Lindt siege: police were waiting for a death before entering cafe, inquest told

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This was published 7 years ago

Lindt siege: police were waiting for a death before entering cafe, inquest told

By Patrick Begley
Updated

The police forward commander managing the Lindt siege was never going to send officers into the cafe until someone was killed as he feared the gunman had a backpack bomb.

This revelation from the commander at an inquest on Wednesday appears to contradict other evidence he has given before and since.

It came on the same day that he accepted two hostages and the gunman "lost their lives because of me".

Tactical police storm the Lindt cafe in the early hours of the morning.

Tactical police storm the Lindt cafe in the early hours of the morning.

The commander, who cannot be named, had previously maintained police would have stormed the Lindt cafe if hostages were "at imminent risk of serious injury or death".

But under questioning from coroner Michael Barnes, he then set out a different position.

"Because of the risk of the bomb, you were never going to go in until someone was killed?" Mr Barnes asked.

The commander accepted that.

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However, later, he said he would "absolutely" have ordered police to enter the stronghold if the hostages were "at imminent risk of serious injury or death".

On Wednesday, he said he had expected all of his 13 tactical assault team officers to die when he did send them in at 2.13am on December 16, 2014.

"I shut my eyes and braced myself for the shockwave," he told the inquest on Monday.

He also rejected any implication he had been "sitting on his hands".

The inquest has heard that the question "political pressure?" was recorded in the commander's notes on the night of the siege.

The recorded reply from his superior, police commander Mark Jenkins, read: "Quite the opposite, nervous about [deliberate action], not sure what's in backpack."

Counsel assisting the inquest, Jeremy Gormly, SC, put it to the commander on Wednesday, "This siege was managed on the basis that police were never going in unless there was death or injury."

"I don't accept that view," he replied.

Police entered the cafe at 2.13am after the gunman Man Haron Monis had killed cafe manager Tori Johnson. Barrister Katrina Dawson was killed by ricocheting police bullet fragments.

The commander accepted responsibility for the deaths of the hostages and the gunman, saying, "The buck stops with me."

"They lost their lives because of me," he said. "It was my decision. I can't change that."

But he said that, with the same information as he had on the night, he would have made the same decisions.

He said the inquest had heard of some "information gaps" and matters that could be improved upon on the "micro scale".

He said he was not told about a demand by Monis to have lights turned off until hours later. He had not been aware that Monis had forced Mr Johnson to kneel with his hands behind his head at 2.06am.

Nor had he known at the time Monis had fired the second of two shots before killing Mr Johnson.

On Tuesday afternoon, the commander referred to the counter-terrorism operation as "high-stakes games". He declined to apologise for his choice of words.

Soon after, he referred to Monis having had "the same rights as anyone else".

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Mr Johnson's mother Rosie Connellan left the inquest, shouting at the commander, "You're an absolute disgrace."

The inquest continues.

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