Police negotiator didn’t get updates on what was happening inside Lindt cafe

AS THE Sydney siege dragged on and attempts to reach the gunman continued to fail, the police negotiator was not hearing some key information.

Hostages Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson died during the Sydney siege in 2014.

A POLICE negotiator trying to speak to Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis didn’t get updates about what was going in inside the Lindt cafe for hours — despite the fact a listening device was recording what was being said.

The negotiator, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the siege inquest on Monday morning he and others had tried to speak directly to Monis but the gunman continually refused to engage with them.

The officer, who has been in the police force 29 years, revealed he was not being told what was being said by Monis and admitted he made no effort to ask anyone what was happening inside.

Counsel assisting the coroner, Jason Downing, put it to the negotiator that it must have been “helpful” and “essential” to know what was going on inside the cafe on an “hour by hour basis”.

The negotiator, known as Pete, said he was dependent on others in his team giving him information that they considered was significant.

“Did it not occur to you that you should actively seek some update about what was going on inside?” Mr Downing asked.

Pete replied: “There was no indication at (the) time there was any significant change in the stronghold.”

Mr Downing said: “Did it cross your mind at all …[That] I really need to know what’s going on in there?”

Gunman Man Haron Monis wanted to talk to Tony Abbott on ABC radio. Picture: AAP/Dean Lewins

Peter said escaped hostages were interviewed by police after they were out of the Martin Place cafe, and information was gleaned from that, but was then pressed by Mr Downing about the length of time that passed between escapes.

“Isn’t that a Catch 22 — without knowing [what was being said] you wouldn’t be able to be satisfied if there was significant change [occurring]…”

Peter repeated his earlier answer that he would expect his colleagues to pass on relevant information that would have impacted on negotiations.

His approach to the negotiation, without Monis speaking with them, was to be “patient” and to try and understand the situation.

However, by the afternoon he was growing concerned about the failure to make contact.

In regards to Monis’ demands, he knew it was unlikely he would get to speak with then prime minister Tony Abbott on ABC radio but he had an open mind about the demands for an Islamic State flag.

Earlier this morning, Peter confirmed he’d never worked in a hostage situation before, despite being a negotiator since 2004 and being involved in over 100 negotiations.

He also said he wasn’t “good with technology”, a comment that arose after being asked about missing recordings of conversations between negotiators and hostages.

Recordings from the first few hours of the siege have been lost. Peter said at this time the negotiation team worked from a 4WD before they then moved to a gaming managers office at a leagues club close by.

The officer said he had not used a dictaphone before the siege, could not remember what it looked like or what type it was, or if a red light came on when it was recording. He later handed two dictaphones to a colleague.

“I’ll let you know, I’m not real good with technology,” he said.

It was the first time a dictaphone had been used in a hostage situation in NSW and it was employed here because “this was a big unusual job”, he said.

The long-running siege inquest has been hearing from senior police, including negotiators, who were in charge of the response to the hostage crisis during the final moments in the early hours of December 16, 2014.

In the final few minutes cafe manager Tori Johnson was forced to kneel for several minutes before Monis shot him in the back of the head.

Just before Mr Johnson’s death, Monis fired two shots inside the Lindt Cafe — one at escaping hostages and the other into the air.

Last week, the NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Jenkins faced intense questioning about what he knew — and when — during the siege and why he didn’t activate the emergency action plan that would have seen tactical police storm the cafe.

Barrister Katrina Dawson was killed by a fragment of a police bullet and Monis was gunned down as the heavily-armed police entered the cafe, ending the 17-hour crisis.

The inquest continues.

Originally published as Police negotiator didn’t get updates on what was happening inside Lindt cafe