unwise and unnecessarily scant,” Mr Barnes said.

The coroner noted NSW Police had made improvements in the way risk assessments were now conducted and in training and oversight.

Whilst body armour would not have saved Crews, the coroner also noted NSW Police was planning to introduce soft body armour vests that would clearly identify the wearer as a police officer.

“I am satisfied NSW Police has rigorously engaged with each of the inadequacies highlighted by the circumstances in which Detective Bill Crews died,” Mr Barnes said.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has refused to say if he would consider disciplinary action against the officers involved, saying he would need to first read the coroner’s report.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-21/bill-crews-shooting-inquest-finds-errors-in-plan-execution/6791412

---

 

Steven John ROSER

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  ?

Rank:  Student Police Officer ( Civilian )

ADPP 25

Stations:  NSW Police Academy, Goulburn

Service:  nil

Awards:  nil

Born: ? ? 1982

Died on:  14 June 2006

Cause:  Illness

Location: NSW Police Academy, Goulburn

Age:  23

Funeral date:  ?

Funeral location:  ?

Buried at:  ?

Monument:  ?

 [alert_yellow]STEVEN is NOT mentioned on the National Police Wall of Remembrance but IS mentioned on the NSW State Wall of Remembrance[/alert_yellow]

On the 14 June 2006 the student police officer was undergoing police recruit training at the New South Wales Police Academy. During a physical training run to a park in Goulburn the student collapsed and was unable to be revived.

The student police officer was born in 1982. At the time of his death he was undergoing initial police training at the New South Wales Police Academy, Goulburn.

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Graeme John LEES

AKA  ?

Late of Eastgrove, ( Goulburn ) NSW

NSW Goulburn Police Academy –  Class #  287 ( DPP 14 – Class 14 )

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  38??? 

Rank:  Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on Monday  6 May 2002 ( Aged 35 years, 24 days )

Probationary Constable- appointed 20 December 2002 ( Aged 35 years, 8 months, 8 days )

Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Final Rank =  Constable 

Retirement / Leaving age: =  ?

Stations:  ?, Queanbeyan – Death

Service:  From 6 May 2002   to   4 April 2005  =  2 years, 10 months, 29 days Service

Awards:  No Find on Australian Honours system

Born:  Wednesday  12 April 1967

Died on:  Monday  4 April 2005

Age:  37 years, 11 months, 23 days 

Cause:  MVA – Driver – Travelling to work 

Event location:  Federal Highway, Yarra ( south of Goulburn, NSW ) 1km north of Rowes Lagoon

Event date:  Monday  4 April 2005 about 5am

Funeral date:  Friday  8 April 2005 during the p.m.

Funeral location:  St Saviours Cathedral in Goulburn 

Funeral Parlour: ?

Buried at: Gunning Cemetery, Grogan Pce, Gunning, NSW

GPS: -34.7819444   149.274444444444

Grave: 

Memorial / Plaque / Monument located at: ?

Dedication date of Memorial / Plaque / Monument: Nil – at this time ( December 2020 )

GRAEME IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

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

PLEASE SEND PHOTOS AND INFORMATION TO Cal

May they forever Rest In Peace

https://www.facebook.com/groups/AustralianPolice.com.au/ 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/NSWFallenPolice/ 

Australian Police YouTube Channel 

On 4 April, 2005 Constable Lees was driving along the Federal Highway, just south of Goulburn, on his way to Queanbeyan Police Station to commence duty.  As his vehicle was negotiating a series of bends at Yarra, the vehicle left the roadway and collided with a tree, fatally injuring the constable.

The constable was born in 1967 and was sworn in as a probationary constable on 20 December, 2002.  At the time of his death he was stationed at Queanbeyan.

Beyond Courage

Published in Goulburn Post on Apr. 3, 2019

https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20091014050312/http://www.goulburnpost.com.au/news/local/news/general/his-light-will-always-shine/502960.aspx

https://www.goulburnpost.com.au/story/959971/his-light-will-always-shine/

the cathedral church of st saviour, Goulburn

The Anglican Diocese of Canberra & Goulburn

Prayer Points for April 2017

We remember those in our Cathedral Book of Remembrance: Annie Jean Docker, Graeme John Lees.

https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20190302214234/https://goulburncathedral.org.au/sites/default/files/Prayer%20Points%20April%202017.pdf

Graeme LEES passed away in Goulburn, New South Wales. The obituary was featured in Goulburn Post on April 1, 2019.

