ROYAL PARK AFFRAY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 156, 17 June 1936, Page 9

ROYAL PARK AFFRAY

Inquiry Into Shooting of Detective ATTITUDE OF PRESS By Telegraph—Press Assn. —Copyright MELBOURNE, June 16. The Royal Commission inquiring into the shooting of Superintendent John O’Connell Brophy (chief of the Victorian Criminal Investigation Branch) continued sitting today. The commissioner is Judge Manindoe, assisted by Mr L. Stretton. Detective 0 ’Keefe, resuming his evidence, said that after seeing Mrs Orr, he realised that the shooting was not accidental. Witness made no attempt to question the ear-driver, Maher, nor Mrs Phillips. He was convinced from what Mrs Orr told him that a crime had been committed. The Royal Commissioner, Judge Macindoe, asked Mr Ham, K.C., where his cross-examination was leading. Mr Ham, who is appearing for the “Herald” and “Sun” replied that it was very necessary to find out whether the police officers had some motive for falsifying the reports handed to the Press. Judge Macindoe: Your suggestion to date is that Mr Brophy may have been shot by an infuriated husband. Mr Ham: That’s what we are here for. Mr Brophy was in circumstances which could be regarded as indiscreet, therefore he had something to hide. He gave a false account of the manner in which, he received the injuries. While anybody of ordinary intelligence would suspect that his account was false, and his colleagues shared that suspicion, yet senior detectives lent themselves to falsification of facts. Frederick Millar, of West Coburgh, gave evidence that he was stopped on the way home in his car and was asked to drive Mr Brophy to hospital. Mr Brophy told him that he had been shot at Royal Park. Witness was under the impression that the shooting was accidental. Dr. Stanley o’Loughlin, of St. Vincent’s Hospital, said Mr Brophy was his patient on the night of the shooting. Mr Brophy told him he had been shot, and witness gained the impression that it had occurred while on duty. The next day Mr Brophy asked witness to keep pressmen away. Dr. O’Loughlin added that Sir Thomas Blarney had also asked him to keep the Press away from Mr. Brophy as he wanted to prepare an official statement for release to the Press. Dr. A. Carroll, medical superintendent at St. Vincent’s Hospital, said that Mr. Brophy told him within a quarter of an hour of his admission that he (Mr. Brophy) had received a telephone message tn investigate a case at Royal Park. He had gone there with a friend, and two masked men had fired at him. Douglas Gillison, reporter on the “Argus”, when show n a slip of paper relating to Mr. Brophy’s case, declared that it was certainly not the one placed before the reporters by Detective Sloan. He and other reporters asked whether detectives were engaged on the affair, to which Sir Thomas Blarney replied: “What can we do? The men were masked and a torch wa s flashed in Mr. Brophy’s face.” Sir Thomas also said that he did not know where the first Press statement about Mr. Brophy had originated. The inquiry was adjourned.