POLICE COMMISSION.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 2 March 1929, Page 6

POLICE COMMISSION.

HANDLING THE WALKER CASE.

NOTICE IN “POLICE GAZETTE.”

AUCKLAND, Feb. 26

Chief-Betective Hammond continued his evidence at tlic inquiry to-cl'ay iu>to tne pdaco methods or investigating tne death, or Elsie Walker. Fresh counsel appealed at the investigation, Air. H. (j. Cooney, oi T’e Puke, appearing to represent Constable Jackson. Discussing the brief prepared in connection with. the Elsie Walker case, which he said he had no opportunity oi reading, Chiet-Detective Hammond said: "This is the first time i have find an opportunity of speaking on the case, and lam glad to have it. 1 tried to make my way into the inquest, but I could not get there.” Mr. Currie: The important point is whether you exercised any discretion at the various stages as; to what work of investigation should be done. Did you exercise^discretion, or was that the responsibiuit- of the inspector ? Mr. Hammond: I took the responsibility ,in the, early .stages. But there came a time when the responsibility was no longer yours ? —Yea, when 1 \ias id, and the matter was handed over to Detective-Sergeant liickerdike.

LITTLE INFORMATION

Witness admitted that a, Gazette notice concerning the case should liave been inserted earlier than was actuaitiy done, nut there was aittie reliable mformation. The police were always careful concerning the accuracy of inlormation publianed in the "Police G azette. ’ ’

Discussing the instructions issued, to the va,nous ponce stations to prosecute inquiries along certain lines, Mr. Currie said -when it came to a scrutiny or tne replies received it Mould be seen that the directions given were inadequate. Some of the replies were very perfunctory. Tne indication was that the inquiries ait some, garages u - ere insufficient.

Air. Page : Why do you suggest the document relates to garages on-ly ?

Air. Currie said it failed to indicate to the police that the, inquiries should be made at private places where benize codid be procured in addition to garages. Sonic, policemen had obviously gone, to garages. Reports from country constables were, placed before Air. Hammond. These reports contained the results of inquiries made. Air. Currie produced an anonymous letter and interrogated u'itnoss concerning M’liat had been clone about i|t. "They u 7 ould drive you mad, these anonymous letters,” declared Chief - Detective Hammond. , ATr. Aioody: The proper tiling to clo u'ould be to pub them in the waste-; paper .basket. Air. Hammond: That 'letter got more attention than it merited. The inspector gave instructions for inquiries, ancl 1 allotted a. man for duty. AH. Currie, wanted to know whether the instructions were typical of lion 7 the investigations Mere conducted. LETTER TO INSPECTOR.

Witness: The letter was written to the inspector. There have to be, some instructions, don’t there ? It was an anonymous letter from a man, "F.R.E.,” who said AH. Pye might know something. Air. Pye had already been seen,. but instructions were given to make further inquiries There were dozens of similar letters on the hie.

Air. Page: Witness does not ,say it was his main sole means of investigation. Air. Currie; Then —T misunderstand him. Air. Page: It urns suggested from the public, and it might have been a valuable one. Air. Currie: Whether the suggestion came, from the public or from something the police -discovered, from whom is a discretion to be looked for, the inspector or the chief-detective ? I M 7 ant to know if this is typical. Chief-Detective Hammond: If the matter came before me 1 Mould give it to- an officer to inquire, into, although I might think it did not merit the inquiries. The Commissioner subjected the chief-detective to a series of searching I questions. Air. Hammond said that in eases where a body u’as found in circumstance® which might indicate death by foul pi ay, or death from natural | causes, the body should not be moved till it had been seen by experts. In this case, knowing all that we do non 7 would if have been safer and better not to have moved the body?—No, I think the constable w-ais justified in the circumstances in forming an opinion that the girl bad crawled in (there, and died, either from natural causes or by suicide. The fact that the body had been lying there for a M'oelc, preyed upon by rodents, has to to be considered. Had the body been left there for another few hours little would have been served, but rodents would have been given a further op-, pertunitv for feeding on the body. As a, result, the body would have become even more decomposed. In the circumstances. it was wise to shift the body. Air. Page..-;said he had a number of communications of various sorts sent to him, and lie intended to question! the witness concerning the contents of some. One communication said that a member of the Thompson family at Uapamoa heard! a- car pass out from I,he Bayly’« at I. o’etock in the morning. Wais the Mi’tnessi called at. flic' inquest?—No. Do you know why ? —No. This concluded Chief-Detective Hammond’s evidence. EVIDENCE OF DR. MURRAY.

Confirmation of what he had said at the inquest was given by Mr. Murray. Speaking of conferences, lie said lie had! one with Superintendent W’olilmaim and the inspectors, and ClueifDetective Hammond, buit usually he had spoken with Detective-Sergeant Kelly. When he saw the body in the morgue on the morning after the finding of it, the oLoithes had been taken off. Usualily bodies were .stripped, hut the clothes were handy in eases of shooting and stabbing, and such (serious cases. Mr. Currie: Did the police make suggestions to you at the post-mortem ns to: what to look for ? Dr. Murray: No, why should they? I was competent of doing the examination. lixtnwiis from the chief WlH.ee five's evidence', in which he said he made certain '.suggestions to the doctor were read by Mr. Carrie. ‘‘What do you say lii that ” Mr. Currie asked. Dr. Murray: It ii* untrue. ChiefDeteativo Huminond and DetectiveSergeant Kelly were not in that buildmore than ten minutes after the postmortem examination. WORRIED OVER BRUISE.

Questioned by Mr. Currie as toi whether he had’ said to' Mr. Hammond he was worried over .a bruise on the head, Dr. Murrav said lie would very mu oil like the Chief-Detective to tefil him when he had said it. You know what Chief-Detective Hammond has said about the diiscus-

si oil at the morgue,” Air,. Aioody I asked. I Dr. Alurray: Yes, and it is wrong, j But the chief-detective is an experijenced detective? —Yes, he may be, but j not in medical! matters. Air. Aioody then asked if it was possible that the chief-detective had suggested certain causes of death uiiile at the morgue, "He did not,” Dr. Alurray replied'. ‘T am not going to, agree with wliat did not happen.” Witness said it iseemed that an endeavour was being made to throw the whole (thing on the medrcail men. Air. Aioody: Oh, no, no. Dr. Alurray: Well I cannot think anything etse. From what he had read in the'papers he thought other people, j would think the same thing too . He had been a police surgeon for 16 years and had not had a dispute with the, police, M'ith u'bom he had got on all right, and he thought he could still get on M'ith them. CAUSE NOT KNOWN. "Looking at the who'ie general position now,” Air. Finlay said to Dr. Alurray, "the actual cause of death has not’ even been found.” Dr. Alurray said that was ,so. The Commissioner: Do I understand you to say you do not know the cause of death? _ "Yes, sir,” Dr. , Alurray .answered. "We cannot say whether she died of conemission or not, but it was probable* the bruise on the skull hadi (Something to clo uitli the cause of death.” Answering questions put by AH. Leary and Air. Johnstone, Dr. Aluinray said it was possible for the girl to have died from shock following a, rat bite at night, but lie had eliminated shock because of the blow on the head. "You can got all those possibilities, I but it all comes back to the blow,” he I said. ‘‘This case n\ns an unusual lone.” . The commission then adjourned.