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

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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.

 

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Police crash scandal

• By Rhett Watson
• The Daily Telegraph
• July 06, 200712:00AM

 

THE Deputy State Coroner has recommended the DPP investigate laying charges over the death of a police officer killed when the patrol car in which she was a passenger crashed three years ago.

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

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Memorial dedicated to Constable Shelley Davis

DARRYL FERNANCE
June 23, 2011, 11:25 p.m

 

 

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/

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True Blue Line

June 19, 2017 ·

In memoriam: Constable Shelley Leanne DAVIS, New South Wales Police, killed on 19th June 2004

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.

When Constable Davis began her Diploma of Policing Practice at the New South Wales Police College at Goulburn in August 2001 she did not know that the Southern Highlands would become her home in the longer term. She was stationed at Goulburn police station in August 2002 and settled at nearby Hill Top. Constable Davis made clear her motivation for joining NSW Police in a story published in the Goulburn Post to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Police College.

She said: “It may sound a little clichéd, but I wanted a job where I could make a difference, that was not boring and where I could challenge my boundaries.”

Constable Shelley Davis made the ultimate sacrifice in the course of the job that she loved. Shelley lived in Hill Top with her partner in life. She moved there so that she could continue to work in and be within commuting distance of her beloved Goulburn. Her colleagues described her as a bubbly, outgoing, lovely girl who loved to do everything, including horse riding and running, and she never had a bad word to say about anyone.

Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said that Constable Shelley Davis 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.”

Fallen in the line of duty. Gone, but never forgotten and forever in our hearts.

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James AFFLECK – VA

aka  Jim,   Jamie to his family

New South Wales Police Force

Police Academy Class 160

ProCst Regd. #  92373

Regd. # 18315

Rank:  Commenced training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 3 July 1978 ( Aged 20 years, 11 months, 24 days )

Probationary Constable – appointed 18 September 1978 ( Aged 21 years, 2 months, 9 days )

Constable 1st Class – appointed 29 August 1984

Senior Constable – appointed 29 August 1988

Final Rank:  Senior Constable

Service:  From 3 July 1978 to 14 January 2001 = 22 years, 6 months, 11 days Service

Stations:  ?, Hurstville HWP, Campbelltown HWP – Death

Awards:  National Medal – granted 2 February 1995

Born:  Tuesday  9 July 1957

Died:  Sunday  14 January 2001

Age:  43 yrs  6 mths  5 days

Cause:  Murdered – by Motor Vehicle whilst using Road Spikes to stop a stolen vehicle which drove straight at, and collided with, him.

Location:  Hume Hwy ( north bound ), Glen Alpine

Funeral date:   Thursday  18 January 2001

Funeral location:  Camden Civic Centre

Grave:  Cremated

Grave site:  Interred in Woronora Cemetery on 3 June 2003

General Plaque Lawn.  Lawn 4  Position 0796

Memorial 1/:  Jim Affleck Bridge, Hume Hwy, Glen Alpine, NSW

Memorial 2/:  HWP Vehicle ( 213 ) attached to Campbelltown – Registration JA-213  213 was the Call Sign of his HWP Vehicle.

About 8.40am on 14 January, 2001 police were attempting to stop a stolen vehicle during a high speed pursuit at Mittagong. Approval was given to place road spikes on the roadway and Senior Constable Affleck and other police did this near the Mark Evans Bridge, Glen Alpine. When the offending vehicle, travelling north, reached the spikes the driver intentionally swerved from one side of the north bound laned road to the other, hitting the senior constable, who was killed instantly. The driver was later arrested and charged with murder.

The senior constable was born in 1957 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 18 September, 1978. At the time of his death he was attached to the Campbelltown Highway Patrol.

Jim IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/competitions/campbelltown-mourns-13th-anniversary-of-police-officers-death/story-fngy6zd2-1226802284880

Campbelltown mourns 13th anniversary of police officer’s death

• Amanda Partridge
• Macarthur Chronicle Campbelltown
• January 15, 2014 12:02PM

Police officers pause to remember the late Jim Affleck, who was killed in the line of duty in 2001. Picture: ROBERT POZO Source: News Limited

 

IT’S been 13 years since highway patrol officer Jim Affleck was run down by a car on the Hume Highway.

But as nearly 100 people packed into the Campbelltown police station carpark yesterday to mark the anniversary of Sen Constable Affleck’s death, it was clear his legacy still burns strong.

Fellow officers, his widow Trish, and even a great nephew were among those to pay tribute to Sen Constable Affleck during a memorial yesterday.

The congregation gathered around the memorial garden dedicated to Sen Constable Affleck to lay wreaths and share kind words in honour of the police officer.

 

Jim Affleck’s widow Trish lays a wreath at the memorial garden, in honour of her late husband. Picture: ROBERT POZO. Source: News Limited

The Jim Affleck memorial garden bears freshly-laid flowers. Picture: ROBERT POZO Source: News Limited

Sen Constable Affleck’s car and police hat were present for the service.

The day marked 13 years since Sen Constable Affleck was run down by a car on the Hume Highway near Menangle on January 14, 2001, while laying road spikes to stop a stolen vehicle whose occupants were wanted for robberies.

Campbelltown police Insp Jason Inkster said the command believed it was important to honour Sen Constable Affleck’s sacrifice each year.

“It’s important because Jim was attached to the command at the time the incident occurred,” he said. “It’s important to remember our colleagues killed in the line of duty.

“I think it means a lot to his fellow officers and family, showing that we still remember the commitment and sacrifice made by Jim.”

Police and Jim Affleck’s family share hugs and fond memories of the late Jim Affleck. Picture: ROBERT POZO Source: News Limited

A photo of Jim Affleck sat atop his car at a memorial service yesterday. Picture: ROBERT POZO Source: News Limited

 

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/05/13/1021002431568.html

Driver who ran down officer ‘was re-enacting computer game’

By Ellen Connolly
May 14 2002

 

The scene of Senior Constable Affleck’s death. Photo: Nick Moir

The driver of a stolen car who killed a highway patrol officer during a police chase was re-enacting one of his PlayStation computer games, The Need for Speed – Hot Pursuit, the Supreme Court heard yesterday.

Trevor Edward Holton, 26, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Senior Constable Jim Affleck, 43, near Campbelltown on January 14 last year.

In his opening address yesterday, the Crown prosecutor, Mark Tedeschi, QC, said that during the pursuit Holton was ”testing his car rallying skills” and was ”engaged in a real life re-enactment of the computer game”.

”To him the lives of other road users and the lives of police officers were just there as props to provide the thrill of the chase, and they were expendable in the pursuit of that thrill. Jim Affleck’s death was just part of this real-life game.”

The court was told the chase began about 8.30am after another man, who was a passenger in the four-wheel-drive, committed a bag snatch at Moss Vale. Also in the car was the man’s four-year-old stepdaughter.

For the next 40 minutes police chased the stolen vehicle as it drove on the wrong side of the road along the M5 freeway and the old Hume Highway, reaching speeds of up to 180kmh.

At one stage the passenger got out of the car and tried to take the girl with him but Holton sped off with her.

Senior Constable Affleck tried to stop the vehicle by throwing road spikes across the M5 but Holton swerved across two lanes to miss the spikes and hit the officer, Mr Tedeschi said. His body landed 80 metres away.

The stolen vehicle somersaulted and landed on its roof, with the girl, uninjured, still in the back. Holton fled but was arrested that night.

In a police interview Holton had said he ”was not prepared, at any stage, to get pulled over or stop”. He had seen Senior Constable Affleck running across the road in front of him trying to get the spikes under the vehicle.

”I couldn’t swerve; I couldn’t dodge him. I was going too fast. It’s like he [Affleck] didn’t care what happened.

”To me it was like it was suicide. He could see how fast I was going. He could see I could not stop.

”I have just been so angry … he could have avoided me so easy.”

He had said he knew about road spikes from playing the computer game, in which the main method of avoiding spikes is to veer off the road onto a median strip or the grass.

