Peter John ADDISON & Robert Bruce SPEARS
Peter John ADDISON
( late of Port Macquarie )
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
Commissioner’s Medal for Valour – posthumously
National Police Service Medal – granted 9 July 2015 – posthumously
Born: Monday 2 February 1959
Died on: Sunday 9 July 1995
Death location: Main Street, Crescent Heads
Cause: Shot – murdered
Age: 36 years, 5 months, 7 days
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?
Buried at: Rose Garden, Innes Gardens Memorial Park, NSW: [codepeople-post-map]
Grave location: Lat/Long: -31.462153 , 152.858907
Memorial location: Killuke St, Crescent Head’s
PETER IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
Back Row L to R:
R. BARRIE # 19933, R.F. EDWARDS, Peter John ADDISON # 19914, A.J. CATTELL # 20205, J. DeROTA # 19902, G.J. DUNCAN # 19913, D.P. ELLIS # 19906, E.S. BIRCHALL # 19917
Centre Row L to R:
Sgt 3/c J.A. SHIPLEE # 11230, P. DAVIES # 19919, D.F. BAILEY # 19916, P.G. DUNWORTH # 19937, M.D. BALDOCK # 20162, P.A. BLAIR # 19942, S.G. BENNETT # 19934, Sgt 3/c R.E. FORD # 10076
Front Row L to R:
A.C. BURNS # 19904, J.M. CLUGSTON # 19895, Donna M. BURTON ( Donna McMAHON / Donna Thompson ) # 19929 , M.E. AUSTIN # 19908, Suzanne Joy DEARNLEY # 19945, J.A. CAMPBELL # 19903, M.L. CORNISH # 19898, J.A. DAHLBERG, D.M. CONNELL # 19891
&
Robert Bruce SPEARS
( late of Port Macquarie )
New South Wales Police Force
Redfern Police Academy Class # 227
ProCst # 98500
Regd. # 23854
Rank: Commenced training at Goulburn Police Academy on Wednesday 1 April 1987 ( aged 28 years, 16 days )
Probationary Constable – appointed 26 June 1987 ( aged 28 years, 3 months, 10 days )
Constable – appointed 26 June 1988
Senior Constable – death
Final Rank: Senior Constable
Stations: ?, Liverpool, Kempsey
Service: From 1 April 1987 to 9 July 1995 = 8 years, 3 months, 8 days Service
Awards: No find on It’s An Honour
Commissioner’s Medal for Valour – posthumously
National Police Service Medal – granted 9 July 2015 – posthumously
Born: Monday 16 March 1959
Died on: Sunday 9 July 1995
Cause: Shot – murdered
Age: 36 years, 3 months, 23 days
Funeral date: ?
Funeral location: ?, Liverpool, NSW
Buried at: ?
Grave location: Lat/Long: -31.462153 , 152.858907
Compass Rose Garden, Innes Gardens Memorial Park, NSW: [codepeople-post-map]
Memorial location: Killuke St, Crescent Head’s
ROBERT IS mentioned on the Police Wall of Remembrance
The memorial to Senior Constables Peter Addison and Robert Spears is being well cared for.
2013 marks the 18th anniversary of their death.
Such a sad waste of the lives of such good men.
Their bravery was exceptional. R.I.P.
About 12.35am on 9 July, 1995 the constables were performing night shift at the Kempsey Police Station when they were called to a malicious damage complaint at the nearby township of Crescent Head. Having attended one address in relation to the complaint they drove to a dwelling in Main Street, Crescent Head. There they parked the police vehicle in a driveway and began to walk toward the front door.
At 1.22am an urgent radio message was received from Senior Constable Addison requesting urgent assistance. It was later learned that the offender McGowan had hidden near the carport of the dwelling and, camouflaged and armed with a high-powered Ruger rifle, had opened fire on the two police.
While withdrawing to the police vehicle Senior Constable Spears received a severe wound to the head and collapsed onto the ground. After exchanging shots with the offender Senior Constable Addison quickly sought help from neighbours. While apparently seeking a house with a telephone so he could call for assistance for his partner, he was also shot to death.
The murderer then committed suicide with the rifle.
