Brother of gay American who was fatally attacked in Sydney in 1988 says police demonized family

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The brother of a gay American who was attacked and fell from a Sydney cliff top in 1988 said elements within local police had demonized their family over their pursuit of justice. The man responsible for killing Scott Johnson was sentenced to prison Thursday after his brother led efforts to overturn a coroner’s finding of suicide. Steve Johnson told media Friday that a government inquiry into gay hate crimes had confirmed “our worst fears” about the police response. The inquiry is hearing evidence of unsolved deaths resulting from gay hate crimes over four decades in New South Wales state, where police were notoriously indifferent to such violence. The inquiry will report its findings on Aug. 30.