There’s not a day goes by that I don’t think of you!
You would so proud of the boys.
What an AMAZING guy you were & the lessons you taught me along the way!
And although our marriage didn’t work I was so very lucky that we ended up with a beautiful friendship that makes me smile when I get to sad!
I miss you!
Love Always

Police officer to be farewelled today

Police officer to be farewelled today – ABC News

This was published 15 years ago

Policeman among four killed on NSW roads

Policeman among four killed on NSW roads

Parliament of NSW Legislative Assembly

Notice of Motions & Orders of the Day. 

Thursday  15 September 2005

679 Ms HODGKINSON to move —

That this House expresses its deep sympathy to the family, friends and work colleagues of Police Constable Graeme John Lees who died in a single vehicle accident on the Federal Highway on 4 April 2005 while driving to Queanbeyan Police Station.

Microsoft Word – 143-NOM-P.doc – 143-NOM-P.pdf

Shelley Leanne DAVIS

NSW Goulburn Police Academy Class ?

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  37034

Rank:  Constable

Stations:  Goulburn

Service:   From  30 August 2002  to  19 June 2004 = 1+ years of Service

Awards:  Nil

Born: ? ? 1977

Died on:  Saturday  19 June 2004

Cause:  Motor Vehicle Accident – passenger in Police sedan. Vehicle -v- tree

Event location:  Sydney Rd, Goulburn East, approx. 300 mtrs prior to Hume Hwy entrance.

Age:  27

Funeral date:  ?

Funeral location:  ?

Buried at:  Cremated at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Camden Valley Way, Leppington.

Ashes collected by family.

Memorial at:  Small car park on north side of north bound lane upon Sydney Rd, Goulburn East a few hundred metres from the Hume Hwy.

Plaque on a bolder.

The ” original memorial ” was a large gum tree in between the north and south bound lanes – opposite the car park.

The tree was lopped to ground level about 2013.

Tree location:  Lat: -34.74257
Long: 149.76721

On the 19 June 2004 Constable Davis was the observer in a police vehicle when it was involved in a motor vehicle accident on the Sydney Road, just north of Goulburn. As a result of the accident the constable sustained fatal injuries.

The constable was born in 1977 and was sworn in as a probationary constable on the 30 August 2002. At the time of her death she was stationed at Goulburn.

SHELLEY IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance, Canberra

This Memorial stone is located in a small car park siding on Sydney Rd, Goulburn, northbound towards the Hume Freeway from the city.

Photos taken, by Cal, on 24 April 2018.  Note that the photo, of Shelley, had fallen from the plaque pre June 2017 and needs replacing.

GPS:  -34.74226  149.76644

Many thanks to Paul Pepe, Necro Imaging, 11 Bruce St, West Preston, Vic. ( necroimaging@hotmail.com ) for doing the new ceramic photo plate below.

Memorial before the replacement of the photo on Tuesday 18 September 2018.

Memorial after the replacement of the photo on Tuesday 18 September 2018.

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WEDNESDAY 27 JULY 2005.  MEMORIAL SITE AT THE TREE AGAINST WHICH CONSTABLE SHELLEY DAVIS, FROM GOULBURN POLICE STATION, LOST HER LIFE ONE NIGHT WHEN THE POLICE SEDAN SHE WAS A PASSENGER IN SLAMMED SIDEWAYS INTO THIS TREE – KILLING SHELLEY. THIS IS A HUGE TRIBUTE. I FOUND A 20 CENT PIECE ON THE GROUND AT THE BASE OF THE TREE. IT WAS COVERED IN BROWN (DRY BLOOD) AND WOULD HAVE OBVIOUSLY COME FROM THE CAR AND POSSIBLY BELONGED TO ONE OF THE OCCUPANTS. I KEPT THIS COIN. IT WAS RAINING ON THE NIGHT OF THIS ACCIDENT. SOMETIME IN 2010, THIS TREE AND THE GIFTS WERE TOTALLY REMOVED FROM THIS LOCATION. A ‘STONE’ MEMORIAL, WITH PLAQUE, WAS LATER LAID IN THE CAR PARK ADJACENT TO THIS TREE. I DON’T KNOW WHAT HAS BECOME OF THE PHOTOS, PRAYERS ETC BUT THE TREE HAS BEEN TOTALLY REMOVED FROM THE LOCATION ALSO.

The coronial inquest into the death of Constable Shelley Davis heard her partner, Senior-Constable Paul Sharman, was doing up to 110km/h in an 80km/h zone when he lost control of the vehicle on a road just outside Goulburn on June 19, 2004.

