A BRUTAL BOBBY.

NZ Truth, Issue 141, 29 February 1908, Page 5

A BRUTAL BOBBY.

A COWARDLY CUR OF A COP CONVICTED. Constable Irwin's Ruffianism Requited. MAGISTRATE BARTON'S STERN STRICTURES. Irwin's Conduct Cowardly and Disgraceful. '

A couple of. weeks 'ago this paperdevoted a little of its space to tell the people of New Zealand about a bullying brute of a bobby named Irwin, of Gisborne, who m a most currish and cowardly manner maltreated an alleged drunken man named Robert Mcßretney at Waeren«a-a-: hika on January 20 last. Matters were not minced with this ruffian Irwin. The evidence of Ms brutal assault was clear and convincing, and was testified to. by persons of unimpeachable character, so that it was impossible for this' uniformed hooligan to escape the. consequences of his most unprovoked . and maniacal attack on an old man. •• 'Truth," needless to remark* urged that, thei./.ruffian should be prosecuted. This has been done, with the result that Irwin was. at Gisborne, on Friday week, convicted by Mr W. A. Barton, S.M,, and : fined £1 with costs, amounting to £9 Is ■ 6d, ' m default seven days' imprisonment IN THE GISBORNE GAOL. The Magistrate matte some very severe strictures on, Irwin's brutal " behaviour, which "Truth" will quote m the course of its own remarks. Now that Irwin has been convicted on evidence, conclusive, clear, and a/bsolutely ; taintless, this!, • paper m urgiug that the cur should be dismissed instantly from ' the police force, is only voioirig the opinion of Gisborne people, who feel that with such a cur m their midst, and wearing tire uniform of a public guardian, no man, or, perhaps, woman, is safe from, his malevolent molestations. Tr>rie:d. the fact- that Irwin has been convicted of ah pssaulV attended by rtrcum stances of such a brutal and unmanly nature, should cause Commissioner Dinnie to promptly kick hip out of .a for^e which cannot afford to be disgraced m the public eyes by- the presence m its ranks of such a cur. Now, strange to say, "Truth" can 'find credit for one thing for Il'wiri. He had not the audacity to go into -the witness-box and there, by ner Hiring, himself, endeavor to obviate, the cor v "?"uences of bis cowardly attack on old .man Mcßretney. At any rate,' it seems to "Truths and no doubt it; will , be a^arent +o everybody, that Irwin practically hadn't a'feather to fly with : his lawyers did the best they .could for him , and tlrt Irwin got off with a fine, and not > GAOL WITHOUT THE OPTION is so.ijeU.ing the blue-clad ruffian should congratulate himself upon. It will be recollected I/hat Irwin } John Thomas Irwin, id give his full name, charged Mcßretney with drunkenness, and though Mcßretney denied that he was under the. 'influence „of liouor at the time, and ■ other witnesses gave as opinions that the old man was not drunk, the Magistrate convicted and inflicted a r.oujinal penalty. Unhappily for Irwin, the evidence showed that he had cruelly illtreated the old man, and what made matters ten times worse, Irwin - declared 'that -he na"ridled Mcßretney m the usual way drunks are treated, though, of course, he denied any brutality; Just:to' show the "usual" way,' which, to say the least, is a very unusual way, "Truth" will give Mcßretney 's story, as told to Magistrate Barton at Gisborne. In his evidence m chief he said he was asleep m the taproom of the Wae-renga-a-hika Hotel early m the afternoon of January/ 20th- It was a very hot day. Was sitting with one leg over the other m a chair. Was awakened by somebody striking him a number of blows with a stick or whip. Did not then know who had struck him, but now knew it to be defendant, who was m plain clothes. Got up; on his feet to go out of the house. . Made a step or two, but defendant caught him by the neck and the arm. Defendant jerked him once or twice, and he fell on his hands and kpees. Got up apain, defendant still holding him. Defendant jerked him backwards and forwards a few times,

