By JONATHON HOWARD
A POOL of dried blood and the remnants of a violent rampage were all that remained outside an Outlook Drive property on Monday, as residents of the normally quiet street were coming to terms with the events that took place the day before.
It was about 2pm on Sunday 23 November, when a 51-year-old man, believed to be from Melbourne, exited an Outlook Drive address where a birthday party was taking place.
Witnesses said the man was heard in a rage and had started smashing several Queensland -registered vehicles both in the driveway and directly outside the home.
Police were called to the scene and two officers, one a first year constable, exited their vehicle and confronted the man.
Police reports said the man was wielding a metal pole of some description and he may have also been carrying a knife, although this is yet to be confirmed following a Coroner’s report.
Within seconds of confronting the violent and armed man, the officers had fired their weapons and the man fell.
Both officers commenced first aid on the man, before paramedics took over and pronounced the man dead at the scene.
He had received one or possibly two bullets to the chest.
The chaotic scene unfolded in front of several witnesses who said they had heard at least three shots fired.
It was the fourth police shooting in Queensland since September, three of which were fatal, and it has prompted a wide range of comments via media outlets and social media websites, some praising and others scathing the action of police.
“Why couldn’t they have shot the man in the leg or shoulder – did they have to shoot him in the chest,” one resident who did not want to be named said.
Others were at the scene trying to decipher what they were witnessing.
“I drove through just after it happened, there was only one police car and the man was laying on the road covered in blood and two ambulance officers were working on the man,” a Noosa Today Facebook follower wrote.
“I thought he had been hit by a car. Not long after that the street was shut off.”
Police had closed the street and were escorting residents to their houses until the street was re-opened on Monday afternoon.
Officers from Police Ethical Standards Command as well as officials from the Coroner’s office were investigating the shooting.
Residents are now calling for greater use of tasers and one suggested the use of rubber bullets.
The overwhelming majority of comments called for police to shoot to wound, which many believed would have saved the man.
However, a former police officer outside Noosa, who did not want to be named, spoke with Noosa Today following the shooting and said police were “never justified to shoot to wound”.
The former officer made no reference to the Outlook Drive shooting and said he was not comparing other incidents or attempting to justify the actions of police.
“If you shoot, it’s because you have to and you’re in a situation where ‘deadly force’ is required,” he said.
“You are never justified to shoot to wound, you are only justified in using deadly force.
“If you are justified in deadly force, you shoot to stop the threat – the only way to stop a deadly threat is to shoot to kill.”
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you think Queensland police officers are justified in using their firearms against aggresive and potentially dangerous people? Send your letters or comments to newsdesk@noosatoday.net.au
