Paradise lost as police take over

A QUIET rural road just 25km from Hobart’s CBD became the centre of attention for police, nearby residents and onlookers yesterday.

The location was Tea Tree Rd in Brighton, where an investigation was taking place into the death of a man outside a family home.

As the morning sun beat down, uniform and forensics officers saturated the area as police worked throughout the day at the scene.

Just hours earlier, the life of a 38-year-old man had been lost after he was shot dead by police — officers having fired at him more than 10 times.

Senior police yesterday said officers opened fire after the man repeatedly drove at them.

Near the scene, curious onlookers wondered what was going on when they noticed continued police activity.

One neighbour emerged to try and find out the chain of events — he knew it was something serious when he saw dozens of police remaining at the location.

He had heard the commotion the night before and saw the response of emergency services.

But he hadn’t realised the severity of what had happened. The man said it was out of the ordinary for the area, a usually quiet place at night, where you would only occasionally see wildlife hopping around.

At the other end of a roadblock set up by police, two men chatted, pondering Monday night’s events and looking towards the property in question.

One said he had heard gunshots, followed by an array of police lights and sirens.

He said he struggled to get much sleep on Monday night because his home was “lit up like a Christmas tree” with red and blue flashing lights from emergency service vehicles.

Inside the property, forensic police cast their eye over the scene with certain areas taped off.

A row of marker cones was visible in the vicinity of two vehicles at the end of the property’s driveway where the fatal exchange is believed to have taken place.

Meanwhile, a drone could be seen hovering above the property at various stages throughout the day.

The police roadblock, which prevented access to Tea Tree Rd between Ford Rd and the Midland Highway, was a minor inconvenience to motorists throughout the day.

Recreational vehicles, tourists and drivers were directed away from the scene, looking around at the heightened police presence as they went.

One confused motorist inadvertently slipped through the roadblock and into the restricted area, before she was swiftly turned around by officers.

Another woman walking her dalmatian was also turned back, saying she would instead have to detour through a paddock.