SHOTS AT POLICE CHIEF

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 June 1936, Page 7

SHOTS AT POLICE CHIEF

MEETING THE INFORMER [BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN- —COPYRIGHT.] MELBOURNE, June 15. At the police .inquiry to-day Detec-tive-Inspector A. T. McKerral, Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department, gave evidence regarding conflicting stories as to t..e wounding of Superintendent Brophy, and as to the measures adopted to clear the matter up, he.said, as “‘newspapers had on the Monday following the shooting, published information in which there were discrepancies and departures

Tom fact.” The shooting was orignally believed to have been acciden-

tal, but later Detective Carey told witness that he had seen Superintendent Brophy at the hospital, and had ascertained that it was not accidental. Sir Thomas Blarney, the Chief Commissioner, then had instructed witness to correct the accident story, and to give the newspapers the true facts.

Mr. Stretton (who is assisting the Royal Commissioner asked witness: If an informer rang you in order to

make an appointment to tell you about a prospective bank hold-up, would you meet him right on the steps of that bank? Inspector McKerral: Probably no. Mr. Stretton: Would you, as Super-

tendent Brophv purports to have

done, have met the informer right in the centre of an area where motor bandits were operating.

Inspector McKerral: The circumstances are different. You have usually to keep an appointment at the spot named by the informer. Otherwise, he will not come.

Inspector McKerral added that he saw nothing wrong in what Superintendent Brophy did. It was quite good detective work. The doctor attending Superintendent Brophy believed that the whole thing had been accidental, despite the fact that the wounds were widely .distributed. Detective-Sergeant H. Carey detailed the efforts which he made to find out the facts of the shooting of Superintendent Brophy. He said that Superintendent Brophy was doubtful whether lie could identify his assail-

ants, but he hoped to pick up an informer who might help him. Witness added that, as a result of his investigations, he was now planning to take “certain action in a certain direction, but it is not. desirable to divulge what is going on.” Mr. Stretton: Do you agree with Superintendent Brophy that the name of the informer in this case is sacred?

Detective-Sergeant Carey: I do. Detective O’Keefe is, at this moment, obtaining information that might be of value.”