Drug addict who bashed hero cop with brick ‘very sorry’ as he turns back on TV cameras

The man who bashed off-duty police officer Samantha Barlow over the head with a brick while she was on her way to work, robbed her of $200 for a heroin hit and left her for dead says he is “very sorry” for the attack.

Roderick Holohan was quietly released through the back gate of a Sydney prison on Wednesday, avoiding the waiting media after being granted supervised parole after serving 15 years in prison for the May 2009 assault, during which he bludgeoned Barlow up to 20 times with a brick while she walked through Kings Cross.

On Thursday, Holohan was spotted in public for the first time since his release, in Nowra on the NSW South Coast, where he is reintegrating into society.

Turning his back on a television camera when confronted, Holohan told Seven News he was “very sorry” and “very remorseful”.

Footage showed Holohan appearing to search the ground for a cigarette and knocking on several doors near his temporary accommodation.

The state government had indicated it was willing to challenge Holohan’s parole, before abandoning the appeal at the last minute, leaving Barlow angry after being told of the decision at 6pm on Tuesday.

“If he is no longer a threat to community, why wasn’t he given his things, told where the bus stop was and released just like everyone else where the media were waiting?” Barlow and her husband, Laurence, said in a statement on Wednesday.

Holohan was approved for release by the State Parole Authority two weeks ago under stringent conditions to temper his “high risk” of violent reoffending, despite evidence he had been a troublesome prisoner with a lengthy history of misconduct.

He will be forced to wear an electronic monitoring device and excluded from 18 local government areas to protect Barlow’s safety.

Holohan’s parole sparked a review of the Victims’ Registry, which alerts people to the release of their attacker, but only if they opt in to the service.

The Barlows were never enrolled in the registry and claim they were never made aware of its existence. They found out about Holohan’s parole hearing four days beforehand through unofficial channels.

NSW Premier Chris Minns promised the government would move to an opt-out system for victim notification after urging by the Barlows in the Herald.

The government later discovered no single agency was responsible for informing victims when their attackers were due for parole, a situation the government will also reform.

Holohan will be placed in temporary accommodation and can be supervised until the end of his sentence in 2029.

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