By Angus Thompson
The senior NSW Police officer who confronted and fatally shot Westfield Bondi Junction stabber Joel Cauchi said her act of heroism that day came down to her training.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Inspector Amy Scott said she had “mixed emotions” about receiving the Commissioner’s Valour Award at a ceremony at Goulburn Police Academy on Friday due to the actions of her team on April 13, as “you are only as strong as the people around you.”
“And that goes to my incredible family and friends after that, the other first responders both at the scene and at the hospitals, and the extraordinary acts of bravery we saw from everyday civilians, it was second to none,” an emotional Scott said during a post-ceremony press conference.
“Really [important] as well, are those victims, their family and friends who will be forever dealing with an unfathomable tragedy. So it’s really important for me to keep those people at the forefront of everything, and that’s where they are for me, and they’re always on my mind.”
Multiple investigations are ongoing into the attack, carried out by Queensland man Joel Cauchi, 40, who fatally stabbed six people and injured 12 more during his rampage.
Cauchi took the lives of five women and a man: new mother and osteopath Ashlee Good, 38; bride-to-be Dawn Singleton, 25; artist Pikria Darchia, 55; architect Jade Young, 47; Chinese economics student Yixuan Cheng, 27; and Westfield security guard Faraz Tahir, 30.
Inspector Amy Scott was alone when she confronted the knife-wielding Joel Cauchi.
Scott was filmed in the chaos running towards danger as shoppers fled. She entered the shopping centre at 3.30pm, quickly locating Cauchi and ordering him to stop before she gave chase.
She told bystanders to take cover behind her and drew her gun, calmly moving backwards as he came towards her, before shooting Cauchi. She then immediately performed CPR on him, and later some of the victims, while waiting for colleagues to arrive.
Scott with her Valour Award medal.Credit: Kate Geraghty
Asked about her thoughts during the shooting, Scott said on Friday she wanted the focus to be on the broader emergency response, adding she had stayed quiet because of the impact the event had had on first responders. “It’s a healing process and will be for everybody involved,” she said.
“I would hope that I’m not defined by one incident in my career, that it would be my goal. Because at the end of the day, we’re all just ordinary people that are sometimes called upon to do extraordinary things.”
Scott declined to comment on the specifics of the incident, referring to the investigations underway, which include a coronial investigation and critical incident investigation.
“I would prefer to keep those things to myself, but in due time I’m certain to talk about it further,” she said.
“At the end of the day, it came down to my training: stop the killing stop the crime.”
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said it may never be known what Cauchi’s was thinking when he carried out the killings.
NSW Premier Chris Minns told the ceremony that Scott hadn’t sought the limelight, “perhaps doesn’t even like it,” but represented no greater example of professionalism and “instinctive courage” for the graduating officers.
The day after the attacks, Minns said Scott “without a shadow of a doubt, saved many, many lives”.
“The best in this state confronted one of the worst acts we’ve ever seen,” he said.
Other instances of heroism emerged that day, including “bollard man” Damien Guerot, a French citizen who was granted permanent residency after confronting Cauchi on the escalators, armed with a bollard.
Pakistani security guard Muhammad Taha was also granted permanent residency after he was wounded trying to help his colleague, Tahir, who was fatally stabbed.
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