The trial continues.

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http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/08/23/1030052974371.html

Fury at killer’s ‘lenient’ jail term

By Ellen Connolly
August 24 2002

The state Opposition has called for compulsory life terms to be imposed on anyone who kills a police officer, after the “lenient” sentencing of a man who ran down a highway patrol officer.

Trevor Edward Holton, 27, was jailed yesterday for a minimum 12 years for the murder of Senior Constable Jim Affleck, killed while laying road spikes during a high-speed pursuit in western Sydney on January 14 last year.

In handing down sentence in the Supreme Court, Acting Justice Thomas Davidson said the jail term had to deter others and demonstrate that such acts against police in the execution of their duty would not be supported by the courts.

But the shadow attorney-general, Chris Hartcher, said this was not reflected in the sentence and called on the judicial system to stand behind police officers.

“Mr Holton should go to jail for the rest of his natural life. He certainly would if the coalition was in office,” Mr Hartcher said.

The Attorney-General, Bob Debus, said he had sought advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions on prospects for an appeal. “Understandably, there is considerable community concern about the sentence imposed,” Mr Debus said.

The court heard Holton was re-enacting one of his PlayStation computer games and was testing his car rally skills during the 40-minute pursuit.

Constable Affleck’s distraught family said it was “extremely disappointed” at the sentence and wanted harsher terms imposed on anyone convicted of murdering a police officer.

“If someone is prepared to kill a police officer they’re prepared to kill anybody, and I think they should have a sentence which is much stronger for police,” the victim’s brother, Paul Affleck, said outside court. “They’re out there doing their job, protecting us, and it should be reflected in the sentencing. Mr Carr’s talking about minimum sentences all the time.”

Inspector Hans Rupp, who led the investigation, said: “Trish has lost a good husband, his work colleagues have lost a great mate and, unfortunately for NSW, we’ve lost a great policeman. You just can’t replace police of the calibre of Jim Affleck.”

Holton was sentenced to a maximum 16 years.

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http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/11/01/1067597201712.html?from=storyrhs

Outrage at police killer’s mercy bid

By Sean Berry
November 2, 2003

The family of murdered policeman Jim Affleck has described his killer’s attempt to appeal against a 12-year jail sentence as “an outrage”.

A year after Trevor Edward Holton was sentenced to serve a minimum of 12 years (maximum of 16) in jail for the highway patrol officer’s murder, he has initiated an appeal against the severity of the sentence in the Court of Criminal Appeal.

Holton, of Claymore, south-west Sydney, was sentenced in August after he ran down and killed Affleck in January 2001.

He hit Affleck with a stolen four-wheel-drive when he swerved to avoid road spikes the policeman was laying across the M5 Freeway at Campbelltown.

Delivering the sentence in the Supreme Court, Acting Judge Thomas Davidson said the jail term needed to act as a deterrent and demonstrate that such acts against police in the execution of their duty would not be tolerated.

However, the Department of Public Prosecutions has since lodged an appeal against the leniency of the sentence, with a hearing due next month.

The Crown’s stance is in contrast to Holton’s planned appeal against the harshness of the same sentence.

“If he does [appeal], it may well be that the Crown appeal in December will be vacated,” a court spokesman said. “The court likes to deal with these things as one.”

Any appeal against the severity flies in the face of the outrage that greeted the sentencing last year.

“We thought he deserved more,” the victim’s brother, Paul Affleck, said. “Before the sentencing we sat down with [then police minister] Michael Costa. He gave us an idea of what they were looking at for minimum sentences and more stringent sentencing.

“It has now been 12 months since the sentencing and nothing has been done. How many more policemen have to die before someone does something?”

NSW shadow attorney-general Andrew Tink said he had a simple approach to the matter.

“Anyone who kills a police officer while they are carrying out their duties should go to jail for life,” he said. “That is our strong stance.”

Mr Affleck said Holton’s bid to reduce his sentence was not a surprise, just unfortunate.

“We have been expecting that all along, just the way the defence was talking after the trial,” he said.

“Anyone who kills a policeman should spend his life in jail – he had a criminal record going back until he was 13 or something.

“I think it’s ridiculous and I don’t know why we tolerate these things. I just think it’s ridiculous he has the opportunity to [appeal].

“I think anyone who kills anyone doesn’t deserve any freedom.”

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Raymond Keith SMITH

late of Maitland, NSW

New South Wales Police Force

Regd. # 14157

Redfern Academy Class – 123

Rank:  Junior Trainee from about Monday 11 May 1970 ( ” 6 Week Wonder ” ) ( aged 19 years, 9 months, 9 days )

Probationary Constable – appointed 22 June 1970 ( aged 19 years, 10 months, 20 days )

Constable 1st Class – appointed 22 June 1975

Senior Constable – appointed 22 June 1979

Sergeant 3rd Class – appointed 20 November 1985

Senior Sergeant – appointed 1990 – death

Stations:  ?,  Rockdale – Clearway Cyclist, Goulburn for 18 years to become Sgt, Maitland District HWP Supervisor ( SenSgt ), Traffic Co-ordinator Northern Suburbs District Hornsby – 3 years,  Parramatta – Traffic Support Group Operations Manager – death

Service:  From  11 May 1970  to  13 July 1998 = 28 years, 2 months, 2 days Service

Age at Retirement:  47 years, 11 months, 11 days

Time in Retirement:  0 years, 0 months, 0 days

Awards:  National Medal – granted 8 June 1988

1st Clasp to National Medal – granted 2 December 1995

Born:  Wednesday 2 August 1950

Died on:  Monday  13 July 1998

Cause:  Motor Vehicle Accident – Police motor cycle – Non Urgent

Event location:  F3 Freeway, Calga, NSW

Age:  47 years, 11 months, 11 days

  Single, unmarried with no children

Funeral date:  Friday  17 July 1998

Funeral location:

Buried at:  Cremated Woronora Cemetery

Memorial location:  Police Memorial Wall – Woronora Cemetery, Sutherland

Plot: Centenary Court, Rose Garden 2, #01

RAYMOND IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance  

On the morning of 13 July, 1998 Senior Sergeant Smith was riding a police motor cycle to work along the F3 Freeway near Calga when a piece of wood fell from a truck, hitting him and causing the cycle to collide with a rock wall. It is thought that the sergeant was killed instantly.

The sergeant was born in 1950 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 22 June, 1970. At the time of his death he was attached to the Traffic Support Group, Parramatta.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Police pay tribute to Sen Sgt Ray Smith 20 years on

Richard Noone,

Central Coast Gosford Express Advocate

July 13, 2018 2:43pm

TWENTY years ago today we lost one of the state’s most experienced police motorcyclists and the public face of road safety.

Senior Sergeant Ray Smith was riding to work along the F3 Freeway (now M1) 3km south of the Calga interchange, near Mount White, at 6.10am on July 13, 1998, when a 30cm by 40cm piece of wood fell off the back of a truck in front.

The wood bounced off the road and into the 47-year-old’s helmet as he travelled 100km/h.

The impact sent his bike into a concrete wall, killing him instantly.

Today, two decades later and the state’s top traffic cop Chief Inspector Phil Brooks said the dangers to motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users was as real now as it was then.

“Primarily it certainly highlights the risks police face every day of the week,” Chief Insp Brooks said.

“Police leave home and their families expect them to come home after their duties.”

Chief Insp Brooks was a relatively junior officer when Sen Sgt Smith was killed but remembers well the profound sense of loss which swept through the entire NSW Police Force.

At the time Sen Sgt Smith was one of 26 police motorcyclists patrolling NSW roads.

Today Chief Insp Phil Brooks said of the fleet of 680 Traffic and Highway Patrol vehicles, 100 were motorcycles.

He said they remained an important asset to enforcing road safety and minimising congestion in the event of crashes and other road issues.

He said there were 6.19 million licence holders in NSW driving 6.5 million registered vehicles and the M1 — which has seen vehicle movements increase dramatically in the past 20 years — continued to be a big focus for police.