At the inquest into the deaths of the two constables the New South Wales Coroner Mr Derek Hand commended both men for their extraordinary courage. Special mention was made of Senior Constable Addison‘s bravery in that “No-one would have blamed him if he had decided to seek safety. Not only was he obviously concerned about Constable Spears but he was faced with an armed man who could have caused much more death and injury in the neighbourhood”.
Mr Hand also commended the brave actions of Detective Senior Constable Michael Clark, Ambulance Officer Edward Hill and Mr Gregory Barnett.
Senior Constable Addison was born in 1959 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 6 November, 1981. At the time of his death he was stationed at Kempsey. He was posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Medal for Valour.
Senior Constable Spears was born in 1959 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 26 June, 1987. At the time of his death he was stationed at Kempsey. He was posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Medal for Valour.
New South Wales. State Coroner (1995). [Inquests into the deaths of Robert Bruce Spears, Peter John Addison and John Craig McGowan : transcript of the Coroner’s address, findings and recommendations of 13 October 1995.]. New South Wales State Coroner’s Court, [Penrith, N.S.W ( no link )
Commemorative service
10:30am, Thursday 9 July 2015
Addison/Spears memorial site
Corner of Baker Dr and Killuke Cr,
Crescent Head
Valour not forgotten
A ceremony this month will mark the 20th anniversary of one of our darkest days.
STORY SHAUN FEWINGS
PUBLIC AFFAIRS BRANCH
On the face of it, it was a routine call to a domestic violence complaint but within an hour two police officers were ambushed and shot dead.
When Kempsey-based police officers, Senior Constables Peter Addison VA and Robert Spears VA arrived in the small mid north coast town of Crescent Head, they came under attack from a hidden assassin. Local electrician John McGowan was drunk and dressed in camouflage gear, hiding near a car port on his Walker Street property.
The 35-year-old, armed with a high-powered modified Ruger 14 rifle, opened fire on the officers as they got out of their 4WD. The pair took cover behind their vehicle and exchanged shots with the gunman.
As Snr Cst Addison got back in the car to radio for backup, McGowan shot his partner in the head.
Snr Cst Addison ran to a neighbouring house to seek help but it didn’t have a telephone. He continued to exchange shots with the offender but was also shot dead. The killer then turned the gun on himself.
It happened at 1.22am on 9 July, 1995 and remains one of the darkest days in the history of the NSWPF. The deaths led to major reforms, including the introduction of automatic pistols and bullet proof vests for first response officers, improved radio equipment and coverage, and advances in police tactical training.
A special ceremony will mark the 20th anniversary of their deaths at a memorial site within the town. Commissioner Andrew Scipione will present the widows of Senior Constables Addison and Spears with National Police Service Medals in honour of their courage, service and diligence.
Today the ranks of the NSWPF are filled with many officers too young to remember the Crescent Head shootings but who remain protected by the legacy of two brave police officers.July 2015Police Monthly3
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 speedloader the Industrial Relations Court has been told.
NSW WorkCover Authority is proceeding with eight summonses against the Crown over alleged Occupational, Health and Safety Act breaches by the NSW Police Service stemming from the shooting deaths of Kempsey policemen, Senior Constables Robert Spears and Peter Addison.
The matter, being heard by Justice Hungerford, began in Sydney on Monday and is expected to take three weeks to complete.
Senior Constables Addison and Spears, both Port Macquarie residents, were shot by John McGowan on July 9, 1995 when they went to investigate a domestic violence complaint.
In the preceding Coronial Inquest, Coroner Derrick Hand found the two officers had been ‘massively outgunned’, lacked bulletproof vests and were hampered by poor radio communications.
WorkCover alleges the breaches of the Act contributed to the deaths of the policemen and specifically refers to inadequate equipment and training and the alleged failure to provide self-loading firearms.
When the officers arrived at the home of McGowan he was armed .223 calibre Ruger Rifle.
Constable Spears was shot dead in McGowan’s first salvo before Const. Addison managed to enter a house across the road to use a phone for help, when he was told there was not one he left the house only to be shot dead himself.
McGowan then shot himself.
WorkCover alleges the Crown failed to ensure the health and safety of Const. Addison and Spears by not providing them with a speedloader or a self-loader weapon such as a the 9mm Glock pistol, which holds 17 rounds, now used by the service.
WorkCover’s Barrister Steven Crawshaw told the court a speedloader, a round device used to load all six bullets into the then standard police weapon, a .38 Smith and Wesson, would have let Const. Addison reload more efficiently under pressure.
