THE TIMARU MURDER

Hokitika Guardian, 31 August 1921, Page 4

THE TIMARU MURDER

, FURTHER PARTICULARS. TIMARII, Aug. 29. N - Further particulars of the : raged; whereby Constable Dorgan met hi death show that Constables Christophe and Dorgan were the two men who w< r it-, on duty in tire main street late on Fri is day’ night, the former being on Iso 1,10 and the latter on No 2 beat. About ; 1110 quarter to twelve Constable Cbristonbc had a look round about Air Thomson’ shop, when all lights were out, and th on doors securely locked. Shortly befor mi 1 a.m. he noticed a light in the shop le and saw that some brown paper (whic in was not there on his previous visit i< vt - the shop) had been hung over the gins , at the front door. He went into tin )n street and signalled with his torch ti Constable Dorgan, and the latter sip in nailed in reply from the opposite end o to the Areade. On Constable Dorgan join nd i nj . Constable Christopher they went t 1° the shop, and saw the light still there but they could bear no noise. The; tried the doors, front and back, and oi „„ finding them locked Constable Dorgai or suggested that bis companion should gi cd to Mr Thomson’s private bouse, a. fev I" hundred yards away, and nseortaii ls ' whether lie bad left a light burning, o whether bo or any of bis bands wore working in the shop, and if the roplj rf l was in the negative, to get the keys s< that they (the constables) could male a noiseless entry. FOUR SNOTS FIRED. Constable Christopher ran all the war jo Mr Thomson’s house, and all the wa; o back, Constable Dorgan undertaking t< ' S keep watch while his companion wa: rr away. Constable Christopher got tin £ keys of the shop, and had just reached s< the northern end of it on his return o- when lie heard four shots fired in quid sa succession at the entrance to the right '• v of-way which leads from the main stree " to the back of the shop. He met Constable Dorgan, who wa io staggering, and said: “He bred ton of shots at me, and ran up the back. I’n n- thirsty. Get me a drink of water, dl please. 1 know Im done.” With that lv fie fell against the iron gate of the ,v riglrs-of-way and then to the ground. j- 0 Constable Christopher endeavoured et to hold him up, but the dying man wa: ly in great pain, and throw himself aboiU id so that his companion found it impos re s ii,] ( , to hold him. Constable Cluisto 1,1 pher immediately telephoned to I): Ussher, and to the Police Station. Di in Ussher was in attendance a few min)o utes later, hut could do nothing for tin n- wounded man, who <lied fifteen minute tn niter he was shot. .Mr Thomson, who had followed Con stable Christopher down from his house itj Senior-Sergeant Fahey. Detective Ah st bolt, Constable McCullough, Constabh vs Taylor, and other members of tin c force were all on the scene a few mimiui tl , s ~fter tbc fatality, and immediately instituted a search for the man who fir- | S cd the shots, a search which has been ls continued vigorously ever since. Constable McCullough was on duty in n: I’nrnard street at the time of the •s shouting, and he heard the four shots ■y quite distinctly, and lost no time in getting to the scene of the disturbance. HOW THE TRAGEDY HAPPENED. While it cannot, in the absence of t, witnesses, be said precisely what happen io cd, it is believed that while Constable n Christopher was away for the keys of the shop, the burglar completed bis haul and came unit of a door at the ■ back of the building to see if all was v clear, and that Constabe Dorgan then i- saw him and gave chase. There is a It yard and n steep clay cliff at the rear ‘ of the shop, and at one corner of the yard there arc marks of a scuffle, and ”, it is presumed that the constable bailt cd up his man there; that the burglar > then fired the four shots, which were heard, and immediately made good his '' escape up the clay cliff in which steps are cut. P.v so doing he could quickly get in Sophia street, and well clear of i the scene of the tragedy. Ho did not , came out on to Stafford street; if he had done so Constable Christopher must have seen hint. It would appear flint the burglar was not after money, as no attempt had been made to interfere with the safe, and he confined his operations to the men’s department of the shop, lie had two hags with him, and these were found standing just inside the dour through which lie escaped, as though they had been placed there to carry awr.v if the coast had been clear. In one of the bags a number of shirts, socks, ties etc., were found, and in the other a box suit. Though four shots were fired, two musit have gone wide, as the deceased only bore marks of two of them. One went in the front of bis helmet, and out at the back of ft without actually touching him, but the other- the fatal one-—entered his right breast a little

