Lindt cafe siege inquest: Psychiatrist didn’t take hostage’s assessment seriously

THE psychiatrist advising police during the Lindt Cafe siege thought escaped hostage Paolo Vassalo was “babbling” when he told officers that Monis had no intention of leaving the cafe alive.

Former Lindt cafe worker Paolo Vassalo told police Man Monis had no intention of leaving the building alive. The psychiatrist advising police thought Mr Vassalo was babbling.

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THE psychiatrist advising police during the Lindt Cafe siege did not believe gunman Man Monis was in a “killing frame of mind”, he told the inquest into the tragedy today.

And he said he thought escaped hostage Paolo Vassalo was “babbling” when he told officers debriefing him that Monis, armed with a shotgun and claiming to have a bomb, had no intention of leaving the cafe alive.

“He’s not walking out,” Mr Vassalo told police of Monis after he escaped at 3.40pm on December 15, 2014, along with two other hostages.

Man Haron Monis walks across Martin Place towards the Lindt Cafe on the day of the attack.

“Unless you take him out, he’s not walking out. He’s got no f---ing intention.”

The psychiatrist, who described himself as a “human behaviour specialist” and whose name has been suppressed, said he had listened to the debriefing but did not hear Mr Vassalo making that comment about Monis.

He said he would not have taken it seriously.

“This is a man (Vassalo) who had just escaped,” the psychiatrist said.

“My recall is that he was highly excited. My recall is that I didn’t listen to him terribly much because he was babbling.

Man Monis fires at fleeing hostages as the siege nears its end.

“I wouldn’t take his threat assessment seriously.”

The psychiatrist, who has his own barrister representing him at the inquest, said he had not thought Monis was in a killing frame of mind because he had been allowing the hostages food and water, let them go to the toilet and even allowed hostage John O’Brien to sit down because of his age.

“When you are in the frame of mind to kill, you don’t give them food and water,” he said.

He had arrived at the police negotiation cell in the NSW Leagues Club to act as an adviser after 1pm on December 15, the first day of the siege.

Monis was killed in a hail of bullets when police stormed the cafe at 2.13am on December 16 after he had shot dead cafe manager Tori Johnson.

Barrister Katrina Dawson died after being hit by fragments of police bullets.

The inquest continues.

Monis allowed food and water.

Monis allowed hostage John O'Brien to sit.