“Our road safety programs are such that cars and Highway Patrol vehicles are tasked to that road every day of the week,” he said.

“While there are significant road works along the M1 the crash risk is minimised by a very visible police presence.”

At 10am today Traffic & Highway Patrol Command staff at Huntingwood came together to recognise the service of Senior Sgt Smith.

Staff were welcomed at today’s memorial by Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy, who noted the significant service that police motorcyclists give to the community every day.

Meanwhile police on the Central Coast observed a minute’s silence this morning.

Only yesterday Brisbane Water police found the body and the wreckage of a man who had gone for a ride the previous day along the Old Pacific Highway at Bar Point.

The 34-year-old had left his Ryde home about 2pm on Wednesday.

When he had not arrived home at 11pm his worried partner contacted police.

Officers scoured the Old Road where they eventually found his body at 3.30am.

The man had lost control, gone down an embankment and collided with a tree.

Meanwhile the Coronial Inquest into the death of Senior Sgt Smith found the truck driver — who continued on oblivious to the carnage behind him — “had done everything right” in securing his load.

At the time of his death Sen Sgt Smith was a member of the Traffic Support Group and the focal point of the previous year’s road safety campaign Operation Slowdown.

But 27 years’ riding experience and a life dedicated to road safety were unable to save him from the freak accident.

 

“There was no way of escaping,” Sen Sgt Smith’s colleague of seven years, Sergeant Graeme Priest said at the time.

Sen Sgt Smith lived at Maitland and was travelling to work at Parramatta when the accident occurred.

He never married and had no children. Fellow officers said his life was dedicated to serving in the police force and he had a love of motorcycles, of which he had a collection.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/police-pay-tribute-to-sen-sgt-ray-smith-20-years-on/news-story/5d94f8a73a158e0ee95de8f426a9be48

 

 

Traffic and Highway Patrol Command – NSW Police Force

July 13 2018 at 11:09 AM ·

#Vale Senior Sergeant Raymond Keith Smith #14157

At 10am today Traffic & Highway Patrol Command staff, Huntingwood, came together to recognise the service of Senior Sergeant Smith, who tragically lost his life at 6:10am on the 13 July, 1998, 20 years ago today.

Staff were welcomed at today’s memorial by Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy, who noted the significant service that police motorcyclists give to the community every day, keeping road users safe, as Senior Sergeant Smith proudly did during his career. A/Inspector Clint Williams acknowledged Senior Sergeant Smith‘s career history, and Police Chaplain, Father Paul O’Donoghue told those present that ‘…those who served alongside Ray were his family..’, and noted the sad loss that Ray‘s sister must have suffered after this sad event. Father O’Donoghue then offered a prayer where those present observed a minutes silence in memory.

Featured in these photographs is ‘HWP-200‘ (Call sign Traffic 200) which we struck in memory of the life & career of Senior Sergeant Ray Smith.

 

 

 

 

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committee-report-01-october-1996-inquiry-into-ge

 

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First published on 22 September 2013

Updated 29 July 2025

David Andrew CARTY    VA

formerly of Parkes, NSW

New South Wales Police Force

NSW Police Academy Class # 257

Regd. # ?????

Rank:  Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on Sunday 20 February 1994 ( aged

Probationary Constable – appointed  19 August 1994 ( aged

Constable – appointed  19 August 1995

Constable 1st Class – appointed ? ? ?

Time employed with NSW Police:  From:  19 August 1994   to   18 April 1997 =  2 years, 7 months, 30 days

Served:  From  20 February 1994  to  18 April 1997 = 3 years, 1 month, 29 days Service

Retirement / Leaving age: =  25 years, ? months, ? days

Time in Retirement from Police: 0

Stations:  Liverpool ( 22 Division )( 19 August 1994 – 19 November 1994 ),

Fairfield ( 20 November 1994 – 18 April 1997 ) – Death

Awards:  Commended for Good Police Work & Professionalism displayed in connect with an attempted hold-up of a takeaway food store in Fairfield in February 1996.

Commissioners Valour Award

No find on It’s An Honour

Born:  1971 in Parkes, NSW

Age:  25

Died:  Friday 18 April 1997

Cause:  Stabbed ( Murdered )

Event date: Friday 18 April 1997

Event location:  Cambridge Tavern, Horsley Dve & Alan St, Fairfield

Location of the Murder: [codepeople-post-map]

Funeral date:  ?

Funeral location:  ?

Buried / Cremated:  Carty Family property – Parkes, NSW

Memorial location:  1/ Police Dog Carts  ( coincidentally also stabbed to death )

2/ David Carty Reserve, Fairfield East, NSW ( cnr Fairfield St & The Horsley Dve )

3/ David Carty Conference Room – Fairfield Police Station, Smart St, Fairfield, NSW  ( Dedicated / Opened on 18 April 2017 )

DAVID IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

About 8pm on 17 April, 1997 Constable Carty and other police had reason to speak to a number of people in the street at Fairfield while carrying out foot patrols. Some time later the constable and other police, then off duty, attended a local hotel, the Cambridge Tavern. About 2.10am as he was leaving the hotel Constable Carty was set upon by a number of offenders, including some of those he had spoken to earlier, and was stabbed to death. Senior Constable Michelle Auld ( # 23293 ), who had gone to his assistance, was also seriously assaulted in the cowardly attack.

Both Constable Carty and Senior Constable Auld were awarded the Commissioner’s Valour Award.

The constable was born in 1971 and was sworn in as a probationary constable in August, 1994. At the time of his death he was stationed at Fairfield.

Remembering our colleague, Constable David Carty after 25 years.

An Official Ceremony will take place on Tuesday 19 April 2022 @ 10am at the Fairfield RSL ( Due to weather conditions it won’t be held at David Carty Park ).

 

 

Const Carty (pictured) was remembered by police officers and former colleagues at Fairfield police station on Friday, the 17th anniversary of his brutal death.

On April 18, 1997, Const Carty, 25, was stabbed in the Cambridge Tavern car park, after having a drink with colleagues after a late shift.

Superintendent Peter Lennon said April 18 was one date he and his fellow officers would never forget. “He (Const Carty) came from the country and was well-respected by everyone,” he said.

During the memorial service, a minute’s silence was held and wreaths were laid in memory of the young man.

Supt Lennon said being in the police force meant brave men and women confronted dangers as they performed their duties.

“Police officers put their lives on the line every day for their community,” he said. “Whilst this event was after hours, he was still a serving officer because he was known to be a police officer when the incident occurred.”

HONOURING DAVID CARTY

■ David Andrew Carty, from Parkes, joined the NSW Police Force on February 20, 1994

■ After being posted to Liverpool police station, he was transferred to Fairfield police station on November 20, 1994, and confirmed to the rank of Constable on August 19, 1995

■ During the early hours of April 18, 1997, Constable Carty, 25, was stabbed in the car park of Fairfield’s Cambridge Tavern, where he had enjoyed a drink with colleagues after a late shift

■ His memory was honoured at Fairfield police station on Friday for the 17th anniversary of his death

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/south-west/constable-david-carty-was-remembered-as-a-respected-man-at-the-17th-anniversary-of-his-death/story-fngr8hxh-1226892214839

NSW Police Force held a memorial service on Wednesday to commemorate the life and service of former Parkes man Constable David Carty, who was slain 15 years ago.

Const Carty was stabbed to death as he left licensed premises in the Sydney suburb of Fairfield in the early hours of Friday, April 18, 1997, after having a drink with colleagues following a late shift.

At 10am on Wednesday April 18, 2012, colleagues and friends gathered at Fairfield Police Station for a memorial service, on the 15th anniversary of his death.

Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Michael Gallacher, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, South West Metropolitan Region Commander, Assistant Commissioner Frank Mennilli, Fairfield Local Area Commander, Superintendent Peter Lennon, former colleagues, local police officers, local members of Parliament and members of the Fairfield community also attended.

