Inquest into fatal police shooting of Tiaro’s Ben Freear

An inquest into a police shooting that claimed the life of a Tiaro father of four has cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.

Benjamin Anthony Freear, 40, died on December 8, 2019, the day after he opened fire on his partner and her children.

Tactical police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a man at Tiaro have been found to have acted appropriately after being left with no option but to respond to the threat he was posing.

Father of four Benjamin Anthony Freear, 40, died on December 8, 2019, the day after he opened fire on his partner and her children.

On Tuesday, three members of the tactical police squad called in to respond to his actions testified at an inquest into his death, in which he also fired shots at neighbours in the Tiaro community.

The inquest was held at Hervey Bay Courthouse this week.

After the specialist police were called to the scene, the decision was made to wait until daylight to try to find Mr Freear at the property in Tiaro where he had been living.

The inquest heard when light armoured vehicles were driven onto the property as officers attempted to engage with Mr Freear, two of the vehicles repeatedly came under fire.

One officer testifying on Tuesday said Mr Freear had a “tactical advantage” because of his knowledge of the area.

The crime scene where Benjamin Freear was shot dead by police.

At times, both of the vehicles reversed in an effort to give Mr Freear space, the inquest heard, but he continued to engage with police, getting into his own white Landcruiser and driving towards the officers.

A second officer who testified described hearing and feeling bullets hitting the vehicle as Mr Freear fired upon them.

As Mr Freear continued to drive towards one of the armoured vehicles, instructions were given to contain him and prevent him from going out into the community.

At that point his vehicle was fired upon, bringing it to a stop.

One of the tactical officers who saw the fatal shooting said that all other avenues of withdrawal had been exhausted at that point and action needed to be taken.

“The behaviour of Mr Freear was not subsiding,” he said.

Mr Freear then got out of his vehicle with his rifle still in his hand and was shot by police.

Tiaro man Ben Freear was shot and killed by police in 2019.

Officers then attempted to render first aid, but he died of his injuries before paramedics could arrive.

Earlier on Tuesday, Sergeant David Leonforte testified via phone during the inquest.

He was one of the officers at Tiaro Police Station during the incident and spoke with Mr Freear once on the phone prior to the arrival of the tactical police squad.

Sgt Leonforte had contacted Mr Freear in attempt to find out what was going on after receiving numerous reports of his behaviour on December 7, 2019, he said.

He said he felt Mr Freear was a person who may be in the midst of a mental health crisis.

Sgt Leonforte described Mr Freear’s mood as changing several times during the phone call and his final words were described as “threatening”.

“You just try and find me and see what happens to you,” Mr Freear said.

“We’ll see how good a shot you are.”

Mr Freear then hung up the phone and repeated attempts to contact him again were unsuccessful.

Coroner Terry Ryan said more information was still being gathered regarding Mr Feear’s mental health treatment.

He said the inquest would be adjourned at this stage and it would be decided whether more hearings would be required.

But in terms of submissions regarding the police response, he found there could not really be any criticism of the officers, including Sgt Leonforte, who were involved in the events regarding Mr Freear.

Mr Ryan said it was helpful to flag that now in case the officers were concerned there could be an adverse finding at a later time.

The inquest was then adjourned.