Taree: Critical incident investigation after police shoot armed man dead after tasering him in Manning Base Hospital carpark
A critical incident investigation will probe whether an armed man – who was shot dead by police in the carpark of a regional hospital – fired multiple rounds at officers as he jumped out of a car and again after he was felled by a taser.
Mid-North Coast
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A critical incident investigation will probe whether an armed man – shot dead by police during a horrifying confrontation in the carpark of a regional hospital – fired multiple rounds at officers as he jumped out of a car and again after he was felled by a taser.
Police confirmed on Friday the 35-year-old man had been armed with a revolver when four officers, including three constables with about two years service each, were forced to engage him in the busy Manning Base Hospital carpark at Taree following a frantic 35-minute manhunt.
The state’s homicide squad will investigate the moments leading up to the man being tasered by the most experienced officer of the four, a leading senior constable, before he was shot multiple times after he is believed to have again fired the gun at police while lying on the ground.
The horror scene, witnessed by multiple people within the hospital’s grounds just before 1pm on Thursday, followed the massive search for the dead man after police received multiple reports of a gunman on the loose at Wingham, about 15km west of the hospital at Taree.
Police were first called to Summerville St at Wingham about 12.20pm for a concern for welfare check before they received multiple reports of a man firing a gun in nearby Rouse St just five minutes later.
Early reports that the man was firing into the air have been dismissed but it remains unclear whether any residences were targeted or damaged.
The frantic calls sparked a significant police response as multiple Manning-Great Lakes police cars began patrolling parts of Wingham and Taree looking for the armed man.
Police said they received information that the man had been given a lift to the hospital by someone known to him, although Northern Region Commander Assistant Commissioner Dave Waddell said on Friday it was still unclear why the pair had gone to the medical facility.
The critical incident investigation, run by the state’s homicide squad, will now probe the moments after police arrived at the scene.
Mr Waddell said the man, who was known to police, was called to drop the gun on numerous occasions after he got out of the car and began pointing the revolver at police.
He confirmed a taser was deployed, which brought the armed man to the ground, however he continued to point the gun at police and officers pleaded with him numerous more times to drop it.
When he failed to do so, he was shot multiple times and died shortly after being carried into the hospital for treatment.
The probe will also investigate how many shots the man fired at police both before and after he was tasered.
No officers or other members of the public were injured during the confrontation.
The critical incident investigation will also be subject to an independent review.
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