Inquest into the Death of Grierson, Lewis, Hancock
Deceased
William Joseph Grierson, Lawrence William Lewis, Donald Leslie Hancock
Demographics
39y, male
Date of death
2000-10-01; 2001-09-01
Finding date
2006-04-21
Cause of death
Grierson: gunshot wound to chest and abdomen from .30 calibre rifle. Hancock and Lewis: multiple injuries from bomb explosion.
AI-generated summary
Three men died in related incidents in Western Australia. William Joseph Grierson, 39, was shot with a .30 calibre rifle at Ora Banda on 1 October 2000 following a confrontation between Gypsy Jokers motorcycle club members and the hotel proprietor. The shooter's identity remains unknown despite extensive investigation. Donald Leslie Hancock, 64, and Lawrence William Lewis, 63, were killed on 1 September 2001 when a bomb was remotely detonated in Mr Lewis's vehicle, planted by members of the Gypsy Jokers in revenge for Grierson's death, believing Hancock was responsible. The coroner found serious failures in the initial police investigation, including conflicts of interest when detectives who had socialised with Hancock the afternoon of the shooting led the investigation. The coroner identified systemic failures: delays in calling Major Crime Investigation Unit, failure to obtain search warrants promptly, inadequate protection briefing for those associated with Hancock, and security breaches allowing motorcycle gang members to obtain confidential vehicle registration information used to identify bombing targets.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Error types
Contributing factors
- Failure of police to promptly involve Major Crime Investigation Unit despite conflict of interest
- Detectives socialising with primary suspect on day of shooting
- Failure to obtain search warrants immediately
- Failure to brief potential victims of threat from Gypsy Jokers
- Security breach allowing motorcycle gang access to confidential vehicle registration information
- Reluctance of witnesses to cooperate with initial investigation
- Inadequate initial crime scene management
Coroner's recommendations
- AD-16.10 should be re-worded to provide further detail on how conflict of interest situations should be managed when immediate action is required and how supervisors should act when conflicts are identified
- Detectives should not be posted to country regions until they have demonstrated understanding of relevant Commissioner's Orders and Code of Conduct
- Consideration should be given to increasing powers of police investigating homicide cases to enable immediate and comprehensive searches without warrant at the location of the homicide and nearby locations where evidence might be found
- Western Australia Police should liaise with Department for Planning and Infrastructure regarding access to private information on police computer systems and checks on persons with access, including random checks to identify links to criminal organisations, immediate notification of links to organised crime groups, random audits of information access, and enhanced awareness training on risks of inappropriate information release
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