Man allegedly dares cops to pull trigger

DURING a tense six-hour standoff between a Kingaroy man and police, Zachary William Richards dared officers to pull the trigger as he allegedly threatened them with a fake “mace type” object, a court heard.

On February 12, police were called to a Kingaroy address on reports of a man cutting himself after consuming a high quantity of drugs and alcohol.

When police arrived at 11pm, Richards allegedly came out of the property with a “fake weapon”, causing police to remain on the other side of a fence while negotiators attempted to calm him down, the court heard.

In the Kingaroy Magistrates Court, police prosecutor Barry Stevens said officers alleged the defendant verbally abused police for several hours before asking them to shoot him.

The ordeal continued for six hours, with the defendant finally surrendering himself to police at 5.17am the next day.

Richards was later taken to hospital where he was alleged to have assaulted one of the officers.

Richards was represented by Jay Rose from Rose Gold Legal, when he appeared in court on Monday, March 15. She also expressed concern at the results of a mental health examination order made on February 15.

“He was suicidal and they’ve indicated nil acute mental illness and nil acute risks, and intellectual impairment,” Ms Rose said.

“Some of the conditions mentioned in the paperwork include ADHD and some issues with his intellectual impairment and understanding.”

Ms Rose said her client informed her that on the day of the alleged “siege”, Richards admitted to consuming a “whole bottle of Xanax”, which he was lawfully prescribed.

Taking into account the defendant’s lack of history and the results of the mental health report, Magistrate Andrew Sinclair granted bail.

“There were requests to the police officers to shoot him and that appears to have been one of the primary motivations in producing the fake weapon,” Mr Sinclair said.