and then put his knee m the small of his back. Was then jerked to the front door^ where his feet were pushed from under him, and he was thrown out into the road on THE BACK OF HIS HEAD.' Remembered nothing more until he was part of his way home. Was stunned by Ms fall. Before he entered the taproom he had no bruises or marks on his body. In the evening ms wife examined his body and found two or three bruises from the whip on the body and one on the thigh. Was black from the knee to the toes of the right leg. The injuries did not confine him to his bed, but lie was m pain for ten days afterwards. The leg swelled; The right instep still had some numbness. After leaving a man named Beatson, who had come to his assistance, had a mile to go before he reached home. From the time of leaving Beatson until the examination was made, did not fail down or do anything to cause the bruises. Was m his trousers and shirt m the taproom, being quite sound. When he got home, the shirt was badly torn, and the back seam of the trousers was burst open. Produced the shirt. On the day m ouestion had two or three nips of sherry and wMer. Had the drinks at intervals from about 10 a.m. till 2 p.m. Had lunch about 1 p.m. In the presence of defendant did not do anything to provoke an assault. Was 67 years of age. Most of this evidence was corroborated by a number of very reputable persons, and it was proved that Mcßretney was knocked down two or three times m the most brutal manned. On the evidence. Magistrate Barton expressed himself as stron&lv as the circumstances warranted, and he practically directed that there should be a prosecution 'of Irwin. When Irwin was brought before the Court, it was announced that a move had been made to eet MAGISTRATE BARTON OFF THE BENCH. The defence had summoned him as a witness, and he asked Mr Rees, who put up a gallant fight for Irwin, what evidence the defence imagined he (Mr Barton) could give. Mr Rees said that it was only desired to be able to call on his Worship to produce his notes m the case m which the/ present, informant was charged with drunkenness if any of the witnesses departed from the version given on that occasion. . Whether a dodge was being made to pack the Bench with glorious Jay v Pay galoots, this paper will not offer any opinion. Anyhow, Magistrate Barton perceived the move, and declined to : vacate the Bench,' holding that his evidence or his notes of a previous case were not material to the issue then before the Court. Moreover, this paper wants to say this, the Magistrate had he vacated the Bench would have failed m his duty to the public, and would have left a loop-hole open whereby he would be accused of partiality, lack of nrmjiiess, and of being a person not alive to the responsibilities of his onerous position, ; As stated, the evidence given at the time when Mcßretney was charged with drunkenness, and which disclosed a conclusive charge of brutal assault against Irwin, was repeated, and m many particulars strengthened at the. hearintr of the assault charge against I»\vin yesterday (Friday) week. Mr Rees, who defended, had no evidence to offer. He could not deny the strength of the forces opposed to him, and. he was obliged, moreover, to admit that all the witnesses for the prosecution WERE REPUTABLE CITIZENS, and he. had no wish, m fact he could not, impeach their, characters.. . He urged, that tjhere was unconscious bias on the part of the witnesses. A legitimate defence, under, all circumstances, but one hardly likely to sweep away the irresistible cloud of evidence which proved Irwin the cowardly cur that he is. Magistrate Barton reserved his. decision till the following (Saturday) morning. In his judgment the S.M. outlined the facts of the prosecution, and observed, among other things :—■ "A constable, m arresting or ejecting any person from premises must not ii se unnecessary force mso doing, and if he does he is liable to conyiction for assault. I have carefully considered the evidence, and am satisfied that the defendant did use undue force m removing the informant from the W.aerenga-a-hika Hotel on the date m question, and that he assaulted him while on the road by violently pushing him to the ground. Defendant's action, mmy opinion, was most COWARDLY AND DISGRACEFUL, The police may rely upon my protection when discharging their duty m a reasonable and proper manner, but such conduct as I find the defendant guilty of cannot l>e allowed to pass unpunished." It is needless to make any further comment m view of the Magistrate's censure of this cowardly cur of a cop. He is a coward and a cur, and a disgrace to the Police Force. Drunken men are not objects for pity, nor are they objects for police brutality, and Irwin's conduct justifies the Magistrate's stern strictures. Certainly, the police must be protected from ruffians and hooligans, but what about the protection of the public from brutes of the Irwin type ? It must bo mentioned that the cur is under suspension, and has beeil so for some time. That he will be kicked out without delay is the least that can be expected. Just now, m Gisborne,' there is another policeman under suspension, and it is alleged that this cop is up against trouble of a serious nature. What his trouble is this paper intends to find out and ! let the public know. There are a lot of rotter's m tho n o)ice who want rooting out very badly.