Bourke St inquest: James Gargasoulas laughed at cops who drew their guns on him
A dramatic confrontation unfolded between police and Bourke St killer James Gargasoulas two hours before his final rampage where he laughed when they demanded he surrender.
Law & Order
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Bourke St killer James Gargasoulas laughed in the faces of two cops who had their guns “at the ready” and demanded he surrender about two hours before his fatal rampage in 2017.
The confrontation happened on January 20 in South Melbourne when Gargasoulas was followed by police across several suburbs after he almost stabbed his brother to death.
Gargasoulas giving up was the only plan police had to arrest him — and it failed.
Detective Senior Constable Jacqueline Reeves told the inquest into the tragedy Gargasoulas pulled over on Moray St about 11.30am and appeared to be waving at her and detective Senior Constable Adam Burnett through the window.
“He knew we were behind him and he pulled over, stuck his arm out the window and was laughing and waving … so we pulled up behind him,” Sen- Constable Reeves said.
Gargasoulas had a history of evading and was known to bait police, and that’s exactly what he was doing.
Both officers drew their weapons because they knew the danger he posed.
“Burnett shouted: ‘Show us your hands, show us your hands’. The offender just laughed, then drove off.
They were effectively at his mercy as the plan to arrest Gargasoulas largely depended on him surrendering peacefully or arresting him if he got out of the vehicle.
Under cross-examination, Sen-Constable Reeves confirmed that was their intention.
“No, we are not trained to box in or ram a vehicle or anything like that — we can’t do that. It was our job to locate him and arrest him.”
Barbara Myers, barrister for the victims’ families, put it to her there was “no plan for worst-case scenario if he chose not to co-operate”.
“I wouldn’t say no plan … (the plan was) to keep him under observation,” Sen-Constable Reeves said.
Sen-Constable Burnett said his gun was “at the ready” but it wasn’t aimed at Gargasoulas. He didn’t know what to expect or if he was being baited but was doing everything he could to “make an arrest”.
Later in the day he saw Gargasoulas doing doughnuts on Flinders St.
“As he goes down Swanston St, I see a tram coming … I wanted to ram him into the tram. I wanted to stop him.” Had he rammed the car, however, he could have been charged with a criminal offence.
MORE BOURKE ST INQUEST
JUNIOR OFFICER TRIED TO LURE BOURKE ST KILLER
POLICE GOT WITHIN METRES OF KILLER BEFORE RAMPAGE
COPS HAD PLANS TO STOP KILLER BEFORE RAMPAGE
It also would have placed the public at risk.
How he reacted “weighs on my mind”, he said.
“It’s a big risk to take. I sometimes wish I did.”
Coroner Jacqui Hawkins asked if the strategy was to follow Gargasoulas, why the police stopped doing.
Sen-Constable Burnett told her Gargasoulas’s speed had been increasing and they wanted to avoid a “high-speed pursuit”.
With AAP