Police Service Barrister, Peter Hastings, QC, told the court Const. Addison did not appear to be reloading at the time he was killed so the issue was irrelevant.
The officers were issued with speed strip reloaders that enable rounds to be loaded two at a time.
The court heard Const. Addison had fired all six rounds from his revolver and investigators found his unused speed strip lying near his body.
WorkCover has also alleged that the police service failed to provide the two officers with training addressing in a practical way the tactics to be employed in a high-risk situation such as they were faced with and the systems the police service had in place to ensure training was deficient.
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 shootout at Crescent Head in 1995.
Senior Constable Peter Addison and Senior Constable Robert Spears, both residents of Port Macquarie, were shot and killed by John McGowan when they went to investigate a domestic violence complaint in the seaside village on the night of Saturday, July 9, 1995.
NSW WorkCover started proceedings, in the NSW Industrial Court, against the NSW Police Service in January 2001.
NSW WorkCover alleged a number of breaches of the Occupational, Health and Safety Act in relation to the deaths of Constables Addison and Spears.
In May of last year Justice Barrie Hungerford found that NSW Police had not provided Constables Spears and Addison with up-to-date training in high-risk situation tactics.
Justice Hungerford described the offence as being ‘extremely serious’ and noted that the officers had not undergone mandatory training in the use and reloading of weapons, use of torches, defensive tactics and communications.
In assessing the penalty, Justice Hungerford said the action taken by the Police Service since that fatal day to develop training programs and its previously clear occupational health and safety record.
“It is not unreasonable to conclude, in light of the clearly dangerous nature of the industry in which the Police Service operates, that the fact it has a clear occupational health and safety record is a weighty factor in its favour…,” Justice Hungerford said in his decision.
“Another relevant subjective consideration is the action taken by the defendant in respect of the Police Service in developing training programs for police officers, including the important program of ammunition training, and its leading role in that respect compared with police forces in other states,” he said.
WorkCover NSW acting general 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
- The Daily Telegraph
- July 09, 2015
TWO families united in the most horrific of circumstances are forever joined through the generations.
Senior Constables Peter Addison and Robert Spears, both 36, were killed by a gunman after responding to a domestic violence call in Crescent Head on the Mid North Coast on July 9, 1995.
Their children Glenn Addison and Jade Spears, who were 16 and 15 at the time, met after their fathers’ deaths and went on to get married.
The pair, with their children Blake, 14, Joe, 12, and Charlie, 10, joined their mothers Liana and Kathy as well as family and friends today at a ceremony in the coastal town to mark the 20th anniversary of the tragedy.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Liana (Addison) Stewart, said their families would always be connected not only because of their loss but through the marriage of their children.
“There has to be good come out of this,” Liana said. “Our families will always be connected.”
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.
Crescent Heads police killings: Two decades on, ceremony will mark sacrifice made by senior constables on duty
- The Daily Telegraph
- July 09, 2015
Pair on night shift when they attended to domestic dispute call
Arrived to find gunman in camouflage gear carrying high-powered rifle
Gunman shot two policemen dead before killing himself
Tragedy led to major reforms within police force
IT WAS supposed to be a routine domestic violence call, but what happened next not only tore apart two families but also stunned a NSW coastal town.
Senior Constables Robert Spears and Peter Addison made the ultimate sacrifice when they were killed in the line of duty while protecting the community of Crescent Head on the Mid North Coast from an armed gunman on July 9, 1995.
Today is the 20th anniversary of their deaths and Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione has presented National Police Service medals to the widows of the slain officers in honour of the pair’s heroism and diligence to duty.
Spears and Addison, both 36, respectively the fathers of two and three children, had moved to the Mid North Coast for a better lifestyle.
The Daily Telegraph reported at that time that on the night on July 8, 1995, the officers had kissed their families goodbye and headed out for the late shift at Kempsey Police Station.
At 12.35am the officers received a distress call about a domestic violence incident at nearby Crescent Head from the former girlfriend of electrician John McGowan.
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.
Police guard lines route of Senior Constable Robert Spears‘ funeral at Liverpool.
At that stage they did not know the gunman had killed himself.
It has been reported that police found his body around 9am.
Not long after the senior constables deaths, the fallen officers were awarded the Police Force’s highest honour, the Commissioner’s Valour Award.
