Luke Gilbert sought mental health help before fatal police shooting

The young man who was shot by police on a North Queensland nightclub strip in October 2022 had gone to hospital desperately seeking mental health help before his death – and was allowed to walk off into the night.

The young man who was shot on a North Queensland nightclub strip in October 2022 had gone to hospital desperately seeking mental health help before his death – and was allowed to walk off into the night.

Luke Gilbert, 24, died after being shot three times in the chest at 12.20am by Senior Constable David Murray and Constable Liam Forster, who were patrolling the safe night precinct on Shute Harbour Rd at Airlie Beach on October 1, 2022.

An inquest into his death is being held in Cairns this week.

Mr Gilbert brushed the shoulder of a police officer and said “excuse me” and continued walking away, but Constable Forster called him out on making contact with his colleague, and Mr Gilbert then walked back toward the officers.

Constable Forster said “what’s that you are holding there, bud” and Mr Gilbert produced a knife and said “shoot me, I dare ya”.

Police said “put down the knife, put it down mate, put it down” repeatedly and Mr Gilbert responded “do it”, “shoot me, faggot,” and “shoot me, f****** faggot” and began advancing.

They said “stop moving, stop moving” and five shots were fired, with two hitting cars.

Queensland Police entering Cairns Court House for the inquest into the police shooting death of Luke Gilbert, 24, at Airlie Beach on October 1, 2022. Picture: Bronwyn Farr

The whole incident took 20 seconds.

The court heard Mr Gilbert had an extensive mental health history with self-harm and suicide attempts, but had not had a mental health incident involving Queensland Police.

He went to Townsville University Hospital emergency department on September 22.

Clinical notes stated “chief complaint suicidal and homicidal ideation, recent death of a friend, relapse on alcohol, tense, pressured speech, stating he will stab himself or someone if does not get help, previous suicide attempts”.

There was an incident where Mr Gilbert blocked a doorway with a chair handle and covered a camera in the mental health unit, and the notes record “police de-escalated patient, decided going home, sat out the front for some time smoking, then left”.

Nine days later, he was dead.

Under the Queensland Mental Health Act 2016, a person can be detained involuntarily in an authorised mental health service if they have a mental illness, don’t have the capacity to consent to treatment, and the absence of involuntary treatment is likely to result in imminent serious harm to the person or others, and the person is suffering serious mental or physical deterioration.

The knife that Luke Gilbert, 24, produced when police asked what he had under his jumper. The Milwaukee fast back folding camo knife can be opened with one hand and it is therefore an offence to carry it in public. Picture: Supplied

The court heard Mr Gilbert told a doctor he tried to commit suicide but when he realised he was unsuccessful, he called police because “he believed they would shoot him if he had a knife in his hand”.

Police did not attend.

The court heard there were medical reports of self-harm.

An academic expert whose research into Victim Precipitated Homicide (VPH) – more commonly known as “suicide by cop” – informs police training told the court Mr Gilbert had the same features as 68 other deaths by police as part of their duty. That was out of a total of 168 deaths by police in Australia to 2020.

Features included disregard for authority, impulsivity amplified by substance abuse, refusal to surrender and an acute mental health crisis.

Charles Sturt University clinical and forensic victimologist Associate Professor Amber McKinley told the court Mr Gilbert’s previous convictions showed a disregard for authority.

She provided a report where she concluded Mr Gilbert’s death was VPH.

An inquest is being held before deputy state coroner Stephanie Gallagher in Cairns this week into the death of Luke Brian Gilbert, 24, who was shot three times in the chest by police at Airlie Beach on October 1, 2022. Picture: Supplied

Barrister Josh Trevino KC, acting for Mr Gilbert’s parents, Darren and Nicola Gilbert, who have flown from Western Australia for the inquest, objected to Prof McKinley’s report and evidence, saying she was drawing conclusions that were up to the coroner to make.

She stated Mr Gilbert’s behaviour indicated he wanted to be shot by police and Mr Trevino said that was merely an opinion.

Prof McKinley said VPH was when the victim’s behaviours or actions provoked or contributed to their death, specifically when they initiated a sequence of events or encouraged actions to take their life.

“Police were forced to take the actions that they did,” Prof McKinley said.

An inquest into the death of Luke Gilbert, 24, who was shot three times in the chest by two police officers at Airlie Beach on October 1, 2022, is being held in Cairns this week. Picture: Supplied

The court heard Mr Gilbert would present seeking medical help when in crisis, and never displayed psychotic symptoms.

Counsel assisting the inquest, Julie Pietzner-Hagan, told the court in 2018 police responded to an incident where a relationship had ended and Mr Gilbert was “highly aggressive, agitated” and confronted police with a hammer.

“He raised his hand with the hammer in a threatening manner, said ‘you want to f------ take me on’ and “hit the passenger side window several times with the hammer”, she said.

She said there was an incident where he was taken to a police station and damaged a table, ripped a desk apart and threw it around the room.

“For a person who is prepared to die through VPH, it is very difficult to prevent through established police procedures and policies,” Prof McKinley said.

She said if police were attending a residence as a result of a disturbance, they had time to pre-empt issues, but the incident with Mr Gilbert happened rapidly.

“It was a very short time, it wasn’t a welfare check, for example,” Prof McKinley said.

She agreed with Mr Trevino that VPH was a controversial subject that some experts avoided because it could be perceived as a tool to justify the actions of the shooter.

Originally published as Luke Gilbert sought mental health help before fatal police shooting