Senior Catholic Police Chaplain, Father Paul O’Donoghue, led the blessing for serving police and emergency service officers.

Constable Carty’s family also held a memorial service on the family property in Parkes where Lachlan Local Area Commander, Robert Ryan, and local police officers paid their respects.

Supt Lennon said while it was painful to recall the circumstances of Constable Carty’s death, it was important for his memory to be honoured.

“David was a young man with a great future, personally and professionally,” Supt Lennon said.

“He had committed himself to protecting his community and paid the ultimate price.

“Every day, officers confront dangers as they perform their duties, and the memory of a departed colleague reminds us that a safe community can come at a high price for officers and their families,” Supt Lennon said.

Constable Carty joined the NSW Police Force on February 20, 1994, attesting as a Probationary Constable on August 19, 1994, and began working at Liverpool.

On November 20, 1994, he was transferred to Fairfield and confirmed to the rank of Constable on August 19, 1995.

Before joining the NSW Police, David Carty worked on the family farm and showed as much dedication and independence there as he did as a Constable.

“Constable Carty’s relatively short experience in the NSW Police Force showed him to be an exemplary police officer,” Supt Lennon said.

http://www.parkeschampionpost.com.au/story/192991/slain-local-police-officer-remembered/#slide=1

Tribute to Constable David Andrew Carty

http://23.101.218.132/Prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LA20120508004?open&refNavID=HA8_1

Peter John ADDISON

( late of Port Macquarie )

Double Police Fatality  

New South Wales Police Force

Redfern Police Academy Class # 175

Regd. #  19914   

Rank: Commenced training at Redfern Police Academy on Monday 17 August 1981 ( aged 22 years, 6 months, 15 days )

Probationary Constable – appointed 6 November 1981 ( 22 years, 9 months, 4 days )

Constable – appointed 6 November 1982

Constable 1st Class – appointed 6 November 1986

Senior Constable – death

Final Rank:  Senior Constable

Stations:  ?, Kempsey

Service:  From  17 August 1981  to  9 July 1995 = 13 years, 10 months, 22 days Service

Awards: No find on It’s An Honour – However:

Commissioner’s Medal for Valour – posthumously

 National Police Service Medal – granted 9 July 2015 – posthumously

Born:  Monday  2 February 1959

Died on:  Sunday  9 July 1995

Death location:  Main Street, Crescent Heads

Cause:  Shot – murdered – On Duty

Age:  36 years, 5 months, 7 days

Funeral date:  ?   

Funeral location:  ?   

Buried at: Rose Garden, Innes Gardens Memorial Park, NSW:  [codepeople-post-map]

Grave location:   Lat/Long: -31.462153 , 152.858907

 Memorial location:  Killuke St, Crescent Head’s, NSW

PETER IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

&

Robert Bruce SPEARS

 ( late of Port Macquarie )

New South Wales Police Force

Redfern Police Academy Class # 227

ProCst # 98500

Regd. #  23854   

Rank: Commenced training at Goulburn Police Academy on Wednesday 1 April 1987 ( aged 28 years, 16 days )

Probationary Constable – appointed 26 June 1987 ( aged 28 years, 3 months, 10 days )

Constable – appointed 26 June 1988

Senior Constable – death

Final Rank:  Senior Constable

Stations:  ?, Liverpool ( 22 Division ), Kempsey

Service:  From 1 April 1987   to 9 July 1995 = 8 years, 3 months, 8 days Service

Awards: No find on It’s An Honour – However:

Commissioner’s Medal for Valour – posthumously

National Police Service Medal – granted 9 July 2015 – posthumously

Born:  Monday  16 March 1959

Died on:  Sunday  9 July 1995

Cause:  Shot – murdered – On Duty

Age:  36 years, 3 months, 23 days

Funeral date:  ?

Funeral location:  ?, Liverpool, NSW

Buried at:  ?

Grave location:   Lat/Long: -31.462153 , 152.858907  

Compass Rose Garden, Innes Gardens Memorial Park, NSW:  [codepeople-post-map]

 Memorial location:  Killuke St, Crescent Head’s, NSW

ROBERT IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

About 12.35am on 9 July, 1995 the constables were performing night shift at the Kempsey Police Station when they were called to a malicious damage complaint at the nearby township of Crescent Head. Having attended one address in relation to the complaint they drove to a dwelling in Main Street, Crescent Head. There they parked the police vehicle in a driveway and began to walk toward the front door.

At 1.22am an urgent radio message was received from Senior Constable Addison requesting urgent assistance. It was later learned that the offender McGowan had hidden near the carport of the dwelling and, camouflaged and armed with a high-powered Ruger rifle, had opened fire on the two police.

While withdrawing to the police vehicle Senior Constable Spears received a severe wound to the head and collapsed onto the ground. After exchanging shots with the offender Senior Constable Addison quickly sought help from neighbours. While apparently seeking a house with a telephone so he could call for assistance for his partner, he was also shot to death.

The murderer then committed suicide with the rifle.

At the inquest into the deaths of the two constables the New South Wales Coroner Mr Derek Hand commended both men for their extraordinary courage. Special mention was made of Senior Constable Addison‘s bravery in that “No-one would have blamed him if he had decided to seek safety. Not only was he obviously concerned about Constable Spears but he was faced with an armed man who could have caused much more death and injury in the neighbourhood”.

Mr Hand also commended the brave actions of Detective Senior Constable Michael Clark, Ambulance Officer Edward Hill and Mr Gregory Barnett.

Senior Constable Addison was born in 1959 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 6 November, 1981. At the time of his death he was stationed at Kempsey. He was posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Medal for Valour.

Senior Constable Spears was born in 1959 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 26 June, 1987. At the time of his death he was stationed at Kempsey. He was posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Medal for Valour.

Source:  Danny Webster’s – Beyond Courage

New South Wales. State Coroner (1995). [Inquests into the deaths of Robert Bruce Spears, Peter John Addison and John Craig McGowan : transcript of the Coroner’s address, findings and recommendations of 13 October 1995.]. New South Wales State Coroner’s Court, [Penrith, N.S.W  ( no link )

Commemorative service
10:30am, Thursday 9 July 2015
Addison/Spears memorial site
Corner of Baker Dr and Killuke Cr,
Crescent Head

Valour not forgotten

A ceremony this month will mark the 20th anniversary of one of our darkest days.

STORY SHAUN FEWINGS
PUBLIC AFFAIRS BRANCH

On the face of it, it was a routine call to a domestic violence complaint but within an hour two police officers were ambushed and shot dead.

When Kempsey-based police officers, Senior Constables Peter Addison VA and Robert Spears VA arrived in the small mid north coast town of Crescent Head, they came under attack from a hidden assassin. Local electrician John McGowan was drunk and dressed in camouflage gear, hiding near a car port on his Walker Street property.

The 35-year-old, armed with a high-powered modified Ruger 14 rifle, opened fire on the officers as they got out of their 4WD. The pair took cover behind their vehicle and exchanged shots with the gunman.

As Snr Cst Addison got back in the car to radio for backup, McGowan shot his partner in the head.

Snr Cst Addison ran to a neighbouring house to seek help but it didn’t have a telephone. He continued to exchange shots with the offender but was also shot dead. The killer then turned the gun on himself.

It happened at 1.22am on 9 July, 1995 and remains one of the darkest days in the history of the NSWPF. The deaths led to major reforms, including the introduction of automatic pistols and bullet proof vests for first response officers, improved radio equipment and coverage, and advances in police tactical training.

A special ceremony will mark the 20th anniversary of their deaths at a memorial site within the town. Commissioner Andrew Scipione will present the widows of Senior Constables Addison and Spears with National Police Service Medals in honour of their courage, service and diligence.

Today the ranks of the NSWPF are filled with many officers too young to remember the Crescent Head shootings but who remain protected by the legacy of two brave police officers.July 2015Police Monthly3

Police Monthly July 2015 – Addison_Spears.pdf

$18 loader may have saved police life
Feb. 6, 2001, 9:02 p.m.