Their deaths led to major reforms within the force including the transition from revolvers to automatic pistols, bulletproof vests for first response officers, improved radio coverage and equipment as well as state-of-the-art tactical training for uniformed police.
NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione says the shootings of two police officers at Crescent head is the darkest day in the NSW police history.
Around 250 people gathered at Crescent head including families and friends of the dead officers where their widows were awarded with medals for officers valour.
“Senior Constables, Peter Addison and Robert Spears, walked into an ambush,” he said.
“Human instinct would demand you remove yourself from harm’s way in a situation like that, but not these brave officers.
“They knew they had to try to stop this gunman who could have gone on to kill or injure others.
“They stood their ground, defending themselves and their community from a cowardly assassin.
“Peter Addison was not prepared to leave his wounded friend and colleague…together they made the ultimate sacrifice and we will never forget them for it.”
A memorial plaque was unveiled in the town in 1996 just a few hundred metres away from the street where the officers were slain.
The plaque reads: “The Kempsey Shire Council on behalf of the community, has erected this memorial acknowledging the personal courage and sacrifice of Senior Constables Peter Addison and Robert Spears, who gave their lives while attempting to apprehend an armed offender on the 9th July, 1995.”
Police Commission Andrew Scipione joined a host of other dignitaries at the Crescent Head memorial to mark the 20th anniversary of their deaths.
A long list of dignitaries including former Police Commissioners, Tony Lauer and Neil Taylor, attended today’s ceremony to honour the officers for their bravery and dedication to duty.
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 outgunned. It appeared that when Spears tried to reload his revolver, the speed strip containing his ammunition fell to the ground. McGowan shot himself dead after shooting Addison and Spears and his rifle was found next to his body. It was estimated that McGowan fired 30 shots from the rifle,
with some of McGowan’s bullets hitting neighbouring houses and killing a stray dog.
Peter Addison joined the police in 1981 and Robert Spears had been in the police since 1987. Both men were posthumously awarded the Commissioner’s Medal for Valour.
Since the late 1980s, the adequacy of the revolver for police duties had been in question and the self loading pistol was favoured as a replacement for the Smith & Wesson model 10 revolver. In 1998, the Glock model 22 self loading pistol chambered for the .40 S&W cartridge was being issued to replace the .38 calibre Smith & Wesson model 10 revolver.
The Glock is not the first type of self loading pistol that has been issued to NSW Police.
From the late 1920s, until phasing in of the Smith & Wesson model 10 revolver in the 1960s, an assorted variety of pistols and revolvers were used for police use, many coming from confiscated and surrendered stocks as well as government purchase. Throughout this period leading up to 1965, revolvers such as the .32 Colt Police Positive, the Colt Pocket Positive and also the .38 special Smith & Wesson model 10, were issued to ranks below sergeants 1st class were issued with .25 calibre self loading pistols. While this may have been the desired mode of issue, the types of pistols and revolvers issued depended on things such as supply and availability.
Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),
Friday 14 July 1995, page 6
Firearms amnesty follows tragedy
SYDNEY: The NSW Government has announced a 12 month firearms amnesty effective immediately.
The Premier, Bob Carr, said yesterday that anyone who was holding an illegal firearm should surrender it to police.
” I have asked the Minister for Police, Paul Whelan, to widely publicise the amnesty, ” Mr Carr said.
” The amnesty means the owner of an illegal and prohibited firearm can hand it over to the police without fear of prosecution. ”
The Victorian Government announced a permanent gun amnesty on Tuesday and Mr Carr said then that he wanted an amnesty up and running in NSW as soon as possible.
He made the announcement yesterday after returning from the funeral of Senior Constable Peter Addison, who with his partner, Senior Constable Robert Spears, was gunned down outside a house at Crescent Head on the NSW mid-north coast on Sunday morning.
The pair had gone to the address in response to a domestic dispute.
The gunman, John McGowan, shot himself in the head later.
He had made his Ruger 14 mini-rank rifle illegal by attaching two magazines so the weapon could fire 30 rounds without reloading. The legal limit is five.
And police said the rifle was not licensed.
” The challenge we face here is that there was a gun, illegal under NSW law, in the possession of someone who did not have a shooter’s licence, ” Mr Carr said.
