SHOOTING MYSTERY

Evening Star, Issue 22362, 11 June 1936, Page 11

SHOOTING MYSTERY

WOUNDING OF POLICE SUPERINTENDENT EVIDENCE AT ROYAL COMMISSION Press Association —By Telegraph—Copyright. MELBOURNE, June 10. His encounter with two masked men at a rendezvous prearranged with a member of the underworld was described by Superintendent Brophy at the opening of the Royal Commission which is inquiring into the shooting of Brophy and the authenticity/ of police statements connected with it. Mr Justice Maclndoe is the Royal Commissioner. Mr L. Stretton, who is assisting the commissioner, said the whole incident was thick with confusion and mystery. Brophy, whose arm was in a sling, related that on the night of May 22 he teceived a telephone 'message from a member of the underworld who offered to give information with regard to “ gunmen ” operating around the city and Royal Park, in the vicinity of Parkville. Brophy agreed to be at tho spot arranged by the informer. Mr Justice Maclndoe asked for the man’s name, and Brophy undertook to supply the name privately in order to protect the informer from the vengeance of' his companions. Later that evening Brophy sought the use of a private car belonging to Mrs Orr, wife of the licensee of Tattersall’s Hotel, as it was undesirable to use police cars, the numbers of which the underworld was familiar with. A barman from Tattersall’s Hotel named Maher drove the car, and Mrs Orr was a passenger. The car was stopped at a spot in Royal Oalk Park arranged by the informer, when suddenly Mrs Orr exclaimed to Maher, ■“ There’s a man alongside car, Billy.” Brophy said that at that moment he noticed a man on each side of the car, one of whom was masked. The other flashed a torch into the car and called out, “ Hands up and keep quiet.” He also exclaimed, “ It’s Brophy!” Brophy added: “I dived for my pistol, which is a small calibre one, and the man shouted, ‘ Don’t shoot.’ I did not hesitate. I fired, and the man fired back, the bullet shattering my wrist. I fired again, and am practically certain that I wounded him. He continued to fire, four bullets striking me. The other man disappeared.” Mr Justice Maclndoe: Were they both shooting ? Brophy: Yes. One shot punctured a tyre. Brophy explained that the men sped away in a car, Maher* pursued them until compelled to stop by a flat tyre. Brophy explained that tho reason why he gave, an incorrect account pf the shooting in the first place was that ho did not want to compromise Mrs Orr and another woman friend of Mrs Orr, nor did he want his own wife and daughter, who are practically invalids, to hear he ,had been shot by bandits. Brophy said he was convinced that the informer was not associated with the shooting. • Mr Stretton asked: “ Didn’t it occur to you that it was unusual for a man of your rank to go out on ordinary duty?” Brophy: Ido ordinary duty if necessary. It is -done in other States. Mr Stretton: Didn’t it occur to you there was a certain amount of danger that night? Brophy: If I thought there was the slightest danger I would not have taken two ladies. I believe it was as big a surprise to the criminals as it was to me. Mr Stretton: Could you not have picked a trusted policeman to drive your car? Brophy: I would not trust brother detectives in a case like this. Brophy added: “It would bo no use calling the local police or patrol to search for the attackers, as they would not know whom to search for. I thought I was doomed, as I was unable to give them information.” Mr Wilbur Ham, -K.C., who is appearing for the 1 Herald ’ and its reporters, said he was going to suggest that the original accident theory was a subterfuge to hide the fact that Brophy was out with women. Brophy interjected: “ There was nothing sinister. I was not in the car with one, but two women.” He said he was not responsible for the accident story told to the reporters, and he hod no intention of deliberately deceiving the police chief, Sir Thomas Blarney. Mr Ham suggested that Brophy did everything to help his assailants, to which Brophy replied that, if he had given full information, his assailants could have been in Hongkong before ho was aware of their movements. There had been several hold-ups in Royal Park, added Brophy, but some were not reported in the interests of women whose reputations were at stake. The story told at police headquarters that he accidentally shot himself with his own pistol was a stop-gap excuse and a pure fabrication. He realised that tho real truth would have to come out, but not necessarily for the public. Tho commission adjourned.