ONE of two police officers killed after being ambushed by a drunken gunmen at Crescent Head in 1995 may have survived if he had been issued with an $18 speed-loader the Industrial Relations Court has been told.

NSW WorkCover Authority is proceeding with eight summonses against the Crown over alleged Occupational, Health and Safety Act breaches by the NSW Police Service stemming from the shooting deaths of Kempsey policemen, Senior Constables Robert Spears and Peter Addison.

The matter, being heard by Justice Hungerford, began in Sydney on Monday and is expected to take three weeks to complete.

Senior Constables Addison and Spears, both Port Macquarie residents, were shot by John McGowan on July 9, 1995 when they went to investigate a domestic violence complaint.

In the preceding Coronial Inquest, Coroner Derrick Hand found the two officers had been ‘massively outgunned’, lacked bulletproof vests and were hampered by poor radio communications.

WorkCover alleges the breaches of the Act contributed to the deaths of the policemen and specifically refers to inadequate equipment and training and the alleged failure to provide self-loading firearms.

When the officers arrived at the home of McGowan he was armed .223 calibre Ruger Rifle.

Constable Spears was shot dead in McGowan’s first salvo before Const. Addison managed to enter a house across the road to use a phone for help, when he was told there was not one he left the house only to be shot dead himself.

McGowan then shot himself.

WorkCover alleges the Crown failed to ensure the health and safety of Const. Addison and Spears by not providing them with a speed-loader or a self-loader weapon such as a the 9mm Glock pistol, which holds 17 rounds, now used by the service.

WorkCover’s Barrister Steven Crawshaw told the court a speed-loader, a round device used to load all six bullets into the then standard police weapon, a .38 Smith and Wesson, would have let Const. Addison reload more efficiently under pressure.

Police Service Barrister, Peter Hastings, QC, told the court Const. Addison did not appear to be reloading at the time he was killed so the issue was irrelevant.

The officers were issued with speed strip reloaders that enable rounds to be loaded two at a time.

The court heard Const. Addison had fired all six rounds from his revolver and investigators found his unused speed strip lying near his body.

WorkCover has also alleged that the police service failed to provide the two officers with training addressing in a practical way the tactics to be employed in a high-risk situation such as they were faced with and the systems the police service had in place to ensure training was deficient.

http://www.portnews.com.au/story/983236/18-loader-may-have-saved-police-life/

Training of police attacked
May 3, 2001, 9:06 p.m.

SIX years after the shooting deaths of two Kempsey police officers a NSW court has found the NSW Police Service negligent in not providing adequate training and communications for the officers.

Senior Constables Robert Spears and Peter Addison, both Port Macquarie residents, were gunned down by a drunken John McGowan when they went to investigate a domestic violence complaint at Crescent Head on July 9, 1995.

NSW WorkCover, in January, started proceedings against the NSW Police Service through the NSW Industrial Relations Court over breaches of the Occupational, Health and Safety Act in relation to the deaths of Constables Addison and Spears.

On Wednesday, Justice Barrie Hungerford found that the NSW Police Service failed to provide adequate training and radio equipment.

Justice Hungerford found that the radio communications equipment was inadequate.

In the judgement Justice Hungerford said Senior Constable Spears and Addison were placed at risk of injury in that they could not communicate with other officers and vice versa.

“This created a working environment in which there was a greater risk of physical harm,” he said.

Justice Hungerford said there was evidence that supported the proposition that the officers concerned had not received up-to-date training in the various matters relevant to operational situations.

“Those subject matters, specifically, were weapons handling, tactics in high-risk situations, method of approach to buildings, concealment and the use of lights and torches.

“The very nature of the circumstances as they existed at Crescent Head during the subject incident made relevant the type of training the two officers had not recently received,” Justice Hungerford said.

Justice Hungerford dismissed eight other charges brought against the NSW Police Service by WorkCover relating to firearms, firearm equipment and training and operational duties.

The case was adjourned for a number of weeks to give the Police Service time to prepare mitigating evidence to be presented to Justice Hungerford before he announces the penalty.

On that night in 1995, after talking to a woman complaining of domestic violence threats, Constables Spears and Addison attended McGowan’s house in Walker Street at Crescent Head.

It is believed an altercation occurred between McGowan and the two officers. At some point McGowan produced a modified Ruger 14 rifle and the two officers retreated behind their 4WD.

McGowan then fired a number of shots at the officers while they sheltered behind their vehicle. Both officers returned fire from their position. A short time later Constables Addison and Spears got into the 4WD.

While Constable Addison radioed that they were in trouble McGowan shot Constable Spears in the head.

Constable Addison then again radioed that an officer was down before retreating across the road and entering a house in a bid to use a telephone to call for help.

After realising the house didn’t have a telephone Constable Addison left the house and exchanged shots with McGowan who was still beside the police vehicle.

A witness stated that then Constable Addison might have emptied his revolver while retreating to the rear of the house he just exited.

For reasons which were not clear, it is believed that Constable Addison attempted to go forward, with an empty gun and his torch shinning, but was shot dead by McGowan .

McGowan then shot himself and was found the next morning slumped on the lawn.

http://www.portnews.com.au/story/984635/training-of-police-attacked/

Police Service fined over shootings

THE NSW Police Service has been fined $220,000 for not providing adequate training to two Kempsey police officers killed in a shoot-out at Crescent Head in 1995.

Senior Constable Peter Addison and Senior Constable Robert Spears, both residents of Port Macquarie, were shot and killed by John McGowan when they went to investigate a domestic violence complaint in the seaside village on the night of Saturday, July 9, 1995.

NSW WorkCover started proceedings, in the NSW Industrial Court, against the NSW Police Service in January 2001.

NSW WorkCover alleged a number of breaches of the Occupational, Health and Safety Act in relation to the deaths of Constables Addison and Spears.

In May of last year Justice Barrie Hungerford found that NSW Police had not provided Constables Spears and Addison with up-to-date training in high-risk situation tactics.

Justice Hungerford described the offence as being ‘extremely serious’ and noted that the officers had not undergone mandatory training in the use and reloading of weapons, use of torches, defensive tactics and communications.

In assessing the penalty, Justice Hungerford said the action taken by the Police Service since that fatal day to develop training programs and its previously clear occupational health and safety record.

“It is not unreasonable to conclude, in light of the clearly dangerous nature of the industry in which the Police Service operates, that the fact it has a clear occupational health and safety record is a weighty factor in its favour…,” Justice Hungerford said in his decision.

“Another relevant subjective consideration is the action taken by the defendant in respect of the Police Service in developing training programs for police officers, including the important program of ammunition training, and its leading role in that respect compared with police forces in other states,” he said.

WorkCover NSW acting general manager Michelle Patterson said “this tragic incident highlights the need for all employers to undertake appropriate risk management and to provide adequate training so that employees are able to carry out their duties”.

http://www.portnews.com.au/story/988050/police-service-fined-over-shootings/

Their pops would be proud

The web of family connections and history has only brought the Addisons and Spears closer.

The trio of boys, their sisters, their parents, and their grandmothers are almost inseparable.

Next year, they will all attend Police Remembrance Day for the first time as a whole family to reflect again on the lives Bob Spears and Peter Addison.

“It will be an opportunity for all colleagues to show we haven’t forgotten what happened,” Superintendent Paul Fehon said on Monday.

“It’s for us to remember, and for us to let the families know we will never forget their bravery.

“There was an impact on so many people.”

Police chaplain Father Paul Gooley will lead the service, which will be co-celebrated by Fr John Casey who was the LAC’s chaplain 20 years ago and conducted Sen. Const. Addison’s funeral.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione will then present the National Police Service medals to the widows of the two officers to mark the men’s heroism and diligence to duty.

Deputy commissioners Catherine Burn and Nick Kaldas will also be at the service, as well as former commissioners, politicians and the heads of Ambulance NSW and Fire and Rescue NSW.

