Second Honour For Policeman Killed On Patrol

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday December 22, 2007

Craig Skehan

MURDERED at the age of 26 in the Solomon Islands on December 23, 2004, Adam Dunning was yesterday posthumously awarded a second citation for conspicuous service.

The Australian Federal Police protective services officer received the first citation of his short career for dealing with an armed suspect in Canberra.

The second was for going on the late-night vehicle patrol on a back road of the capital, Honiara, that ended with a sniper in long grass shooting him in the back.

Dunning was a member of the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, which was deployed in 2003 to stem ethnic bloodshed and corruption.

The Federal Police Commissioner, Mick Keelty, ordered an investigation into the killing; two local men were later charged. In May they were found not guilty in the Solomons High Court on the grounds the evidence against them was largely circumstantial.

Mr Keelty presented the posthumous award for conspicuous professional conduct to Dunning's father, Mike, and his partner, Elise Wiscombe, at the AFP College in Canberra. "It is three years ago this weekend since we lost Adam in the ultimate sacrifice," he said. "His legacy should make his family and colleagues very proud of the contribution he made in the Solomon Islands on behalf of all Australians."