As there is very little or no real help for people with mental health issues in the newcastle and surrounding areas it was only a matter of time before such a sad and horrible event was to happen . It is truly Saddening to think in this day and age that or health and wellbeing are still back in the stone age. For police to have to use a gun to stop a person with a knife it seems that the use of this type of force seems to be a growing Problem . Why cant Police be trained in hand to hand Combat as to then be able to disarm a person in this situation befor the loss of life is the only out come. why do Most if not all police shooting case the person is killed ? what happened to wounding the suspect? Do we need protection from reckless police?

Police Shoot dead a schizophrenic in mental health week! Great Headline. Where was the Tazar stun gun? Surely this was the perfect situation where that should have been used instead of guns!

you'd think a bullet in the thigh would have stopped him....

This is the sort of action we need in town on Friday and Saturday nights. Well done to the police. The end justifies the means.

ok, I wasn't there but it still begs the question why the police can't shoot in the leg or somewhere not lethal.

If he had a gun then I would expect Police to shoot. But a knife?At Spinnakers, why weren't security called. Even management hold the boom gate authority to let in whom they will. Sure it wasn't at the Gun-Ya? And during tourist holidays! I hope someone has this on a mobile phone video as a round of shots. Was that necessary? I lived in First Street and it will be the Last Street I would choose. Unprofessional, shameful and negligent by management and Police for one who could have been talked through it all, first up. Did he slash anyone to deserve to be shot?

This man could be alive today but was shot dead. Why the term overkill was invented.

Oh how easy it is for some to pass comment when they are safely tucked away behind their computer desks in their homes. Some of these comments make me sick. I'm going to hazard a guess that none of you have ever walked the streets having to deal with things that everyone else can just walk away from. The man had a knife and was walking straight at the Officers, Police deployed their OC spray without effect and the male did not obey Police direction. It makes me sick that you believe Police should have waited to be 'Slashed' before acting further. It makes me sick that you can say 'Maybe you should have shot him in the leg'. When your life is at risk you don't seek to take chances. You end that threat. It makes me sick you use the term overkill and make comment of Police negligence. When your life is on the line protecting people who don't care about you, as is evident from most of these comments, then you can make that judgment. Maybe what should be of more importance here is the resounding cries that can be heard denying all front line Police Tasers 'A non-lethal' tactical option. Instead front line Police must wait for their supervisors to arrive on scene if they wish to use the Taser. All I can say is perhaps the man would still be alive if the majority of civilians and Politicians who seek to hinder Police Officers actually cared enough to support the full role out of these weapons immediately.

The issue with persons suffering mental health problems is part of everyday life. I'm sure Police deal with very similar situations all the time whereby the situation doesn't end up with the death of a person. This would be mostly attributed to the communication skills of a Police officer in any given situation. It's just that as these less serious situations are, generally, not of interest to the public that they do not get publicised as regularly as they probably occur. I believe the Police in this situation acted in a manner that was very professional and in line with their duties. After all where do you draw the line with a person that is wielding a knife at you. It is obvious that Police attempted to subdue the person through the use of OC spray, however this failed. If this didn't work, do you think that 'Hand to Hand Combat' training would have resulted in a suitable outcome? I think not. Police go to work just like any of us and every single one of them have families, like all of us. I'm sure that those family members look forward to when there Husband, Father, Brother walk through the door at the end of a shift. How would you feel if you got a phone call half way through the day stating that a family member of yours had received knife wounds, or worse as a result of trying to disarm a person with a knife? The suggestion of shooting someone in a less lethal body part such as the leg etc. is one that is always contentious. The fact of the matter is, if I were to be placed in a situation such as this, which would have only lasted probably ten seconds or so. I would do anything I could to stop that person from hurting me or anyone else. I am sure that Police are trained to shoot for the largest body mass possible to ensure the threat is stopped ASAP. It just so happens that the torso area of the body is the largest and under a high stress situation probably the easiest to hit. Take a look at your leg and tell me, unless you are an expert marksmen that you could hit it with a gun under a high stress situation from distance. I don't think so. Let's not forget people that Police, although they wear a uniform are still human beings just like all of us. They are still affected by emotions, adrenaline and everything else that is poured into such an incident! This moment of horror is sad but, Police should not be ridiculed for taking action when it obviously needed to be taken. Congratulations to the Police involved in this situation. I think you are heroes and you should hold your heads up high.

One word - TASER.