Ray Watson

Once upon a time Watson played lead guitar in a band called The Fix.

The former rocker joined the Victoria Police in 1973.

He caused a head-on collision while working point duty on Russell St.

Watson joined the Armed Robbery Squad after the Beach Inquiry of 1975 and later got the squad's emblem, crossed guns, tattooed on his shoulder.

In 1987 Watson was appointed head of a taskforce into violent gang activity.

There was zero tolerance with anyone seen committing a crime arrested.

On March 25, 1987, Flemington armed robber, Mark Militano was gunned down by members of the armed robbery squad which included Watson.

Watson's team were attempting to arrest him outside his Kensington flat.

Militano was shot at six times by three members of the squad and was struck by a bullet to the back of the head as he was running away from police.

He died of his injuries.

When reflecting on the day he shot dead Mark Militano, Watson said, "I can remember that day like it was yesterday."

"I chose to give evidence at the inquest because I wanted to tell the court what happened. We were just trying to capture a bloke over a series of horrendous armed hold-ups and it came to a point where there were a number of shots fired and the shot I fired just happened to kill him."

"At that point in time, in that instant when you see that man fall over, you know your life is going to change."

Watson told the inquest he had been assigned to investigate a series of armed robberies in North Melbourne and surrounding suburbs.

Informers told him Militano was responsible for several of the heists, including a $54,000 raid on a Sunshine bank.

He said that during surveillance he heard a conversation suggesting Militano and two others had planned to commit a hold-up on the day of the fatal shooting.

The day of the shooting, Watson was tailing Militano in an unmarked police car.

Militano made a surprise U-turn and the experienced officer decided to intercept him there and then.

Police intelligence had told him Militano was seen tucking a hand gun into his pants before getting into his car.

As Watson stepped from his car, Militano ran before turning and pointing a black hand gun at him. After firing a warning shot and yelling: "Stop. Police!" the detective aimed at the top half of the suspect's body and fired on him. The bullet hit Militano in the head, as other detectives opened fire with shot guns.

Coroner Hal Halenstein said Militano's actions had constituted a "barbaric, violent and fundamental challenge to the standards of civilised community and way of life."

In finding Watson justified in shooting down the armed bandit, Halenstein added: "It is concluded that the deceased's challenge to the community by fire has been reasonably met on behalf of the community with fire."

Described by the Herald Sun as an officer from the old school, "hard but fair", Watson once said the squad was a blend of younger and more experienced detectives focusing resources on analysing, profiling and targeting active bandits.

"On occasions we can now cut crooks off at the pass. That is, we'll catch them before they rob anything," he said.

"They'll get charged with conspiracy or lesser offences but that means the armed robbery is never committed and therefore we eliminate that area of terror people always go through during hold-ups."

Det. Sen-Sgt Watson later spoke highly of the professionalism of the armed robbery squad and its team orientation.

He said the ARS dealt with three bank robberies a week in the mid-'80s.

"That number has now dwindled to about three a month due to increased bank security and more career bandits having found themselves behind bars."

"We should be proud. Where other states are being whipped by armed robberies we have pretty much got it under control," Watson said.

"Careers criminals are a challenge and when you play with them it's really like playing chess," he said.

Watson also said: "There were two blokes I reckon are the coolest crooks I've ever dealt with."

"One is Peter Gibb. I remember doing a raid on him one morning and charging into his bedroom."

"Despite being confronted by an array of firearms, Gibb said: `What's happening, boys?' "

Watson headed Operation Albers which was formed late in 1997 after a string of banks in Melbourne's south-east were robbed.

All six crews in the Armed Robbery squad were hell-bent on a result.

In January 1998, stick-up merchant Billy Prideaux was the prime focus of the operation.

In their book One Down, One Missing - Inside the Hunt for the Killers of Silk & Miller Det Sen Cons Joe D'Alo and David Astle wrote that Robert De Niro, playing Neil McCauley in the crime flick Heat, may well have pinched a leaf from Prideaux's book.

While less sophisticated than the Holly wood version, Prideaux was a meticulous robber, casing a bank for months before he opted to visit in a more threatening capacity.

Several weeks full-time, several crews full-time - but the pressure had not pinned the bank-job run on Prideaux and his associates.

The Albers team had more than a hunch that Billy was behind the bank heists but hunches don't convince judges.