Man claimed he 'did nothing wrong' before being fatally shot

A MAN who was fatally shot by Corrective Services in Lismore had wept in court as he was refused bail earlier the same day.

Dwayne Johnstone was fatally shot by Corrective Services at Lismore Base Hospital on Friday. Picture: Facebook

A MAN who was fatally shot by Corrective Services in Lismore had wept in court as he was refused bail earlier the same day.

Numulgi man Dwayne Johnstone is alleged to have tried to flee custody before he was shot at Lismore Base Hospital about 7.30pm on Friday.

The ABC has reported the 43-year-old suffered an epileptic episode prior to the incident. When he faced before Lismore Local Court earlier that day, solicitor Ian McKay said Mr Johnstone had epilepsy but had not had access to his medication since his arrest.

In court, Mr Johnstone also complained of a broken arm.

Mr McKay lodged not guilty pleas for his client's charges of possessing a prohibited weapon and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

He applied for Mr Johnstone to be released on bail, citing a need for treatment and a prosecution case which he claimed was "not strong".

The charges stemmed from an alleged incident last Thursday during which he was accused of using a stun baton on another man.

Mr McKay told the court the allegations would be "vigorously defended" and that his client denied having or using "any sort of Taser implement".

Prosecutor Brett Gradisnik argued the alleged offences were "at least at the mid range of objective seriousness".

Mr Johnstone shook his head as the court heard the allegations against him.

"I didn't do anything wrong, sir," he told Magistrate David Heilpern.

Mr Heilpern said the defendant would have access to his medication in custody.

He said there "may well be a different side to the story", but refused bail, in part because Mr Johnstone was already on bail for other allegations.

Mr Johnstone wept as he heard this decision.

He appeared before the court shortly after 2pm on Friday and was fatally shot by Corrective Services after he allegedly tried to flee from their custody at the hospital about five hours later.

Richmond Police District crime manager Detective Chief Inspector Cameron Lindsay said a brief would be prepared for the coroner.

"The process now is we have a lot of witnesses and a large amount of CCTV footage to go through," Insp Lindsay said.

A Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman was unable to confirm details about Mr Johnstone's treatment or other circumstances due to privacy rules and the ongoing investigation but said a leader of the organisation had visited the region. 

"Corrective Services NSW Acting Commissioner Rosemary Caruana has travelled to Lismore on Monday to meet with staff, the partner and a family member of the deceased and Lismore Base Hospital management," she said.

"The impact of this event is far reaching and we are committed to supporting our staff and all those affected."