Criminal charges layed against him soon after the crash failed a year ago due to a technicality.

In releasing her findings in Glebe Coroners Court yesterday, Deputy State Coroner Dorelle Pinch recommended the DPP investigate laying charges “against an individual”.

Davis’ mother, Diane, said she was “pleased” the matter had been referred to the DPP and praised the efforts of investigators.

During the hearing last month, Mrs Davis read out a submission where she accused Sen-Constable Sharman of being a “cowboy cop, reckless, irresponsible and dishonest”.

Mrs Davis said outside court yesterday her family had visited Sen-Constable Sharman twice since her daughter’s death to support him but had never received an apology.

“That’s the main thing we would have wanted from the beginning – the truth, with an apology, would have been good,” Mrs Davis said.

“Shelley was always so honest and yet we have got officers she worked with who didn’t hold those values.”

Ms Pinch was highly critical of a second officer – Constable Damien Ottley – who had been a witness to the crash but had initially lied to investigators.

The inquest heard that Const Davis and Sen-Constable Sharman were travelling in police sedan Goulburn 37 – under lights and sirens – when the crash occurred at 9am on June 19.

Ms Pinch found there was no reason for them to be speeding as they were not needed at the job they were heading to – nor was that job considered urgent in the first place.

Other evidence heard in the inquest revealed that one witness described Goulburn 37’s speed as so fast “they were flying”.

Sen-Constable Sharman did not give evidence to the inquest.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/police-crash-scandal/story-e6freuzi-1111113894466

Memorial dedicated to Constable Shelley Davis

A PERMANENT memorial has been dedicated to honour the “ray of sunshine”, Constable Shelley Davis, who died seven years ago last Sunday.

About 25 friends, former work colleagues and senior personnel from the Goulburn Local Area Command where Shelley worked attended the dedication ceremony last Sunday at the rest area opposite the site where she died in a patrol car accident on June 19, 2004.

Celebrant Trish Cunningham ( R.I.P. ) – whose husband Tony had helped with creating the memorial, fixing the plaque to the rock – conducted the brief ceremony. The rock for the memorial was transported from retired sergeant Rosie Jackson’s property by Primmer’s Towing while Rhod Stevens from the RTA assisted in the positioning of the site.

Local Area Commander, Superintendent Gary Worboys reminded everyone that police work is difficult and dangerous and the decisions that officers make can have lasting effects on other people. He said Shelley was, according to those who knew her, “like a ray of sunshine warming the hearts of those around her”.

“She was a dedicated officer and her loss was a tragedy,” Supt Worboys said.

“We can only hope that the lessons of that day will be learnt and that a similar tragedy will never happen again.”

Rosie Jackson said she would also like to thank Shane Biesterveld of Rudd Funerals for organising the plaque at short notice; Shepherds Hill Nursery who supplied some of the plants for the garden; Lena Cooper who helped with creating the garden, and everyone else who had a part in making the memorial possible.

Supt Worboys suggested the memorial would be a fitting place for a service during the annual Police Remembrance Day.

http://www.goulburnpost.com.au/story/971932/memorial-dedicated-to-constable-shelley-davis/

Andrew Robert DAY

aka  Andy

Son of Ernest Robert ‘Bob’ DAY # 4811 – deceased

New South Wales Police Force

Redfern Police Academy – Class # 171

Regd. #  19548

Rank:  Commenced Training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 13 April 1981 ( aged 23 years, 1 month, 12 days )

Probationary Constable – appointed 26 June 1981 ( aged 23 years, 3 months, 25 days )

Detective – appointed 26 June 1982

Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Constable 1st Class – appointed 26 June 1986

Senior Constable – appointed ? ? ?

Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed ? ? ?

Sergeant 2nd Class – appointed ? ? ?

Senior Sergeant – appointed ? ? ?

Inspector – appointed ? ? ?

Final Rank:  Detective Inspector – death

Stations:  ?, Balmain ( 8 Division ) – 1980’s, coordinator of the South East Asian Crime Squad at the State Crime Command – Death

Service:  From  13 April 1981 to  14 November 2003 = 22 years, 7 months, 1 day Service

Awards: National Medal – granted 17 April 1997

Born:  Saturday 1 March 1958

Died on:  Friday 14 November 2003

Cause:  lack of oxygen “due to displacement of oxygen supply” in Hospital.  Pneumonia

Death location:  Concord Hospital, Concord, NSW

Age: 45 years, 8 months, 13 days

Funeral date:  ? ? ?

Funeral location:   ?

Buried at:  ?

Memorial location:  ?

