A detective involved in the re-investigation of the death of a gay American mathematician says she does not regret police resistance to the theory he might have been murdered.
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Scott Johnson, 27, died after he was punched at a gay beat on Sydney's northern beaches and his naked body was found at the base of a cliff at North Head in December, 1988.
Police initially ruled the death a suicide before family pressure, a series of inquiries and a $2 million reward sparked renewed interest in the cold case.
In 2020, Scott Phillip White, 52, was arrested and later pleaded guilty to manslaughter, accepting legal responsibility for the death.
In June 2023, White was sentenced to nine years in jail with a non-parole period of six years.
Evidence from three police strike forces - Macnamir, Parrabell and Neiwand - has been the subject of a special inquiry into suspected gay hate crimes.
Detective Sergeant Penelope Brown, an officer in charge on the Macnamir strike force established to investigate Mr Johnson's death, insisted police explored all lines of inquiry, including the possibilities of suicide, homicide and misadventure.
Asked if she regretted the stance taken by police in resisting the view Mr Johnson's death was a homicide, Det Sgt Brown said "not at all".
"If an objective review was conducted of Strike Force Macnamir and the work that I did, it would be established that all three possibilities were explored, every line of inquiry was explored," she told the inquiry on Tuesday.
The detective was also grilled about an interview given by her former colleague Pamela Young to the ABC's Lateline program in 2015 in which she said there was political interference in the police investigation of Mr Johnson's death.
In the interview, Ms Young, then a detective chief inspector, accused the police minister of "kowtowing" to Mr Johnson's family by establishing a new investigation into the death in February 2013.
Former deputy police commissioner Mick Willing previously told the inquiry he did not know about the sit-down studio interview and it was not authorised.
He also accused Ms Young and Det Sgt Brown of deliberately concealing the interview from everyone at NSW Police.
But diary notes taken by Det Sgt Brown detailed a conversation Ms Young had with Mr Willing on loudspeaker during a car ride to the ABC studio before giving the interview.
According to the note, Ms Young "advised commander Willing of interview with journalist Emma Alberici and stated if she was asked she would say that she felt the MP at the time kowtow to the request of the Johnson family".
Det Sgt Brown said she made a record of the conversation at the time because she was aware the "kowtow" comment was controversial.
"I recall the conversation because it was no secret that DCI Young thought the police minister at the time 'kowtowed' to the family, she made it known in the office," she said.
"Mr Willing knew that Pamela Young was going to Lateline to give that interview."
Ms Young is due to appear before the inquiry on Thursday.
Australian Associated Press