” Now obviously an amnesty that would drain the number of guns out of the community makes sense. ”
NSW had a gun amnesty after the August 1991 Strathfield massacre when Wade Frankum opened fire and shot dead six people in a suburban shopping plaza before turning the gun on himself.
In April 1994, the NSW Police Service switched on its Computerised Operational Policing System list, on which the name and address of every licensed shooter in the state is on the computer database.
There is a also a “persons’ of special interest” category on COPS which would cater for people with a psychological history of violence or a criminal record.
14 Jul 1995 – Firearms amnesty follows tragedy – Trove
Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 – 1995),
Monday 10 July 1995, page 1
Coastal holiday village woken to the sound of murder
KEMPSEY: The serenity of a north-coast township was broken early yesterday when two police officers were shot dead while on duty and their killer committed suicide by turning his gun on himself.
Police said that just after 1am Senior Constables Peter Addison and Robert Spears, both aged 36, had arrived at a house in Crescent Head, 21km south-east of Kempsey, in response to a call about malicious damage to a car.
Within minutes, the pair, who had transferred to Kempsey with their young families about six months ago, were gunned down as they walked toward the house, by a man reportedly drunk and depressed over a failed love affair.
Police have confirmed that no one else was in the house with the man.
Nearby residents heard a series of shots and shouting then further blasts from a semi-automatic rifle as 35-year-old electrician John McGowan tried to comprehend his deed.
Special Protection Group members and negotiators from Sydney were rushed to the house, and residents were warned to stay in doors.
Traffic was barred from entering the town.
Anita Crowley, who lives a few streets away from the shooting, said she was woken up by the shots.
“I thought it was firecrackers,” she said. “I heard somebody shouting and yelling ‘ get down ‘.”
Police said negotiators were assessing the situation when, just before 9am, McGowan’s body was found on the front lawn of the house. He had turned the gun on himself and died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
The small town is now trying to come to terms with how a man who seemed “just a normal bloke” could shoot two police officers.
One resident, who did not want to be named, said McGowan was well-known. “He was just a normal bloke, just a resident of Crescent Head,” the man said.
“He was a bloke who would go to the club once a week, have a drink with mates, go to work five days a week.”
Another resident, who lives close to Walker Street, said: “This is just a quiet little holiday village where people come to enjoy themselves. This is the last thing you would expect from it.”
Kempsey’s Mayor, Stuart McIntyre, whose shire takes in Crescent Heads, said the shootings were an “absolute disaster” for the close-knit community, which has a population of 1200.
“It has absolutely stunned everybody,” Mr McIntyre said. “It’s one of those things which you think could never happen here.”
NSW Police Commissioner Tony Lauer said he was deeply saddened by the shooting.
“Two young police officers, going about their duties with commitment and dedication, have made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting their community,” Mr Lauer said in a statement. “These tragic events remind us of the unforeseen possibilities any police officer can face while performing their duties.”
NSW Police Association secretary Lloyd Taylor described the killings as “bad and a bloody disastrous day in policing”.
“Policing can be at times a mundane, sedentary job but it is also a job in which you can pay with your life,” Mr Taylor said.
He said the association had sent members to Kempsey to help the dead officers’ wives and children cope with the tragedy.
Local National Party MP Bruce Jeffery called for police to be issued with bullet-proof vests or soft body armour for all potentially dangerous situations.
“What has happened has highlighted the degree of danger police can face every day,” he said.
“The potential cost of these vests is a small consideration when you consider they would be protecting lives.”
The deaths of the constables brought the toll of NSW police shot and killed on duty to six in the past 10 years.
In 1986, Sergeant Paul Quinn died of a gunshot wound received on duty at Bathurst; in 1988 probationary Constable Sharon Wilson died after being accidently shot by a colleague at Leeton; in 1989, Constable Alan McQueen died after being shot when he and his partner disturbed a man trying to steal a car in central Sydney; and in 1992 Constable Juan Hernandez died when he accidently shot himself during weapons training at the Redfern Police Complex.
A police spokeswoman said Senior Constables Addison and Spears would be buried this week. The results of McGowan’s post-mortem examination should be released early this week.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/128286561
Happy Birthday Uncle Peter, loved and missed every day.
Still miss your laugh, Bob. Will always miss my little brother. He was an amazing human being and a damn good cop!