Former State Coroner Derrick Hand, who investigated the murders, is another notable guest.

The general public is also invited to attend, with plenty of space available in surrounding parkland.

The slain officers’ families will lay wreaths, followed by Commissioner Scipione and fellow police.

The community are also able to lay a wreath. A reception will take place following the ceremony at the Crescent Head Country Club.

Families of slain officers Peter Addison and Robert Spears united by love

• Samantha Townsend
• The Daily Telegraph
• July 09, 2015  1:02PM

Senior Constables Peter Addison and Robert Spears, both 36, were killed by a gunman after responding to a domestic violence call in Crescent Head on the Mid North Coast on July 9, 1995.

Their children Glenn Addison and Jade Spears, who were 16 and 15 at the time, met after their fathers’ deaths and went on to get married.

The pair, with their children Blake, 14, Joe, 12, and Charlie, 10, joined their mothers Liana and Kathy as well as family and friends today at a ceremony in the coastal town to mark the 20th anniversary of the tragedy.

Speaking on behalf of the family, Liana (Addison) Stewart, said their families would always be connected not only because of their loss but through the marriage of their children.

“There has to be good come out of this,” Liana said. “Our families will always be connected.”

She said the ceremony was a special day for the family and she knew “without a doubt” their legacy would stay strong.

“It’s nice they have never been forgot,” she said.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione presented National Police Service medals to the widows of the slain officers today in honour of the men, who gave their lives while attempting to apprehend an armed offender.

The Kempsey-based senior constables had been dispatched to Crescent Head to investigate a report of domestic violence in the early hours of July 9, 1995.

As they arrived in Walker St, the policemen came under fire from drunken gunman John McGowan, dressed in camouflage gear and hiding near a carport.

The officers returned fire as they sought cover behind their four wheel drive. Addison tried to call for back-up on their police radio when Spears was fatally wounded.

In a desperate bid to seek help for his dying friend, Addison ran to a nearby house but it didn’t have a telephone.

As he tried to enter another property, still returning fire, the 14-year police veteran was also shot dead by the gunman, who then turned his high-powered rifle on himself.

Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the heroic officers had “stood their ground, defending themselves and their community from a cowardly assassin”.

“Peter Addison was not prepared to leave his wounded friend and colleague… together they made the ultimate sacrifice and we will never forget them for it,” he said

Their deaths led to major reforms within the force including the transition from revolvers to automatic pistols, bulletproof vests for first response officers, improved radio coverage and equipment as well as state-of-the-art tactical training for uniformed police.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/families-of-slain-officers-peter-addison-and-robert-spears-united-by-love/story-fni0cx12-1227435275075

• Samantha Townsend Regional Reporter
• The Daily Telegraph
• July 09, 2015  12:00AM

Senior Constables Robert Spears and Peter Addison made the ultimate sacrifice when they were killed in the line of duty while protecting the community of Crescent Head on the Mid North Coast from an armed gunman on July 9, 1995.

Today is the 20th anniversary of their deaths and Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has presented National Police Service medals to the widows of the slain officers in honour of the pair’s heroism and diligence to duty.

Spears and Addison, both 36, respectively the fathers of two and three children, had moved to the Mid North Coast for a better lifestyle.

The Daily Telegraph reported at that time that on the night on July 8, 1995, the officers had kissed their families goodbye and headed out for the late shift at Kempsey Police Station.

At 12.35am the officers received a distress call about a domestic violence incident at nearby Crescent Head from the former girlfriend of electrician John McGowan.

When they arrived into the township around 1am, The Daily Telegraph Mirror reported the police officers were confronted by a drunken McGowan dressed in camouflage gear and armed with a high-powered rifle.

THE DAY MURDER CAME TO MY SLEEPY BEACH TOWN

The officers were armed with police-issue .38 Smith and Wesson revolvers.

A call for back-up was made around 1.22am.

A NSW police spokesman told The Daily Telegraph yesterday that Spears was fatally wounded first, having been shot in the head.

Unable to get radio assistance, the spokesman said Addison dashed to a nearby home to use the landline but the occupants did not have one.

On his way to a second house, Addison was shot dead.

McGowan then turned the gun on himself.

In the hours after the incident, police swarmed into the town, warning residents to stay inside their homes.

At that stage they did not know the gunman had killed himself.

It has been reported that police found his body around 9am.

Not long after the senior constables deaths, the fallen officers were awarded the Police Force’s highest honour, the Commissioner’s Valour Award.

Their deaths led to major reforms within the force including the transition from revolvers to automatic pistols, bullet-proof vests for first response officers, improved radio coverage and equipment as well as state-of-the-art tactical training for uniformed police.

NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says the shootings of two police officers at Crescent head is the darkest day in the NSW police history.

Around 250 people gathered at Crescent head including families and friends of the dead officers where their widows were awarded with medals for officers valour.

“Senior Constables, Peter Addison and Robert Spears, walked into an ambush,” he said.

“Human instinct would demand you remove yourself from harm’s way in a situation like that, but not these brave officers.

“They knew they had to try to stop this gunman who could have gone on to kill or injure others.

“They stood their ground, defending themselves and their community from a cowardly assassin.

“Peter Addison was not prepared to leave his wounded friend and colleague…together they made the ultimate sacrifice and we will never forget them for it.”

A memorial plaque was unveiled in the town in 1996 just a few hundred metres away from the street where the officers were slain.

The plaque reads: “The Kempsey Shire Council on behalf of the community, has erected this memorial acknowledging the personal courage and sacrifice of Senior Constables Peter Addison and Robert Spears, who gave their lives while attempting to apprehend an armed offender on the 9th July, 1995.”

Police Commission Andrew Scipione joined a host of other dignitaries at the Crescent Head memorial to mark the 20th anniversary of their deaths.

A long list of dignitaries including former Police Commissioners, Tony Lauer and Neil Taylor, attended today’s ceremony to honour the officers for their bravery and dedication to duty.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/crescent-heads-police-killings-two-decades-on-ceremony-will-mark-sacrifice-made-by-senior-constables-on-duty/story-fni0cx4q-1227433992584

The NSW Police Heritage story

p 261 & 261

Historical Firearms

1920s to 1972 — REVOLVERS & SELF LOADING PISTOLS

Following the shooting murders of Senior Constables Peter John Addison and Robert Bruce Spears at Crescent Head, on the 9
July, 1995, the Police Association pressed for a serious review of the firearms on issue to general duties police, with the aim of having
the .38 special Smith & Wesson model 10 revolver replaced with a self loading pistol.

The model 10 had been in service for 30 years. Addison and Spears were shot dead by John McGowan, who was armed with a .223 calibre Ruger Mini 14 self loading rifle.

McGowan had several loaded magazines and his rifle was painted in camouflage paint.

The two policemen went to McGowan’s residence in Walker Street, Crescent Head, following a complaint that McGowan made threats to his former girlfriend. Addison and Spears exchanged shots with McGowan but were obviously out-gunned. It appeared that when Spears tried to reload his revolver, the speed strip containing his ammunition fell to the ground. McGowan shot himself dead after shooting Addison and Spears and his rifle was found next to his body. It was estimated that McGowan fired 30 shots from the rifle,
with some of McGowan’s bullets hitting neighbouring houses and killing a stray dog.

Peter Addison joined the police in 1981 and Robert Spears had been in the police since 1987. Both men were posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Medal for Valour.
Since the late 1980s, the adequacy of the revolver for police duties had been in question and the self loading pistol was favoured as a replacement for the Smith & Wesson model 10 revolver. In 1998, the Glock model 22 self loading pistol chambered for the .40 S&W cartridge was being issued to replace the .38 calibre Smith & Wesson model 10 revolver.

