Crystal Brook stabber Sean Ferris left with nightmares after working at Woomera detention centre

The man who brutally stabbed two police officers before being shot dead was traumatised by his work as a guard at a notorious SA detention centre, a TV transcript reveals.

• Family blames Woomera stint for crazed ambush

The man who brutally stabbed two police officers – leaving one fighting for his life – before being shot dead was left with nightmares after working as a guard at a notorious detention centre, where he was trained to “take people’s head off”.

On Wednesday, Crystal Brook man Sean Ferris stabbed Brevet Sergeant Jordan Allely and Brevet Sergeant Ian Todd, leaving the latter in a critical condition, after the pair attended Ferris’ home over a domestic complaint related to the attacker’s husky Buddy.

Ferris was shot dead during the incident.

On Friday, his family released a statement on the stabbing and his death.

In a 2008 episode of the ABC’s Four Corners program, Ferris said he was traumatised from his time at the Woomera Detention Centre, which was closed in 2003 amid reports of self-harm and widespread mental health issues from within the facility.

Ferris said on one occasion, he and other guards were trapped in a cabin while detainees tried to burn it down.

Sean Ferris – inset right, and the backyard of his Crystal Brook. Picture: Brenton Edwards

“They started pelting it with rocks and they got their iron bars and stuff and they’re trying to break in and they’re seriously trying to get in and do us some damage,” Ferris said.

“And we’ve called CERT of course because we need some help, there’s only five or six of us in there.

“And while we’re waiting for things to happen, and, you know, can we get out of here in one piece please, they decided they weren’t going to wait for us to come out anymore and they couldn’t break in, so they set the building on fire. (It was) very frightening.

Brevet Sergeant Ian Todd and Brevet Sergeant Jordon Allely were stabbed by Sean Ferris before he was shot dead during an incident on Wednesday. Picture: Facebook

“I still have nightmares about things like that now I’ll, in the nightmare or dream that I’m having, I’ll be calling a CERT … you know I need some help here, and just no one answers.

“You know, and you just, you wake up and you know your heart’s racing.

“And yeah, it’s things like that still affect me now.”

Ferris also said guards at Woomera were trained in “conflict management” to restrain detainees.

“The guy, I think he was ex-SAS, and he basically showed us a fair few take-downs and disarming techniques so that you could take people’s head off,” Ferris said.

A family member of Ferris, who asked to remain anonymous, previously told The Advertiser Ferris’ time working as a guard at the Woomera detention centre was a catalyst for his mental health decline.

“He (Ferris) did have mental health issues due to work incidents that lead to PTSD among other issues when he was working at Woomera when it was operational,” the family member said.