|
|
Allegations
of Abuse in Institutions |
|
|
|
|
Grant Bain never stood
a chance. It was February 13,
1981 and the 17-year-old was cleaning his rifle with cadets from his platoon
in room 14. It was 9pm when
17-year-old cadet Andrew Read walked in, training an M16 on cadets in the
room. Read, a senior cadet,
set his sights on the teenager from Te Awamutu. As Read's gun was
pointed at Grant's head, he said to him, "Look, it's on semi." Another cadet called
him a "silly ... ," before turning his back. They had all
experienced Read's bullying before, some on the receiving end of his boot or
fist. Grant walked backwards,
his own rifle pointed in the air, pushing Read's gun out of the way. A shot fired, Grant's
body stiffened, he staggered and fell to the floor. The platoon scattered,
just one cadet bent down to help him. He was still there dabbing the gaping
wound in Grant's neck with a towel when Army medics arrived. The full Army court of
inquiry obtained by the Weekend Herald details the shooting of Grant Bain,
including statements from cadets who witnessed it and other abuse dealt out
to junior cadets. It reveals for the
first time that the police investigation into Grant's shooting took just six
hours. It was 14 hours from
the shooting, to Read's charge, his appearance in court and guilty plea. The Herald has also
obtained a letter from the head of the Army school at the time, Lieutenant
Colonel Brian Monk, signing off on the court of inquiry. It confirms at the
time Grant was shot an informal inquiry was underway into senior cadets from
Grant and Read's platoon "overstepping their authority". He also states,
"the situation is longstanding in that successive generations of junior
cadets suffer comparative subjugation of informal cadet-imposed discipline in
the expectation that their turn will arrive the following year". Mr Monk was quoted by
the New Zealand Press Association this week saying cadets could not be
supervised all the time but he would be astounded if dedicated officers and
NCOs were not doing the very best possible for the cadets. The full inquiry
details a school understaffed, senior cadets including Read assaulting junior
cadets, and a cadet kicked by his whole platoon on the order of a cadet
sergeant that same day Grant was killed. It includes Read's
statement on the shooting, saying he thought he'd have a "bit of
fun" with a .223 round he thought he had removed the gun power from. He had done it before.
He had been stealing rounds from the school's ammunition range. But the powder in
Grant's round hadn't been removed, and Read was left standing over his body
before he too ran off. The Army inquiry
contains a statement from Lieutenant Roland Thompson, a military police
officer, who said Read was cautioned and interviewed by Detective Sergeant
Piers Hunt at the military police platoon the night of the shooting. Lieutenant Thompson
said that following the interview, which he attended, Mr Hunt arrested and
charged Read with careless use of a firearm causing death. Mr Hunt maintains Read
was charged at the Taihape police station and he battled with his superior
Detective Senior Sergeant Rob Butler, now deceased, for the charge to be manslaughter.
He believes the six
hours the investigation took was sufficient, given they had Read and an
admission he shot Grant. Mr Hunt said he knew
Read had fired a gun at another cadet four hours before he shot Grant, but
not about Read's involvement in previous assaults on cadets. Read should have been
charged with manslaughter, he says. But he wasn't. He was
sentenced to 200 hours' community work and given a $200 fine for careless use
of a firearm causing death. His community work was
carried out at the Waiouru Army golf course. The man who headed the
Army's inquiry into the shooting, Major Graham Beddie, says the inquiry
started the day Read pleaded guilty in court. He was told Read had been dealt
with and to "leave it alone". Mr Beddie said military
charges were laid in relation to assault and ammunition offences but he
believed nothing more happened to Read. Read was discharged
from the Army a short time later and returned to his Hokitika home, where he
was killed in a forestry accident in October 1989. |
