Curtis Cheng murder: Special constables who stopped terrorist can never be identified
THE two special constables who risked their lives to take down armed terrorist Farhad Jabar have been rewarded for their bravery — but their identities cannot be revealed.
NSW
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THEY are the first non-police officers to be awarded the force’s highest bravery award — but their identities are a tightly kept secret.
The two special constables won the commissioner’s Valour Award for risking their lives to take down armed terrorist Farhad Jabar, who murdered Curtis Cheng in front of Parramatta police headquarters.
But despite receiving the honour at the Commissioner’s Awards ceremony last month, attended by hundreds of people including Mr Cheng’s family, police fear that if the identities of the men were made public they could become a prime target for other would-be terrorists.
The pair have been hailed as heroes after 15-year-old IS supporter Jabar shot Mr Cheng, a 58-year-old police employee and father-of-two, and then turned the guns on them in October, 2015.
One of the men, a senior special constable, stepped out from behind a wall, putting himself in the line of fire, and shot Jabar dead before he was able to claim more victims.
In one of his last acts as Commissioner, Andrew Scipione made the unprecedented decision to bestow honour upon the two constables, making them the first people outside the police force to receive the award.
Mr Cheng’s son Alpha, who attended the awards ceremony in February with his mother Selina, commended the men’s actions in bravely saving others from being murdered along with his father.
“I think it’s a tremendous thing to be given to the two men, not just for responding to the attack, but also for preventing further loss of life and injury for the people who work in that building,” Mr Cheng, 29, said.
“They really put themselves in the direct line of fire and they didn’t know if there were more people out there who were part of the shooting, luckily there was only one person.
“We really wanted to be at the ceremony for support and to recognise their efforts.”
Mr Cheng said his family met the special constable who shot Jabar in the week following the attack and described the meeting as “very emotional”.
“We as a family met one of the special constables after our dad’s shooting and we were a bit nervous, we didn’t know what to say,” he said.
“The shooting was traumatising for us, but we forgot how traumatising it was also for the people involved in the incident and also that they weren’t able to prevent someone in their care in the building from losing their life.
“I do remember very clearly that it was a really emotional meeting for all of us, but it was a good way for us to continue to move forward.”
Head of Charles Sturt University School of Policing and Security, Nick O’Brien, said the constable’s ability to shoot Jabar from about 10m away with a Glock handgun was “remarkable”.
“Hand guns are meant to be used at close range, they’re not long-distance guns, and his training would have been at a fairly close range, so to be able to do what he did and effectively stop the perpetrator from killing anyone else was remarkable in the circumstances,” Professor O’Brien said.
Footage from an apartment overlooking the shooting showed Jabar arriving outside the building wearing a black robe. He is seen pacing up and down the footpath, appearing to be building up courage for the attack.
It is understood CCTV footage also shows Jabar heading towards another target, a female uniformed police officer, who unknowingly outpaced him before he set his sights on Mr Cheng.
He approached the finance worker as he left about 4.30pm, running up behind him and shooting him without warning as he walked towards Hassall St.
He then ran back towards the building, pumping his fist in the air and waving his revolver, indiscriminately firing towards the police building and attempting to draw attention to himself.
Three special constables ran from the building onto the landing.
Jabar opened fire on the officers as they run outside, forcing them to take cover behind a wall. One officer emerged and exchanged fire with Jabar from about 10m, firing several rounds that killed him.
The two special constables who received the award had been guarding Police HQ at Parramatta when Jabar attacked.
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