below t lif shoulder. THE EAR’S MOVEMENTS. .Mr T. Tlioinsou, proprietor of tin ’ shop which was entered, says that hi left the budding on Friday night at ten o’clock when the doors, front and hack were locked and everything was in order. A question has arisen as to how 111’’ burglar entered. When Constable Christopher first saw the light in the shop prior to calling Constable Dorgan, lie tried all tile doors and found them locked. Though it is not known how the burglar got into the building there wore plenty of ways bv which lie could get out. There are three doors at the bark of the shop, and a key was in each on the inside, and the two front doors could also have been opened from the inside. In undertaking to guard the building while Constable Christopher was away for the keys. Constable Dorgaa took on a difficult task with so mnay doors to watch. Ho took lip a stand at the top of the right-of-way, where lie could overlook both the right-of-wa-and the backyard, and there are marks which show that when the man came out of the shop, lie was chased to the far corner of the yard, where the constable’s torch was found. Tl would bo nos«ible for an active person to gain entrance to the shop by climbing on' of the verandah posts in the front of the shop and so get access to die balcony. opening on to which is a door which it is understood could easily he entered, in which e"so all the intruder would require to do would he twaif: downstairs. Tt was, of course, difficult for l' r r Thomson to sav whether any goods had been stolen, but so far ns he could tell on a cursory inspection made in company willi flic police. Constable dorgaa

had so effectively Interrupted the would-be thief as to make it impossible for him to get away with anything. A search was made for the torch which Constable Dorgan had carried, and though it could not at first he discovered, Senior-Detective Cameron found it in the yard at the hack of the shop this afternoon. POLICE WITHOUT FIREARMS. A matter which has aroused indignation is the defenceless wav in which the police are required to hunt down even desperate criminals men who will not hesitate to shoot if they think they earn keep their freedom by so doing The regulations do not permit constables to carry firearms, and in dealing with a man with a gun they form an easy target, especially on a dark night such as last night was. when, as soon as the policeman flashed his torch to seek his man, the latter could see clearly where to fire, and the officer of the law hav ing no weapon could not return the fire. It is considered certain that n quick, fearless man like the dead con stable was, would have been able to protect himself bad be been in possession of a revolver THE DEAD CONSTABLE. In tile afternoon Inspector Elastic received the following telegram from the Minister of Justice (the Hon. K. P. j,/>o): —“lt was with very deep regret that 1 learned from the Commissioner of Police this morning that Constable Dorgan had been mortally wounded whilst performing his duties. Will you kindly convey my deepest sympathy to Mrs Dorgan and her family ” The deceased constable was ft 7 years of age. He had been nine years in the Police Force and was transferred here from Christchurch seven years ago. He was a big and very powerfully built man and a very efficient and popular officer. While lie carried out his dut'-"-well, lie was not one who would needlessly annoy people, and lie was not a man who made enemies. He had a wife and three young children, one of the latter being at present in the public hospital. Mrs Dorgan’s parents (Mr and Mrs Shine! live a few miles south of Timani. VICTIM’S FUNERAL. TIMARU, Aug. 30. The funeral of the murdered Constable, James Dorgan, took place this afternoon. Tt was one of the largest funerals ever seen in Timaru. The Regimental Band, accompanied by all the Police in the district and also 20 police from Christchurch, also representatives of the Defence Department, the Public Services, the municipality, and local organisations were present. There was a Requiem Mass in the morning at the Catholic Church, Rev. Father Hurley officiating, lie also officiated at the grave, where he eulogised the deceased. All the other religious denominations were represented in the cortege. The pal! bearers were members of the local Force. The shops were dosed for half an hour to allow the. proprietors and the -tails to attend. Tho weather, which was fine, though cold, permitted a large attendance. The Commissioner of Police, Mr O'Donovan, would have been present, hut his steamer failed to connect. He telegraphed an address which was read after the funeral service. SEARCH STILT, FRUITLESS. TIMARU, Aug. 30. There is no result yet. from the search for the murderer of Constable I organ.