SHOOTING CASE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22446, 16 June 1936, Page 9

SHOOTING CASE

MELBOUKNE INQUIRY EVIDENCE OF INSPECTOR MEETINGS WITH INFORMERS By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright (Received June 15, 9.5 p.m.) MELBOURNE, June 15 The Royal Commission which is inquiring into the shooting of Superintendent J. Brophy, of the Victorian Criminal Investigation Department, in Royal Park, near Park' ville, on May 22, sat again to-day. Mr. Justice Macindoe presided. Detective-Inspector A. T. McKerral, chief of the Criminal Investigation Department, gave evidence regarding the conflicting stories of the wounding of Superintendent Brophy and the measures adopted to clear the matter up as "the newspapers on the Monday following the shooting published information in which there were discrepancies and departures from fact." The shooting was originally believed to be accidental, 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, Chief Commissioner of Police, then instructed witness to correct the accident story and give the newspapers the true facts.

Choice of Place for Meeting

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 Superintendent Brophy purports to have done, have met an 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 would not come. Inspector McKerral added that he saw nothing wrong in what Superintendent Brophy did. It was quite good detective work. The doctor who attended Superintendent Brophy believed the whole thing was accidental, in spite of the fact that his wounds were widely distributed.

Name of Informer a Secret Detective-Sergeant H. Carey detailed the efforts he had made to find out the facts of the shooting. He said Superintendent Brophy was -doubtful whether he could identify his assailants, but he hoped to pick up an informer who might help. Witness added that as a result of his investigations he now planned taking "certain action in a certain direction," but it was not desirable to divulge what was going on. Mr. Strftton: Do you agree with Superintendent Brophy that the name of tho informer in this case is sacred P Detective-Sergeant Carey: I do. Detective O'Keefe is at this moment obtaining information that might be of value.