1-16-2005 Australia:
A former police officer, acquitted of murder after he shot dead an alleged child molester, has reinvented himself as a Sydney real-estate agent.
In May 1995, Fairfield detective Said Morgan took the law into his own hands and shot a man charged with having molested three girls, including two young relatives.
When a jury took 33 minutes to decide his actions were justified, public debate erupted over the implications of vigilante-style justice.
Mr Morgan assumed a low profile after he was refused reinstatement into the NSW Police force. But 10 years on from the shooting, he is running his own real-estate firm in Sydney's north-west.
"I'm happy again," he said yesterday. "I've worked hard and built a new life for myself. But I've only achieved that by learning to leave the past in the past."
A former employee at Morgans One Stop Realty in Castle Hill said: "Said remains happily married to his wife. They have three beautiful children and a tight knit extended family."
Concerned the alleged offender had received bail and that he might carry out a threat to kill the children, Mr Morgan illegally traced his target's address on a police computer, then gained entry to his Oakhurst home by flashing his detective's badge at a woman who answered the door.
He walked down a hall, passed a teenage boy watching television and found the alleged molester in bed.
In an action described in court as a "Clint Eastwood notion of justice", Mr Morgan emptied his service revolver, shooting the man six times. "It was bang, bang and then he kept coming forward and bang, bang; before I realised it, the fifth or sixth shot was fired," Mr Morgan told the court.
"I was more conscious of the last two [shots] than the first four. The first four were more instinctive."
When asked if he would do the same thing again, Morgan replied: "Without a doubt."
Mr Morgan was flooded with letters supporting his actions.
One eight-year-old boy wrote: "Dear policeman, I'm glad you shot a child molester. I hate them. I know how bad they are and what they do."
Another read: "Dear Constable, I'm a grandmother of two abused children whose father was found guilty by a judge and jury, only to win his appeal and be let off. We are all angry that these men get off with the dreadful behaviour and manage to destroy innocent children. All of my family supports you and your actions."
Another card, signed simply "Sarah", declared: "You are the champion, the protector of all children everywhere so, on their behalf, I thank you."
On August 1, 1997, a jury rejected the Crown argument it was a revenge shooting, finding Mr Morgan instead acted out of fear for the girls' safety.
Acquitted of murder and manslaughter, he said: "The reason why I believe my case gained so much public interest is because it's such a sensitive issue that involves something so close to people as a whole, irrespective of their background, race or social upbringing."
Three days after being acquitted, Morgan accepted $50,000 from A Current Affair for a tell-all interview.
As legal practitioners wrestled with the implications of the ruling, Mr Morgan said in August 1997 his focus would be to put "these two, terrible years" behind him.
"I am going to relax now," he said then with a grin as his wife, Laurice, clung to his arm and their sons, Robert and Michael played beside them.
Revealing an overwhelming desire to return to police duty, he added: "One third of my life was spent as a policeman. All I ever knew was the cops. Eat, sleep, cops - and I loved it. I love my job."
But while a jury exonerated him, the police recruitment branch rejected his application to rejoin.
Mr Morgan told The Sun-Herald he hadn't spoken publicly about the case "in years". He added: "For the sake of myself and others involved, it's better left that way."
A former work colleague, still in regular contact with Mr Morgan, said: "He's a terrific bloke both personally and professionally. He's very determined and has worked really hard to build his business up from scratch.
"But despite all that, the only thing that really matters is his family. He counts them above everything, as I think he always has." ..more.. by Eamonn Duff
Regina v Said Morgan Matter No 70064/95 (28 July 1997), Supreme Court of New South Wales
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