Mick Fuller says Lindt Cafe cops showed ‘highest level of courage’
While the actions of police during the Lindt Cafe siege have been heavily scrutinised, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller says it’s important to recognise the officers involved. INTERACTIVE: IN THE LINE OF FIRE
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Recognising the courage shown by the police officers on the front line of the Lindt Cafe siege is important, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller says, but nothing overshadows the trauma and the loss of hostages.
On Tuesday Mr Fuller will present 48 awards to officers, from Tactical Operations Unit snipers and bomb disposal technicians to Dog Squad officers, who displayed extreme bravery throughout the siege.
The officers either stormed the cafe, carried injured hostages outside, cleared anxious office workers from surrounding buildings or carried out surveillance for tactical colleagues on the ground as the 17-hour siege unfolded on December 15 and 16, 2014.
Over the past five years, the actions of police have been heavily scrutinised during a lengthy coronial inquest and in public and political forums.
Mr Fuller said nothing could take away from the fact police went into the cafe to save lives in “some of the most challenging operational conditions”.
“There were going into a high risk situation and I know there has been enormous debate around whether there was an IED in Man Monis’ bag but the reflection of a number of those officers was they were potentially going in to meet their end,” he said.
Those officers showed “the highest level of courage”.
MORE ON THE LINDT CAFE SIEGE:
The definitive account of the Lindt Cafe siege
Picture gallery: Lindt siege in 24 iconic images
There were likely officers who felt their stories weren’t told in a positive light and hostages and their families who felt let down by the police, he conceded.
“At the end of the day it’s my job to own what we did well, it’s my job to own what we didn’t do well and I do have to recognise courage and bravery,” Mr Fuller said.
Before Mr Fuller was appointed Commissioner in 2017, he was Assistant Commissioner and in charge of an area that covered Sydney’s CBD.
He remembers vividly an officer walking up to him on the morning of December 15, 2014, and saying “a terrorist had taken a group of people hostage in a cafe in the city”.
“The next three hours in command, it felt like 10 minutes,” Mr Fuller said.
At the beginning of the day he was the police commander and galvanised the initial response to the siege.
He handed over that role before the night ended.
As Commissioner he has overseen many organisational changes sparked by the lessons learned from that day.
That includes knowing when to deviate from the contain and negotiate strategy that police traditionally followed when responding to a siege.
While “early intervention doesn’t mean we can save everybody”, terrorist incidents are now approached differently.
“We now know post Lindt Cafe that with a terrorist siege, we need a very different response,” he said.
“The response by police to contain and negotiate was a response that was tried and tested for us.
“But clearly the community expect that we respond much quicker and with force in those terrorist situations.”
The Commissioner and executive team take part in counter terrorism exercises every month and the force’s technical and surveillance toolbox has been bolstered as well.
Originally published as Mick Fuller says Lindt Cafe cops showed ‘highest level of courage’