Constable 1st Class Athol Joseph JOHNSON
Constable 1st Class Athol Joseph JOHNSON
Stabbed
Gulgong
26 April, 1958
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The constable was the Lockup Keeper at Gulgong and was on duty on Anzac Day, 1958. A patron of the local RSL Club, a man named Lester Haley, had become intoxicated and argumentative with other patrons and was escorted from the club. Constable Joe Johnson was asked to supervise Haley’s ejection and did so, however as the offender left the club he turned on the constable with a knife and stabbed him several times. The wounds proved to be fatal and the constable died the following day at the Gulgong Hospital. The offender was later arrested by Detective Constable 1st Class Jim Tutill, and was later convicted of manslaughter and sent to gaol.
The constable was born in 1918 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 21 January, 1946. At the time of his death he was stationed at Gulgong.