Hamlyn Terrace: Joshua Duke inquest hears he never fired on police who fatally shot him
A man armed with a double barrel shotgun never fired on police and was probably trying to steal a car to escape before he was fatally shot four times by police, an inquest has found.
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Joshua Leigh Duke was armed with a double barrel shotgun.
He had been involved in a pursuit with police in a stolen 4WD being driven by another man.
And he was under the influence of methamphetamine and walking around with the stock of the firearm against his shoulder and the muzzle pointed in a “low ready” position, poised to fire.
But the 38-year-old was probably trying to steal a car to make his escape after being pinned down by police at a rural property off Minnesota Rd, at Hamlyn Terrace, in October 2020.
A coronial inquest has found four police opened fire at Mr Duke on two occasions just minutes apart, with four of 14 rounds striking him in the upper leg, chest, thumb and a fatal shot to the head.
The inquest by Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee found in discharging their firearms the four officers acted “in the lawful execution of their duties” in response to both the real and perceived risk posed by Mr Duke.
However the inquest heard Mr Duke’s Italian-made G. Bignotti shotgun was probably jammed and incapable of firing “a full shot”.
The inquest also heard, unbeknown to officers at the time — having been struck in the thumb by a glancing bullet during the first encounter with police — Mr Duke was also probably trying to steal a car to make good his getaway rather than engage them in a shootout.
Mr Duke and another man were seen driving a stolen Toyota Landcruiser on the morning of October 15, 2020.
A police pursuit was initiated before the 4WD was dumped in bushland near Minnesota Rd and set alight.
The inquest heard Mr Duke was armed with a double barrel shotgun when he was confronted by an officer who yelled at him “Oi mate, what are you doing, put the gun down”.
But when Mr Duke kept approaching the officer ran for cover.
“Believing that (Mr Duke) had discharged a round from his firearm, (the) Senior Constable discharged a number of rounds from his firearm in response,” Mr Lee said in his findings.
The officer saw what he believed was Mr Duke “fiddling with his firearm” or “trying to reload” as the officer’s partner broadcast an emergency “shots fire, shots fired” message on police radio at 9.55am.
However the inquest heard he had probably been hit in the thumb.
The officers then saw Mr Duke use the butt of his gun to smash the window and gain entry to a house on the property as more officers arrived.
The inquest heard one of the arriving officers saw Duke leave the house and called out “contact right” to warn the other two police, who were looking the other way, before all three opened fire on Mr Duke who dropped to the ground.
The officers saw Mr Duke rise up and begin to lift the shotgun again when they fired a second volley of shots at him.
Mr Lee said what they didn’t know was Mr Duke had probably been hit in the thumb when the first officer had fired, which explained why his blood was found on the door handle of a vehicle parked in a nearby carport.
“The evidence establishes that Josh (Mr Duke) did not discharge his firearm, contrary to a Detective Senior Constable’s belief that he had done so,” Mr Lee said in his findings.
“There is also no direct evidence to suggest that Josh had exited the (house) with the intention of using his firearm to injure or kill any of the police officers on the property. Rather, the evidence suggests that he was attempting to return to the carport and use the vehicle parked there to depart the premises.
“This is because he had earlier attempted to open the door to the vehicle, and because when he was later searched, he was found with a set of Toyota car keys in one of his pockets, which had been taken from the (house).”
However Mr Lee found none of this was known to the police, who also believed a second armed man could be inside.
He found the officers had acted lawfully and Mr Duke died as a result.
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