Lindt cafe inquiry: Lindt officer may have injured himself during gunfight

ONE of the two police officers who stormed the Lindt Cafe may have been injured by his own bullets — and not shot by the gunman Man Monis, the inquest into the bloody siege has been told.

• Police initially suspected radical group had seized cafe
• Monis claimed cafe manager Tori Johnson was responsible for deaths
• Top cop questions decision to wait until first hostage was killed
• Top cop ‘refused’ to approve ‘sound plan’

ONE of the two police officers who stormed the Lindt Cafe may have been injured by his own bullets — and not shot by the gunman Man Monis, the inquest into the bloody siege has been told.

The Tactical Operations Unit officer codenamed Officer B was struck in a cheek and his thigh by fragments of a bullet or bullets, which were identified as coming from copper-jacketed police ammunition.

The ammunition used by Monis were all lead pellets, the inquest was told today.

The inquiry into the Lindt siege has heard one tactical officer may have been struck by his own round.

Test firing showed Officer B probably suffered the injuries from bullet “splashback” after the front counter glass was blown out as he and his partner, codenamed Officer A, shot their way into the cafe after Monis had shot manager Tori Johnson dead at 2.13am on December 16, 2014.

Police ballistics expert Lucas Van der Walt today gave evidence about test firings in circumstances which replicated the cafe and the positions of the officers, including the three police snipers in buildings surrounding the cafe in Martin Place.

Barrister Katrina Dawson suffered seven wounds from fragments of one or more police bullets — one of them fatal — as she hid beneath chairs in the cafe.

Katrina Dawson was shot dead by Man Haron Monis, triggering police to rush the cafe. Picture: supplied

Tori Johnson was killed during the Lindt siege. Picture: Supplied

Mr Johnson at the window of the cafe during the siege. Picture: Channel 7

She may also have been moving to avoid being hit as the fragments smashed into her, the inquest heard.

Officer A fired 17 rounds and Officer B five rounds as they ran into the cafe through the Phillip Street entrance.

Monis was at the northwest corner of the cafe near the Martin Place foyer exit as they entered.

Monis, who was firing back at them with a sawn-off shotgun, was killed after his body was hit by four of the 22 bullets and numerous fragments.

Gunman Man Haron Monis was shot dead by police.

The sniper, codenamed Sierra 3, who was in the Westpac building had told his commander on the evening of the siege that he had Monis in his sights and would take a shot if required.

But authorities could not confirm 100 per cent that it was the gunman., with fears Monis may have set a hostage up wearing his headband.

The shot was never taken.

Mr Van der Walt has told the inquest a test shot of armour-piercing ammunition fired through the equivalent of the Westpac glass broke into fragments.

None of the fragments carried what would have been the 49.5 metres to the Lindt Cafe.

However, a shot taken from that distance without passing through the equivalent of the Westpac glass had penetrated the equivalent of the Lindt Cafe glass with only minimal deviation.

And a shotgun had successfully breached the equivalent of the Westpac glass.

The officer has not been asked whether a shot fired through the breached glass may have successfully taken out Monis.

The inquest has been told that breaching the glass first would probably have warned Monis. There was little consideration given to cutting a hole in the glass to take a shot.

The inquest in Sydney continues.