10 SHOTS FIRED

FATAL IMPACT Cornered officers feared for their safety, say police

TWO officers who opened fire on a man, fatally wounding him in a volley of bullets, feared for their safety, say police. In their account of the Monday night incident, police said three officers had responded to a call on Tea Tree Rd at Brighton about 8pm. They said officers fired at least 10 shots at the 38-year-old after he had driven his SUV at them, cornering one officer against a fence. Two of the bullets struck the man and he died at the scene.

MORE than 10 shots are believed to have been fired at a man who was shot dead by police after driving at officers at Brighton.

Two of the shots hit the 38year-old in the head and shoulder, and the man died at the scene, Tasmania Police Deputy Commissioner Scott Tilyard said yesterday.

Police were called to the Tea Tree Rd property about 8pm on Monday after reports a man armed with a knife was behaving aggressively.

Three police officers travelling in one vehicle — a sergeant and two constables stationed at Bridgewater — responded to the incident before the fatal exchange in the driveway.

Deputy Commissioner Tilyard said the man, behind the wheel of a small SUV, drove at police after the officers got out of their vehicle.

He said one of the officers was corralled against a boundary fence. It is believed the sergeant and a constable then fired their guns.

They performed first aid on the man, and ambulance services responded soon after, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Deputy Commissioner Tilyard said it was believed the man and those at the house during the incident, including a child, were all related.

The deceased man was believed to be staying at the residence at the time, he said.

Deputy Commissioner Tilyard said the man had “some recent contact with police”.

He said a fire lit at the property before the shooting was believed to have been set by the now deceased man and was easily extinguished.

Body-worn camera footage from the responding officers is being reviewed as part of the investigation, he said.

Deputy Commissioner Tilyard said support was being offered to the police officers and family members of the deceased man.

“Our thoughts obviously are with the family of the deceased man as well as the police and emergency services members who attended and dealt with the scene, in particular the police officers directly involved,’’ he said.

“These sorts of things can happen when you do police work.

“It’s very traumatic for everyone involved, we’re mindful of their wellbeing and we’re providing them with all the support and counselling and assistance that they need.

“I certainly support the officers in terms of the information that we’re aware of at this stage. We’re at a very early stage of the investigation and there’s a lot of information that still needs to be gathered including the interview of all of the witnesses, including the officers themselves.

“Obviously, any situation in which a vehicle is driven at someone is a dangerous situation and the officers have obviously responded to the threat as they perceived it at that time.

“Their actions will obviously be examined as part of the investigation as per normal protocol.”

Deputy Commissioner Tilyard said the officers have been given a few days off work, which he said was normal practice in situations of this kind.

“The reality is policing is a risky business, not just in Tasmania, but unfortunately these things happen all too frequently all around the country,’’ he said. “We give our people the best training, the best equipment that we possibly can and we’ve got policies and procedures to go with that, so they know that there are risks associated with policing and they are entitled to protect themselves in dangerous situations, and nobody would expect any less than that.

“Whenever there’s an incident where anyone loses their life as a consequence of any sort of contact with police around the country, we all feel it as part of the wider police family.

“This is something that we try and avoid at all costs. To have to be put into a situation where you have to take someone’s life or even inflict serious injuries is something we try not to do, but occasionally, unfortunately it is necessary.”

Investigations into the incident are continuing at the scene, which includes Tasmania Police’s Professional Standards unit.