Denis Robert

DETAILS OF DEATH

On 2 October 1970 Detective Constable Ware was part of a specially formed squad attempting to apprehend an armed and dangerous rapist who had been operating in the Sutherland area. A decoy car was set up at Loftus Oval with a number of Police both inside it and surrounding it in the darkness. During the stakeout one of the Police could not be contacted on his portable radio and when the decoy vehicle left the oval for a short time Detective Ware went to find out what had happened. As he neared the man with the faulty radio he was mistaken for the rapist and shot. Constable Ware had not answered when challenged and almost walked over the man on the ground. Visibility and conditions were extremely poor at the time. The Constable was conveyed to the Sutherland District Hospital where he died a short time later. The Constable was born in 1937 and joined the New South Wales Police Force on 16 August 1965.