The Glock is not the first type of self loading pistol that has been issued to NSW Police.
From the late 1920s, until phasing in of the Smith & Wesson model 10 revolver in the 1960s, an assorted variety of pistols and revolvers were used for police use, many coming from confiscated and surrendered stocks as well as government purchase. Throughout this period leading up to 1965, revolvers such as the .32 Colt Police Positive, the Colt Pocket Positive and also the .38 special Smith & Wesson model 10, were issued to ranks below sergeants 1st class were issued with .25 calibre self loading pistols. While this may have been the desired mode of issue, the types of pistols and revolvers issued depended on things such as supply and availability.

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Friday 14 July 1995, page 6

14 Jul 1995 – Firearms amnesty follows tragedy – Trove

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Monday 10 July 1995, page 1

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/128286561

Allan Wayne McQUEEN SC, VA

New South Wales Police

“possibly” Related to W.D. McQUEEN, NSWPF  23497

D.R. McQUEEN, NSWPF 24119

Goulburn Police Academy Class 227

Probationary # 98444

Regd. #  23847   

Rank:   Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on Monday 1 April 1987 ( aged 24 years, 10 months, 0 days )

Probationary Constable – appointed 26 June 1987 ( aged25 years, 0 months, 25 days )

Constable – appointed

Stations:  Sydney District Anti Theft Squad – Death

Service:   From pre 26 June 1987  to  5 May 1989 = 2 years, 1 month, 4 days Service

Age at Leaving NSWPF:  26 years, 11 months, 4 days

Time in Retirement:  0

Awards:  Star of Courage ( SC ) ( Posthumously )

Commissioners Valour Award ( VA ) ( Posthumously )

Born:  Friday  1 June 1962

Died On:  Friday  5 May 1989

Event:  Shot – wounded – Murdered

Event location:  Woolloomooloo, NSW

Event Date:  Monday 24 April 1989

Died:  Friday 5 May 1989 ( 9 days after event )

Cause:  Murdered – shot twice

Age:  26 yrs  11 mths  4 days

Funeral date:  Tuesday 9 May 1989

Funeral location:  St Mary’s Anglican Church

Buried at:  Cremated.  East Ballina Cemetery, McQueen Family Wall, Sec: Niche, Lot # 2

GPS: 28*51’47″S / 153*35’26″E

Memorial: 1/ Yurong Parkway, Phillip Park , Sydney, 2000

GPS:  Lat: -33.872583 / Long: 151.213778

2/ Sydney Police Centre, McQueen Room, 151 – 241 Goulburn Street, Surry Hills.

3/  Police Launch McQueen???.

ALLAN IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19890430&id=4DRWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0ecDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4933,9248506&hl=en

                        The Sydney Morning Herald        12 May 1989     p2 of 74

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19890512&id=rDJWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nOcDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2205,1063653&hl=en

http://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/people/crime/display/100949-constable-allan-wayne-mcqueen

The Sydney Morning Herald Wednesday, May 10, 1989

Moving tributes for police nice guy ‘Big Al”

By LINDSAY SIMPSON ” Chief Police Reporter As one of “Big Al’s” best mates read a moving eulogy, burly police officers, hats in hands, bowed their heads and cried. Big Al was Constable Allan Wayne McQueen, the well-mannered policeman from Kyogle who died in the line of duty, shot trying to apprehend a suspected car thief in Sydney.

Constable McQueen, who had been in the force two years, had been picked to work with the Anti-theft Squad a training ground for young officers on their way to becoming detectives. Big Al, who spent three years trying to become a police officer, was known by that name “not so much because of his height but because of his heart”, said Cheryl Coleman, whose husband had shared a house with Constable McQueen in Coffs Harbour.

As Senior Constable Steve Tedder, who gave one of the eulogies said, “Big Al had the basic love and desire to become a police officer”. In 1986, while running his own cleaning business in Coffs Harbour, he built his own house and several local police officers became his flatmates. At that stage he had five jobs and was studying at night for his HSC English in an attempt to become a police officer. About this time, before he was even in the force, he saved a man’s life. The man had quarrelled with his girlfriend outside a local night club and had head-butted a pane of glass. The glass had cut his throat and Al tore his shirt off and stemmed the flow of blood while waiting for the ambulance.

Big Al. who trained as a boxer and played Rugby League, was not always the muscle builder he was at the time he joined the force. His former Rugby League coach at Kyogle High School, Mr Stan McBride, said that in the 14-year-old competition he had been the second smallest kid in the group.

Ballina townspeople also came to the funeral service. One local, Mrs Val Studdert, said she had never met Allan McQueen but had come out of respect for what he had done. “If we don’t have law and order, we have nothing,” she said.

The pallbearers wore pistols. Perhaps that’s the way it has to be these days, but they touched the pretty white wooden church in the green countryside with vulgarity. They were big, strong young men and their bulky police uniforms made them bigger, so that when they came to the narrow church door carrying their mate’s coffin, they could barely squeeze through. In any case, the coffin seemed too narrow for a young man as big as Allan McQueen.

Nearly 300 police went to his funeral in Ballina yesterday along with his mother and father, Mr John and Mrs Shirley McQueen, and 300 family and friends. They spilled out of St Mary’s Anglican Church into a church hall, where the service was shown on video, and out of the hall on to the grass, where they listened through loudspeakers.

If we are to still violence, we must cherish life. Yesterday, 26-year-old Allan McQueen’s life was cherished. Today, others will cherish the life of 32-year-old David Gundy, the unarmed man killed in a police raid following Constable McQueen’s mortal wounding. Spring had sung in both men for only a while before life escaped them in violence. Senior Constable Graham White told the mourners that Allan McQueen had been a man of honour, love and integrity and a man whose word could be relied upon. He did not search for riches but for life itself, said Constable White. “Today he would be saying, ‘Let’s get on with it. Let’s not have all this fuss and bother’.”

Detective Senior Constable Steve Tedder said that the day McQueen received the letter of his acceptance into the force, “his face lit up as if Manhattan had lit up”.’ Constable Tedder lived with Constable McQueen in Manly and called his mate “Big Al”. “What a joy he was to live with,” he said. Constable McQueen had made more friends in 18 months in Manly than Constable Tedder had in 28 years.

Colleagues of slain policeman Allan McQueen weep as he is laid to rest in Ballina yesterday. One of his favourite expressions was: “Not a problem“. Another was: “I’m here for a good time, not a long time.” Constable Tedder said it was somehow appropriate that Allan McQueen began his long battle for life on April 24, the day before Anzac Day. That was the day Allan McQueen became a hero. Police Commissioner John Avery said Constable McQueen had exhibited the qualities of a police leader of the future. “His father said it was a waste of a fine young life, and I agree,” said the Commissioner. “His was an unforgettable example of courageous service that will enshrine his name in the annals of the history of NSW.” Mr Avery quoted Virgil: “Blessings on your young courage, boy, for that is the way to the stars.”

Outside the church, a senior policeman said: “There’s a finality to heroism.” Mr Athol McQueen, a cousin and the boxer who knocked down champion Joe Frazier in the 1964 Olympic Games, said: “I hope there are more young blokes around like him.”

” The police band played a funeral march for their colleague, past Sunnyhaven Flats. The open-faced country folk let the tears run down their cheeks. As the cortege passed a place called Camelot, on the way to the Lismore Crematorium and another place called Goonellabah, an old woman stood at the roadside and said : “Poor little fellow.” At the crematorium flowers spelled out the letters NSWP -New South Wales Police on the hillside.

A young policeman picked up a rose and handed it to a young woman. , ‘ Mr John McQueen wipes away a tear as he stands with his wife Shirley at their son’s funeral.

https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/123586879/

---

 

https://www.opengov.nsw.gov.au/viewer/e97f9949de7fce571e09f3baa392f1a4.pdf

First published 5 January 2014

Updated 7 June 2025 with new photo ( 1986 )

John Irving BURGESS

New South Wales Police Force

Goulburn Police Academy Class # 216

Regd. # 22455

Rank: Commenced Training – 28 October 1985

Probationary Constable – appointed 17 January 1986

Constable – appointed 17 January 1987

Final Rank: Constable

Service:  From 28 October 1985 to 29 April 1989 = 3+ years Service

Stations:  ? ,Balmain ( 8 Division ) – death

Awards:  ? nil find on It’s An Honour

Born:  Monday  25 April 1960

Event date:  Thursday  27 April 1989

Event location:  Booth St & Jonston St, Annandale, NSW

Event type: Motor Vehicle Accident – Driver – Caged vehicle – Urgent Duty ( Passenger: Cst Andrew Mortimer )

Died:  Saturday  29 April 1989

Age:  29 yrs  4 days  ( 4 days into his 29th year )

Funeral date:  ?

