‘Very difficult situation’: Inquiry into southern suburbs police shooting
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens says a group of officers who shot dead a man allegedly armed with a knife overnight “appear at this time to have acted in accordance with their training”, with an inquiry launched into the handling of the mental health incident.
Just after midnight on Tuesday, four police officers along with SA Ambulance Service personnel responded to a mental health incident in Craigburn Farm, where a 40-year-old man had harmed himself with a knife and was threatening to harm himself further, Stevens said.
Stevens said the man was alone in his home at the time, and his girlfriend alerted police to the incident.
“She was on a video call with him and was able to confirm that he had harmed himself and was threatening to harm himself further,” the Police Commissioner told reporters.
Stevens said after police entered the house, the man “immediately confronted” officers with the knife.
The officers then “unsuccessfully” tried to taser the man, after which he “continued to charge at police”.
“As a result, police officers fired upon the man and he was fatally wounded,” Stevens said, later adding that “more than one” officer fired their gun.
You might like
The man was transferred to the Flinders Medical Centre where he died.
Stevens said a Commissioner’s Inquiry, led by Detective Chief Superintendent Scott Fitzgerald, will examine the circumstances around the incident.
“I can say having watched the body-worn video, that this was a highly stressful, dangerous situation,” he said.
“The police officers appear at this time to have acted in accordance with their training and taken the action necessary to protect themselves and the ambulance officers who were on the scene.
“This is a very difficult situation for police and all other people who are involved in the situation.”
Asked why the taser did not work in subduing the man, Stevens said: “Tasers are dependent on many factors, including distance between the police officer and the person who is having it deployed against them, as well as the type of clothing.”
Stay informed, daily
“The male was covered in a blanket, and it may have been the case that the blanket prevent the barbs from the taser from being effectively lodged,” he said.
“So we’ll just have to wait to see the full circumstances as that investigation continues.”
Asked if there would be other agencies better placed to respond to mental health incidents, Stevens said: “We have a co responder model with the South Australia Police, where we have mental health clinicians working alongside police, so when we do attend what is clearly a mental health event, we can provide the right level of care and response to the person who requires that assistance.”
“But you can’t get past the fact that in many cases, mental health taskings often result from people who are threatening harm to themselves, threatening harm to others, or behaving in an agitated and violent manner,” he said.
“And that requires people to attend who have the skills to properly and safely manage that event and look after the experts who are there to assist the person.”
Police Association president Wade Burns said, “These sorts of incidents stay with police officers their whole careers”.
“Police undergo significant training and they gather experience,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
“But the policing occupation is one that requires decision-making, problem-solving, and really assessing dynamic, confronting, and fluid situations.”
Lifeline 13 11 14
beyondblue 1300 22 4636
