PARK HOLD-UP

Waikato Times, Volume 119, Issue 19914, 17 June 1936, Page 7

PARK HOLD-UP

, MELBOURNE SENSATION. ‘ ALLEGATIONO BY THE PRESS. SHOOTING OF SUPERINTENDENT. United Press Assn—Elec. Tet. Copyright. MELBOURNE. June 16. The Royal Commission which is inquiring into the shooting of Superintendent J. Brophy, or the Victorian Criminal Investigation Department, in Royal Park. near Parkviiie, on May ‘22. sat again try—day. Mr Justice .\lacin—doe presided. Detective 0‘ lx'eei‘e stated that after he. had seen .\lrs Orr, one of the passengers in the car with Mr Bl‘UDhYhe realised that the shooting of Mr Brophy had not been accidental. \\'itness said he made no attempt to question the driver 01’ the car. .\laher, nor Mrs Phillips. the other passenger. He was convinced from what Mrs Orr had told him that a crime had been committed. The Commissioner asked Mr \Nilbur Ham. K.C., counsel for the Melbourne Herald and Sun, where his cross-exam-ination of witness was leading. Reports Handed to Press Mr Ham replied that it was necessary to find out whether the police officers had some motive for falsifying the reports handed to the press. Your suggestion to date is that Mr Brophy may have been shot by an in—furiated husband?—'l‘hat is what “‘8 are here for. Mr Brophy was in circumstances which could be regarded is indisrreet. Therefore he had something,r to hide and gave a false account of the manner in which he received his injuries. Anybody of ordinary intelligence would have suspected Mr Brophy‘a account to be false, continued Mr Ham. His colleagues shared that suspicion. and senior detectives lent themselves to the falsification of the facts. ‘ Frederick .\lillard, of West Coburs,‘ said he was stopped on his way home ‘ in his car on the night of May. 22 and‘ was asked to drive Mr Brophy to 1105- 3 pital. .\ir Brophy told him he had‘ been shot at Royal Park. \Vitnessl never had the impression that the shooting was accidental, Asked to Keep Reporters Away. Stanley O‘Loughlln, of St. Vincent'sl Hospital. said that Mr Brophy was his patient on the night of the shooting.‘ The wounded man told him he hadl been shot and witness gained the im—pression that it had occurred while Mr Brophy was on duty. Next day. Mr Brophy asked witness to keep reporters away. Witness added that the Chief of Police, Sir Thomas Blamey, also had asked him to keep reporters away from Mr Brophy as he wanted to prepare an omcial statement for release to the press. Dr. A. Carroll, medical superinten-. dent of St. Vincent‘s Hospital, saidi Mr Brophy told him within a quarter of an hour of his admission that. he had received a telephone message to inrestigate a case at iioyal Park, that he went there with a friend and thati two masked men fired at him. ‘ Douglas Gillison. a reporter on thei .\rgus‘ when shown a slip of paper? relating to Mr Brophy's case. said iti certainly was not the one placed be—l fore the reporters by Detective Sioan.i “ What can We no? " l \Vitness said that he and other re-i porters had asked whether detectives. were engaged on the affair. to whichi sir Thomas Blarney had replied: “\Vhat i can we do? The men were masked. and a torch was flashed in Mri Brophy‘s face}: 1 Sir Thomas had also said he did not know where the iirst statement to the Press about Mr Brophy had originated. The hearing was adjourned. i