Queensland Police Union boss Ian Leavers calls for Royal Commission after latest police shooting at Kingaroy Hospital

Queensland Police Union boss Ian Leavers has called for a Royal Commission following a spate of police shootings, including one overnight at the Kingaroy Hospital.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers has called for a Royal Commission into mental health after the latest in a spate of police shootings.

The boss of the Queensland Police Union has called for a Royal Commission into mental health following a spate of police shootings amid fears an “entire generation of officers” were being traumatised by health system failures.

It comes after a man aged in his 50s allegedly armed with a knife was shot by police outside Kingaroy Hospital’s emergency department on Friday night.

The Queensland Police Commissioner earlier this week told media he feared more people were willing to confront police with weapons.

“I’m concerned that we are seeing more people with weapons, bladed weapons in particular, wanting to confront police in these types of situations,” Mr Gollschewski said at a press conference on Tuesday.

A man has been shot by police at Kingaroy Hospital on Friday night.

“It’s something that I’m very concerned about and looking at the numbers of shootings that we’ve had in recent years, there’s no particular trend … they tend to go up and down from year to year but we are seeing increased numbers of people with mental health issues involved.”

Queensland Police Union (QPU) president Ian Leavers on Saturday called for a Royal Commission into mental health following the latest spate of police shootings.

Mr Leavers said the shootings had “damaged” a generation of police and blamed a breakdown in the health care system.

“Although I believe not much is ever achieved by inquiries or Royal Commissions, I call for a Royal Commission across the nation in relation to mental health,” he said.

Mr Leavers said this was a national issue that needed a national approach.

“The health department is funded nationally and the state’s administer the funds accordingly so I believe this is a national issue … we are seeing people who are affected by mental health who need treatment and have travelled between states and different jurisdictions,” he said.

“Mental health is something that the police deal with on a daily basis … we need to look at the greater issue of mental health within society and address it and provide treatment not incarceration.”

Police outside a North Toowoomba home on Sunday night where a man was shot by officers after a tense standoff.

Exclusive data obtained by the Courier-Mail on taser use by the Queensland Police Service, which showed the weapon was being pulled more often than compared to two years ago, with just 28 per cent being deployed in the last year.

Police sources say the job has become more dangerous in recent years.

“We are trained to use minimal use of force appropriate in the circumstances. The use of a taser is where an officer feels at risk of harm or injury,” the source said.

The Queensland Police Service shot 10 people in the 2023-24 financial year – seven fatally – compared to 14 people in the 2022-23 financial year.

The data – the most comprehensive breakdown of taser usage in more than 10 years – showed a 14 per cent increase in tasers being used between 2021 and 2023 across the QPS.

Tasers were pulled 1583 times in 2023 – an increase of more than 100 since 2021.

Despite this, the weapon was only fired 455 times in 2023, including nine drive stuns, 410 probes, and 36 of both probe and drive stuns. Compared to 2021, there was an 18 per cent increase.

Mental Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said she would be raising key issues with her federal and state health colleagues later this week.

“I want to express my heartfelt sympathies to all involved in last night’s incident, including the patient, health staff, police officers and their families,” she said.

“I have raised issues at the national health minister’s forum in the past and will be meeting with them later this week to further those discussions.”

Ms Fentiman said the government had invested more than $1.9 billion into improving and expanding mental health services across the state.

Griffith University Human Resource Management senior lecturer Dr Matthew Xerri said the demand for police services had increased by about 30 per cent since 2016.

“With that, we have seen the complexity of the calls increase and the demand for that has been a shift from traditional crimes to much more in the way of social issues like domestic violence, youth justice and mental health,” Dr Xerri said.

A man was also shot by police near Tolga, southwest of Cairns, on August 4 after confronting officers with a bladed weapon.

Just days later, a second man, who was allegedly armed with two knives, was also shot by police outside a Toowoomba home following a tense standoff.

Mr Leavers said officers responding to the Kingaroy incident had attempted to negotiate with the man before deploying a taser. They then fired a single shot and the taser was used again to disable him.

“Behind that blue shirt is an ordinary man or woman doing an extraordinary job,” he said.

“They have emotions, they have feelings and the last thing an officer wants is to use their firearms.

“They will live with this for the rest of their lives.”

Southern Regional Crime Coordinator Detective Superintendent George Marchesini said the man shot outside Kingaroy Hospital was allegedly confronting officers with a knife in what he described as a “traumatic” incident.

The man was flown in a critical condition to Sunshine Coast University Hospital where he remains fighting for life.

Det Supt Marchesini said the shooting was a “last resort option”.

“This has been a traumatic incident for all persons involved, and our officers are receiving professional support as we speak,” he said.

Blackbutt resident Les Lane, who was inside the Kingaroy Hospital emergency department at the time of the incident, said the man was clearly agitated before he entered the toilets and re-emerged with the knife.

“Staff escorted him to the triage and I reckon about 15 minutes later, he came back from that triage area and went to the toilets,” he said.

“He came out of the toilet with the knife in his hand – it was a kitchen knife, about 20cm long.”

Mr Lane said while the man didn’t threaten anyone, staff acted quickly to empty the room and lock the doors.

“Some of the staff went above and beyond their call of duty and kept him separated from any other patients,” he said.

Mr Lane said it took just five minutes before they heard a gun go off, after which the man was rushed into the emergency department with a wound to his abdomen.

“After the gunshot it would’ve been 30 seconds before they were calling for paramedics and they went out and rendered assistance.”

A second witness said a female officer broke down in the aftermath of the shooting.

A crime scene has been established at the hospital as the Ethical Standards Command continues to investigate.

A crime scene has been established at Kingaroy Hospital.

Darling Downs Health acting health service chief executive Louise Van Every thanked police for their swift response.

“Kingaroy Hospital employs ambassadors who proactively maintain a safe and secure environment for everyone at the facility,” she said.

“An ambassador, along with other hospital staff were successful in ensuring the safety of everyone at Kingaroy Hospital emergency department, which allowed the facility to be placed into lockdown and ensure that police interactions could occur outside of the hospital.

“Darling Downs Health leadership are visiting staff today and will continue to be available to staff throughout the week, as well as trained specialists who will travel to Kingaroy as part of our Employee Assistance Program.”

The latest national health data shows the number of adults with high or very high levels of psychological distress has significantly increased over the last decade. More than 40 per cent of Australians aged between 16 and 85 have experienced a mental disorder at some point in their life, including one in five over the last 12 months.

The state government conducted an inquiry into mental health services in 2021-22 which found 132,000 Queenslanders had accessed help for mental health issues during a single year, 64 per cent of which were male.

A total $457 million was invested in mental health, alcohol and other drugs services in this years’ budget.

Originally published as Queensland Police Union boss Ian Leavers calls for Royal Commission after latest police shooting at Kingaroy Hospital