Former Deputy Police Commissioner Questioned About Historic Gay Death Investigations

Former NSW deputy police commissioner, Mick Willing, has been questioned regarding claims he encouraged a controversial interview in 2015, about investigations of the historic death of gay American man Scott Johnson.

As part of the anti-LGBTQI hate crime deaths inquiry, a 2015 ABC Lateline interview between journalist Emma Alberici and then detective chief inspector Pamela Young, and the circumstances around the interview has been further examined.

On Friday (October 6), Willing was called to give further evidence in relation to the investigations of Johnson’s death, denying accusations of “kowtowing” the Johnson family in setting up a reinvestigation in 2013.

Johnson’s death at a well-known gay beat at Sydney’s Northern Beaches in 1988 was initially ruled as suicide. Three decades later, following pressure from the Johnson family to reopen investigations, a suspect was arrested in 2020.

Scott White later pleaded guilty to manslaughter in relation to Johnson’s death. In June earlier this year, White was sentenced to nine years in jail.

Johnson’s case was one of 88 unsolved deaths of gay men and trans women in Sydney between 1970 and 2010, and has been an intensively examined throughout the inquiry.

“Controversial” Interview

Speaking with former ABS Lateline host Alberici in 2015, Young previously claimed there was “still evidence” of Johnson having died by suicide and brought kowtowing claims against Willing about the Johnson reinvestigations.

The controversial interview was allegedly not authorised by Willing, who was Young’s boss at the time. A day after the interview, Willing released a statement regarding the some of the comments, labelling them as “inopportune.”

According to reports from Sydney Morning Herald, Willing recently told the inquiry he was never aware of the in-studio interview between Alberici and Young, saying he was shocked by the comments from Young.

However, during inquiry hearings last week, both Alberici and Young claimed on separate occasions that Willing had encouraged the interview.

Alberici said they had met the former deputy commissioner for coffee in 2017, with him telling her words to the effect of, “I wanted [Young] to do the interview so that the general public could see that we were not homophobic and not negligent and that the Johnson family were insufferable.”

Willing denied the claimed, noting “I did not say that… I certainly did say that I felt sorry for [Young].”

Additional claims from Alberici recalled the deputy commissioner allegedly proposing the interview to rid political pressure around the case. Willing labelled the claim as “absolute rubbish.”

Alleged Kowtowing

Young’s evidence claimed Willing was aware and approved of the interview. Young said he called her the morning after the interview, saying “he thought it was good.”

Willing did not deny the claim on Friday, saying he could not recall saying the interview was good.

Furthermore, Young alleged Willing was aware of her potentially using “kowtowing” during the interview. Young said she was “tempted” to say that about a police minster when speaking to Willing before the interview. Willing apparently responded to the comment by laughing, which she interpreted as further encouragement.

Willing’s barrister, Murugan Thangaraj, examined Young during the hearing later on Friday. Thangaraj put to Young, that it “would be totally inconceivable” to claim kowtowing of a police minister on record. Thangaraj said that the laugh from Willing during the discussion was in the context of the comment being a joke.

Young responded saying, “I don’t joke about the minister and his kowtowing.” Young said that she knew the kowtowing comment was controversial.