The policeman who said ‘no’ to attending Australia’s last execution
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As a career cop, Bryan Harding was a walking contradiction: a likeable man who attracted enemies; a union man who fell out with his union; and a hard detective who considered himself a pacifist.
Many old-school police saw him as a dangerous revolutionary who opposed capital punishment, tried to keep young offenders out of prison and looked for social rather than legal solutions for conflict. Along his 40-year police journey Harding had some senior officers try to block his career path and was forced to resign as Police Association secretary when he pushed through much-needed reforms.