ANDY IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

BUT despite being mentioned, there are no details as to the cause of his death

From 15 October 2003 Detective Inspector Day and other members of the South East Asian Crime Squad were involved in archiving official documentation which was stored in a garage near their covert workplace.  The inspector subsequently took ill and was admitted to Concord Hospital, where he unfortunately passed away on the 14^th November 2003.

The detective inspector was born in 1958 and was sworn in as a probationary constable on the 26 June 1981. At the time of his death he was the coordinator of the South East Asian Crime Squad at the State Crime Command.

Not only Andy was affected by ‘flu like’ symptoms whilst working out of these premises.  Several others took ill with severe flu like symptoms around the same time.

Widow Jacqui Day complained about the treatment of her husband Andy, a top undercover police officer, after an anonymous letter from nurses at the hospital said: “Mr Day should not have died.”

Detective Inspector Day, 45, was being treated for pneumonia and died when his oxygen tube fell out of its wall tap for the second time in six hours.

After an inquiry behind closed doors, the HCCC found that Concord, a major teaching hospital, had provided below standard care to Mr Day “in a number of respects”, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

The commission also found that Professor Matthew Peters, the head of respiratory medicine at the hospital, had “departed from the acceptable standard of care” in two areas.

He was referred to the Medical Board’s conduct committee for “counselling” for not transferring Mr Day to the intensive care unit and for failing to appropriately monitor his oxygen needs.

Mrs Day will today appear before the Government’s special commission of inquiry into the state’s ailing health system, sitting at Concord, to demand answers and ask why the complaints procedure is shrouded in such secrecy.

There was evidence before the HCCC from four medical experts that Mr Day should have been moved to intensive care.

Professor Peters told the inquiry there were no intensive care beds available and Mr Day did not want to be moved.

The commission’s report, obtained by The Daily Telegraph, said there had been at least one bed available on five of the eight days Mr Day was in hospital and there was no record in the medical notes of Mr Day’s comments.

“In 2008, you can’t leave your loved one in a public hospital on their own,” Mrs Day said yesterday, adding that all adverse HCCC findings should be made public.

“I still do not know how a 45-year-old man can be admitted to hospital and die on the floor in the middle of the night.”

It will be Mrs Day’s first visit to the hospital since her husband died at 3.30am on November 14, 2003, after eight days treatment. The HCCC took 18 months on its inquiry.

The anonymous letter from nurses was sent to the coroner who conducted a 2006 inquest into Mr Day’s death.

The cause of death was recorded as a lack of oxygen “due to displacement of oxygen supply”, however coroner John Abernethy found Mr Day’s condition was so serious he would have died even with different care.

HCCC executive officer Kim Swan said legislation limited what the commission could release to the public.

The Medical Board did not return calls. Professor Peters is overseas.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/cop-dead-on-hospital-floor/story-e6freuzi-1111116147165

Mark Howard SPEECHLEY

aka  Spike

Late of ?

NSW Redfern Police Academy Class # 190

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. #  20668

Rank: Probationary Constable – appointed 14 January 1983 ( aged 22 years, 2 months, 6 days )

Constable 1st Class – appointed 14 January 1988

Detective Sergeant – death

Final Rank:  Detective Sergeant

Stations:  ?, Fairfield ( 34 Division ), Ferguson Centre Parramatta – Acting Commander – Latent Print Section ( Forensic Services )

Service:  From  ? ? pre January 1983  to  15 September 2003 = 20+ years Service

Awards:  National Medal – granted 24 March 2000

Born:  Tuesday  8 November 1960

Died on:  Monday  15 September 2003

Cause:  HOD – Heart condition

Event location:  Parramatta

Age:  42 years, 10 months, 7 days

Funeral date:  ?

Funeral location:  ?

Buried at:  Pinegrove Memorial Park, Kington St, Minchinbury, NSW

Plot details:  ???

GPS:  ?, ?

Memorial at:

MARK is NOT mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance  * BUT SHOULD BE

Mark is now mentioned on the National Police Wall of Remembrance – Canberra

On the 15 September 2003 Detective Sergeant Speechley was on duty at the Ferguson Centre, Parramatta.

During his meal break he jogged to a local swimming pool where he was later found unconscious in the water.

Unfortunately, attempts to revive him failed.

The detective sergeant was born in 1960 and was sworn in as a probationary constable on the 14 January 1983.

At the time of his death he was Acting Commander of the Latent Print Section.

Mark Speechley at Fairfield Court .pdf

  by Robert Watson – 19 November 2020