User:Lawrencelyons

Who is Lawrence Lyons of Queensland:

Extracts from an essay, a true story titled, "The Joke" (Source: www.thejoke.com.au) Author - Lawrence Lyons

I was called to the Fitzgerald Inquiry as witness 51 and remember thinking later that the lawyers seemed more interested in the recent history of ‘The Joke’. I assumed that this was because the dusty past was far more difficult to look into. Regrettably because of the problems associated with things long since passed I and many others are firmly of the belief that a small number of corrupt police and their criminal associates literally got away with murder.

The language of intimidation

I began my exposure to the language of intimidation in 1974. I was less than fifteen when I witnessed the explosion of a car owned by a police woman. Moments before the fire ball my childhood friend and I were playing in the backyard of her parent’s home on Norman Avenue, Norman Park where she lived next door to the former homestead estate house. My friend and I did not realise and we were not told that the fire had been set. Later in life as a young Constable I learnt that the fire had been a warning to the police woman and was connected to her investigation of a criminal that was suspected to be in the employ of a corrupt police officer. The fire had nothing to do with the events in the sixties that involved the Water Police although the people it impacted upon were one extended uniform policing family living in a suburb of Brisbane.

Courage

Of the circle of boys I grew up with in the late sixties and seventies a few ended up years later on the wrong side of the law. Of particular significance to me and sadly ironic to my childhood past is the death of my former work partner and friend, Peter Kidd. A boy we knew by his nicknamed Burnie later becomes the killer 'Paul Mullins' who mortally wounds Peter and seriously wounds three other officers in the same gun fight. Before Peter succumbed to his mortal wounds he shots Mullins almost point blank after crawling across the floor to where Mullins is shooting back at the other police in the house. Peter’s shot ends the argument but not before Mullins has shot and seriously wounded three other police officers with a deadly semi-automatic rifle. Peter’s family later receives in his name the highest award, an award that represents the courage and bravery for which can be given in the name of a non-military person. Others that were involved in the incident were also offered other awards for their bravery. However they each turned the offering of an award out of respect for Peter.

Brief of evidence

My father along with the other water police by way of their professional standing and personal decisions supported the plight of nine police officers from other areas of the force. The result of the investigation of these nine officers was a brief of evidence. Within the brief are extracts of statements and other information including the details of the proposed testimony intended for a well-respected Magistrate. It is the first step of a plan to bring about a fresh Royal Commission of Inquiry with much wider terms of reference and scope relative to previous inquiries that had failed.

Nine armed men

My subsequent direct involvement in this story is in the concluding chapters of ‘The Joke’. I complete a three year police cadetship, and I am immediately transferred to City Station and soon after to the historic Fortitude Valley Station as a Beat Officer. I have little knowledge of corruption in the police force and my father and the others have intentionally not told me anything apart from some guiding principles to work by.

Later after I discover for myself through a series of events commencing with random selection as a result of a radio call to a fight in progress between Chinese and Vietnamese men my suspicion that my employer, Police Commissioner Terrance Lewis may be corrupt comes to life. My testimony to the Fitzgerald Inquiry is about the smoking gun incident involving suspected Chinese regulator, Malcolm Sue. I knew Sue from my days walking the Fortitude Valley Beat. We knew he had a security business and it was suspected that he created his own business so to speak. However no one in the Valley was prepared to commit to a statement for fear of reprisals.

Down in the basement

Following this event my partner Peter Kidd who had returned to Mobiles after being on leave discussed with me the options. We decided to conduct our own unauthorised investigations into the triad’s activities. Late one night when I am driving home from work I decided to park around the corner from police headquarters and walked to the bottom basement of police headquarters beyond the boom gates where the non-commissioned officers including ourselves cannot drive. I had a feeling that perhaps the triad leader and the leader of the police may meet for what they could say was a conversation about community policing in China Town.

The hidden notebook

All physical evidence about the incident apart from my official police notebook was removed from the system. It was my father’s advice to keep hidden my notebook and put into the system my training notebook so that it would look like my field notebook had become lost in the system. After producing my official police notebook with details of the shot guns, revolvers, nomination and serial numbers of notes enough to buy a house in Brisbane along within the names of people detained the atmosphere in the court room completely changed and the tone of the lawyer was no longer threatening.

The right outlook

Regarding the professional outlook a police officer should have, I think about the attitudes towards life and work exhibited by the hard working men of the Brisbane Water Police that I knew as the son of a police man, a fellow diver. They were men that not only work together but socialised together as one extended family. Their river side police station is a historic yet sadly dilapidated building that still stands today in the shadow of the Story Bridge. It once had two mysterious iconic gate keepers, Captain Cook era black powder cannons that guarded the entrance to their station. Poetically only those that manned the station knew that the cannons could actually be loaded and fired. Those of the station worked in interesting times that were very difficult for them to deal with. They often discussed the problems within the Queensland Police Force only a cannon ball away from the National Hotel where the corrupt and their criminal partners drank and plotted to gain greater wealth and POWER.

See also: www.aph.gov.au/House/committee/pjcaad/asio/Subs/Sub15.pdf