Funeral location:  Woronora Cemetery, Sutherland

Buried at:  Cremated;

Ashes – Wall of Memories, Panel 30, GG, 0256

JOHN IS mentioned on the National Police Wall of Remembrance but the DATE is INCORRECT

Should read 29 April 1989

About 2.25am on 27 April, 1989 Constable Burgess was driving a caged police vehicle in Booth Street, Annandale. Constable Andrew Mortimer was observer in the vehicle and they were responding to an urgent call for assistance from Gaming Squad police. At the intersection of Johnston Street, the police vehicle collided with a semi trailer and deflected onto a power pole. As a result of the accident Constable Andrew Mortimer suffered fractures to his ribs and jaw, and Constable Burgess suffered severe head and internal injuries. Constable Burgess died two days later ( on the 29 April ) at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital when life support systems were turned off.

The constable was born in 1960 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 28 October, 1985. At the time of his death he was stationed at Balmain.

The Canberra Times

Monday  1 May 1989   page 3 of 36

http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/122258616

Further reading:  https://www.australianpolice.com.au/woronora-cemetery-wall-of-remembrance/

Location of collision:  [codepeople-post-map]

Sharon Louise WILSON

 late of Uralla, NSW

New South Wales Police Force

Goulburn Academy Class # 236

Regd. # 25???   

Rank:  Commenced Training at Goulburn Police Academy on Sunday 8 May 1988 ( aged 19 years, 7 months, 16 days )( spent 2 months, 21 days at Academy )

Probationary Constable – appointed Friday  29 July 1988 ( aged 19 years, 10 months, 7 days )

Stations:  Leeton

Awards:  ? Nil

Born:  Sunday  22 September 1968

Died:  Wednesday  30 November 1988

Age:  20 years, 2 months, 8 days

Service:  8 May 1988 to 30 November 1988 = 6 months, 22 days Service

Cause of death:  Accidentally Shot – by colleague – Service weapon

Location of incident:  inside Leeton Police Station, NSW

Location of Death:  Wagga Wagga Base Hospital, NSW

Funeral:  Monday  5 December 1988 @ 1pm

Funeral location:  ?, Uralla

Buried:  ?  Uralla Cemetery, Kingstown Rd, Uralla, NSW

Memorial 1:  Memorial Tree planted at NSW Police Academy, Goulburn

Memorial 2:  Memorial plate on the front outside wall of Leeton Police Station.  Dedication done on 30 November 2015.  Photos below.

About 2.15pm on 30 November, 1988 Constable Wilson was on duty at the Leeton Police Station when she suffered a severe gunshot wound to the head when another member’s service revolver discharged. Although treated at the scene by colleagues until the ambulance arrived, she passed away at the Wagga Base Hospital at 5.45pm the same day.

The constable was born in 1968 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 9 May, 1988. At the time of her death she was stationed at Leeton.

Sharon is mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance

2 December 1988

“CHARGES POSSIBLE OVER SHOOTING

SYDNEY: The NSW Police Commissioner, John Avery, will decide whether charges should be laid against a constable allegedly involved in the shooting death of her 20 year-old colleague on Wednesday.

A police spokesman said yesterday a team of detectives was waiting to interview the young officer over the death of policewoman Sharon Wilson at the Leeton Police Station, in the state’s Riverina district.

He said results of the investigation would be forwarded to Mr Avery for consideration.

A police spokesman said the detectives — including two from Sydney’s Internal Affairs department, two from homicide, a ballistics expert and a police psychologist — were waiting to talk to the 19-year-old constable.

Probationary Constable Wilson was shot in the head by one bullet from a service revolver while on duty at Leeton Police Station, at 2.15pm on Wednesday.

She was rushed to Wagga Base Hospital, but died 3 1/2 hours later.

The policewoman awaiting questioning had been treated for shock and was being cared for by friends and welfare personnel, the spokesman said.

Detectives hoped to talk with her last night.

Miss Wilson, of Uralla, in the Northern Tablelands, was well known in the small community. She was regarded as a fine athlete and her 188cm frame was well known in the local basketball league.

Miss Wilson was studying visual arts at the Riverina Murray Institute of Higher Education in Wagga.

Her body will be transported to her home at Uralla, where a funeral will be held at 1pm on Monday.”

02 Dec 1988 – Charges possible over shooting – Trove

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Wednesday 15 March 1989, page 22

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/120916451

The Sydney Morning Herald

28 July 1989      p 6 of 68

‘Empty’ gun killed officer

A policewoman fatally wounded a colleague with a shot from her service revolver which she believed was empty, the Leeton Local Court, in south-west NSW, heard yesterday.

Sheree Ann Schneider ( ProCst # 60370 ), 20, of Pine Avenue, Leeton was charged with the manslaughter of Constable Sharon Louise Wilson, 20, at Leeton Police Station on November 30 last year.

Constable Wilson died of head injuries at the Wagga Wagga Base Hospital as a result of the shooting.

Constable Harvey McRae told the court that he was sitting at a computer terminal when he heard the firing pin of a police revolver strike the empty chamber.  Constable Wilson had said, “Oh God, don’t do that.  You scared the living daylights out of me”.

He said Schneider pointed the revolver toward Constable Wilson and said:  “No, it’s empty, see?”  The gun then discharged.

Schneider said she went into the sergeant’s office and re-loaded her gun.  The court heard that four live bullets and one spent one were later removed from the revolver.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=19890728

R_27_EPILOGUE_Police

http://nswjudicialinjustice.com/Contentsfiles/R_27_EPILOGUE_Police.pdf

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Sunday 30 July 1989, page 4

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/122285837

Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),

Tuesday 15 August 1989, page 5

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/122276423

The Law—From Protector To Persecutor
From ‘Signs Of Senility‘ a chapter of ‘A Study Of Our Decline‘ by P Atkinson

(7/9/2013)

Schneider Case
In New South Wales, at Leeton police station on 30-Nov-1988, a junior policewoman produced a pistol and shot dead another officer. Sheree Ann Schneider claimed it was an accident. Satisfied the pistol was unloaded, she pulled the trigger without looking where the gun was pointed. The charge of Felonious Assault was dismissed in the lower court on 28th July 1989 under section 41 (vi) – the presiding officer ruled that no jury would convict. Use Of A Firearm In Disregard For Another Persons Safety was dismissed on 27th April 1990. The female did not even lose her job, presumably her fellow officers hope she will be more careful in future.

Court Ignores Duty
It is axiomatic with all weapons training that they never be pointed at anyone unless they are intended to be used —even in jest. Deliberately pulling the trigger without looking where the .38 pistol was pointed was criminal irresponsibility. Sharon Wilson was killed as the result of criminal negligence; a failure that should not be tolerated from any citizen, much less a police officer. Not knowing the gun was loaded is no excuse for anyone, least of all a trained professional. For the courts to fail to penalise this action is to commit more crimes; the denial of the importance of duty and the magnitude of taking a life.

The Law Repeats The Role Of Indulgent Parents
Schneider escaped penalty by adopting the infantile excuse that she was merely the hapless victim of the inadequate police weapons training program; that this was accepted by the authorities is not an aberration. Trial for murder is no longer a matter of resolving fact; it has become a re-enactment of the spoilt child caught by their indulgent parents; if the miscreant can deflect blame while generating sympathy then all is forgiven.

http://www.ourcivilisation.com/signs/chap8.htm