Inala siege: Police officers acted in self-defence, union says
Police officers who shot dead a man after a four-hour siege in Brisbane's south-west were acting in self-defence, the Police Union has said.
Officers arrived at a unit in Inala about midday on Monday hoping to speak to the man about an unrelated matter.
They found him holed up in his car in the unit's carpark.
Negotiators spoke with the 42-year-old via a phone they gave him but he held heavily-armed police at bay for hours.
The man emerged about 4:00pm holding what appeared to be a handgun and police opened fire, letting off several shots.
Residents watched the drama unfold from nearby park
Police Union President Ian Leavers said officers did not know whether the man's gun was real and they had to make a split-second decision.
"As we now know a firearm was pointed at police who in self-defence have used their firearms to protect their lives," he said.
"The police have had no option but to defend their lives and they have done that and obviously that’s an allegation that’s before the coroner now.
"But that is the difficult and dangerous nature of police work and things as we know happen so quickly you have to make instantaneous decisions, there are no other options."
The neighbourhood was in lockdown during the siege and shocked residents watched the tragedy unfold from a nearby park.
Inspector Richard Kroon said it was not the outcome police wanted.
"You know we were hopeful that this would be a peaceful resolution, that's what we always strive to achieve," he said.
The officers involved have been offered counselling and police ethical standards is investigating.
Dr Wendel Rosevear, a mental health specialist, said: "I can't speak to this specific case ... but I do know that if people feel hopeless or worthless they can turn to desperate measures," he said.
"They might feel hopeless where they feel suicide is an option and you can have a condition called 'suicide by cop' where people would rather die than go to prison."
Dr Rosevear said police did the right thing by giving the man a phone and trying to communicate with him.
"I don't seek to be critical of either person in this situation I'm just saying as humans let's find ways to listen and value each other so we can prevent these kinds of deaths."
