NSW‘s homicide squad commander Danny Doherty has announced he will retire after four decades with the police force.
Doherty first joined the police academy in Goulburn, 195km south-west of Sydney, in January, 1985.
He worked hard and was promoted to an investigator in 1994 and robbery and serious crime officer in 2018.
Doherty finally reached his top position in December 2019 and became known for his media appearances.
His last day on the job will be April 10, 2025.
In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald in September last year, Doherty revealed he handled his first suspicious death case when he was 24-years-old.
He credited the case and the senior officers’ and detectives’ behaviour as the catalyst for him wanting to become an investigator.
‘It was a toddler at Easter time who was assaulted and died; she was in the cot deceased,’ Doherty recalled.
NSW’s homicide squad commander Danny Doherty (pictured) has announced he will retire
‘The two things that stick with me was the horrendous crime scene, but also the smell of Easter eggs. I couldn’t eat Easter eggs for two or three years after, it was just stuck in my head.’
His interactions with police began as a young child.
Doherty grew up in a violent household and came to view officers as the people who ‘protected’ him and his mother.
The positive interactions left an ‘indelible impression’ on Doherty and resulted in him joining the police academy following a brief teaching career.
Doherty oversaw many serious cases during his career.
Just in 2024, those included the alleged double murder of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies by a police officer, Bondi Junction mass stabbing and an alleged suspicious house fire in Sydney which claimed the lives of three children.
More to come…
