Mackay Inspector Ian Haughton opens up about catching Raymond Garland
It was a regional police inspector who negotiated with Australia’s most dangerous sex predator while he held 14 people hostage in a siege. Here is his story.
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It was 1997 and Inspector Ian Haughton was the man standing between Australia’s most dangerous living sex predator and his hometown community.
Serial rapist Raymond Henry Garland had stopped in Mackay where he sexually assaulted a minor while armed with a gun, before fleeing.
Garland took the gun and 14 hostages, barricading himself in a room in South Mackay where it was up to Inspector Haughton to negotiate while a Special Emergency Response Team was deployed.
It is a day the retiring inspector will never forget.
“You’re at a forward command post, you’re hearing shots ringing out, and you’re hoping that no one is getting hurt,” Inspector Haughton said.
Inspector Haughton said almost every officer in Mackay — his friends and colleagues — were within the inner cordon of the flat.
One officer was shot in friendly fire when Garland tried to make an escape.
“We all knew him, that was scary,” he said.
Inspector Haughton said it was revealed Garland had raped three of the hostages during the siege, and SERT officers were forced to crash his car to capture him.
Garland was caught and convicted, deemed never to be released.
Some of the most horrific cases in Inspector Haughton’s career have coincided with some of the most precious moments in his personal life.
Inspector Haughton was working in Mackay Criminal Investigation Branch in 1992.
“We had a patch there where we had a couple of murders,” he said.
“My first child was born and my wife was in hospital, and a lady — Joan Elizabeth Randell — was murdered in Queens Park.
“It was about 10 days later that we found the offender. It was a significant random selection, it was terrible.”
Investigations revealed the murderer, Simon Wilson, had been in Mackay for just a short time after being released in Victoria where he had a previous conviction for armed robbery and rape, including beating and raping a 67-year-old woman on her way home from bingo.
“He was convicted. That person has now done their time and was deported from Australia, and in a short time, did the same thing again,” he said.
“There’s not much you can say about that, except that person is bad.”
Wilson was in 2008 deported to Britain – his country of birth – and sentenced for attacking and then attempting to rape a 71-year-old London pensioner.
Despite having a front-row seat to the world’s worst 1 per cent of people, Inspector Haughton still maintains nearly “every person has good in them”.
“Some of the best times have been in disaster management,” he said.
The Inspector has worked through countless catastrophes, with the most recent being the 2009 floods and the 2011 Cyclone Yasi in Townsville while he was stationed there, and Cyclone Debbie in Mackay in 2017.
“With those experiences, there are always things that happen where you just go, that’s amazing,” Inspector Haughton said.
“What people do to help each other out.”
Mackay District Superintendent Glenn Morris said Inspector Haughton would be a “big loss” to the region’s police and community ranks, having worked closely with him during the Covid-19 pandemic and inter-agency response.
“Ian is incredibly committed to the community,” Superintendent Morris, who chairs the District Disaster Coordination group, said.
“It wasn’t an eight-hour a day job, for Ian it was 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
Inspector Haughton was the deputy District Disaster Coordinator, holding a critical leadership role in setting the direction and support for staff and ultimately keeping the community safe during the pandemic.
“He’s as dedicated as any officer I have ever seen,” Superintendent Morris said.
“Ian was tasked with the operations co-ordinator for the District Disaster Coordinations group and was integral in supporting Queensland Health and other government agencies in the response to Covid and literally, his commitment was outstanding.”
Through the DDC role, Inspector Haughton worked closely with other agencies including Mackay Hospital and Health Service’s Public Health Unit.
Director Brigid Fenech said Inspector Haughton’s leadership and counsel was invaluable during Covid-19 and the region’s response to the pandemic, and other events requiring an emergency response.
“As Public Health Practitioners, we have the opportunity to work with QPS sporadically throughout our working life,” Ms Fenech said.
“There are various pieces of legislation and the odd disaster that ensures a sound and respectful working relationship.
“A pandemic in a regional community has provided more opportunity for a working partnership than any of us ever envisaged.
“On some of the longest days and nights since January 29, 2020, when the public health emergency was declared, working with Inspector Haughton has been both rewarding and inspirational; and on most occasions just made sense.
“With the safety of our community at the forefront of all his decisions and subsequent actions, Ian is the epitome of a Country Cop done good, really good. At least in my mind.
“I can’t comment on his accolades in terms of policing, I am sure there are many.
“What I can say is that it has been a privilege to work with him in some of the most trying and turbulent times we have faced as a region, and the difficult and often seemingly insurmountable issues that had to be solved.
“If you started a job with Ian, you ended it with him by your side, and usually finished with a sense of achievement.
“I am, along with my colleagues, eternally grateful for his counsel, wisdom, experience and applied knowledge.
“We wish you all the best Ian, the local police force and our community will miss you.”
The Inspector has served Queensland’s regional community for 40 years, beginning his career in Brisbane before moving to the Gold Coast and then Ayr where he learned the foundations of policing that served him through his long and successful career.
During his tenure, he has also lived through the various tides of changes within the police force itself, in particular, the Fitzgerald Inquiry.
“There was a cloud of corruption over some senior members,” Inspector Haughton said.
“The corruption was identified in a minor portion, but it had a major impact on how the Queensland Police Service was seen.
“So for me, I would go and do a job with some people, and there was always ‘oh you’re one of the Queensland police, aren’t you guys corrupt?’.”
Inspector Haughton said in some ways that type of reception took a toll, but living by his own code of morals — “to treat others as you would like to be treated” — meant he could always stand proud.
“Because you know in yourself you’ve done the right thing, you’ve always done the right thing,” he said.
Inspector Haughton will be signing off for the last time on Friday March 11.
It is the sunset on a long, impressive career he started as a cadet aged just 19, soon after finishing year 12.
He said he was looking forward to his retirement with his wife.
But there is no doubt the Mackay community will continue to feel his presence.
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