Police from Victoria's armed crime squad lacked the skills to quickly find their way to the scene of a hold-up where an armed robber was shot dead, an inquest has been told.
The Coroner's Court has heard closing submissions into the death of armed robber Troy Van Den Bemt, who was shot dead by an undercover officer during a hold-up in Melbourne's east in 2018.
Operative 129 had been monitoring 49-year-old Van Den Bemt and his associates, when on the night of January 28, 2018, he spotted a stolen Kluger that Van Den Bemt's crew had used in previous robberies as they scoped out a Park Orchards bottle shop.
Realising the store was the next target, he went inside to clear people out of the shop, but moments later Van Den Bemt entered the store wearing a balaclava and carrying a shotgun.
Store attendant Kanru Wang grabbed a metal pole, and operative 129 drew his gun, believing Mr Wang could be killed if he confronted the robber.
In the space of five seconds, operative 129 fired seven shots, likely saving Mr Wang's life as Van Den Bemt fired one round from his shotgun.
But counsel assisting Paul Lawrie told the hearing that as the deadly confrontation unfolded, the armed crime squad had failed to quickly make their way to the location, a situation he described as "a complete geographical embarrassment".
He told coroner Jacqui Hawkins two units had been relying on their mobile phones to navigate and both overshot the location.
"The armed crime squad never got into the position where they were truly supportive of the state surveillance unit position or where a disruption effort was in any way possible," Mr Lawrie said.
"The police ability to respond as quickly as possible to a critical event, particularly in Melbourne, requires navigational skills ... that was notably absent in the response by these two units."
Mr Lawrie said the situation would have been helped by having a Melways street directory on hand.
The court heard the two units also failed to pick up critical radio transmissions from the undercover team.
