A police officer who shot a man armed with scissors outside Sydney's Central Station has told an inquest he did not want to use his gun but was left with "no choice".
Danukul Mokmool, 30, died after he was shot in the head in a florist shop on Eddy Avenue at Central Station on July 26, 2017.
Senior Constable Frederick Tse was one of four officers who responded to urgent calls about a man armed with scissors threatening an employee.
The plain-clothes officer arrived to find Mr Mokmool inside the shop and a large group of peak-hour commuters watching on.
He told Lidcombe Coroners Court the officers tried briefly to negotiate with Mr Mokmool, who calmly declared "I'm not giving up" as he was told to drop the weapon.
But Senior Constable Tse said his demeanour rapidly changed when another officer unsuccessfully tried to subdue him with OC spray.
"A second or so later, he looked at me and yelled 'I'm going to kill you'," Senior Constable Tse told the court.
"He looked straight at me when he said those words and he ran."
The officer took several paces back before firing three shots. Another officer fired one shot.
"I didn't want to," Senior Constable Tse recalled.
"He really left me no choice. He basically pushed all options out.
"There was really nothing else I could have done."
Senior Constable Tse said he was not carrying his Taser because it was brightly coloured, bulky and "too overt" when he was in plain clothes.
He also ruled out "weaponless control", or hands-on grappling with the man, due to the scissors.
NSW Police confirmed that under their standard operating procedures, Tasers were only issued to "uniformed officers undertaking response policing".
The court heard that none of the officers, including two uniformed officers who initially responded at the train station, were carrying Tasers.
Under cross-examination, it was put to Senior Constable Tse it would have been better to "back off and back away" from the situation to allow for further assessment.
"I probably got a little too close, yeah," he replied.
But he also said there was no time to stop and discuss an approach with his colleagues.
The inquest yesterday heard Mr Mokmool was on methadone and may have been having a psychotic episode at the time of the shooting. He had also spent time in jail.
Senior Constable Tse said the entire exchange lasted 20 seconds.
He said there was nothing about Mr Mokmool's presentation that suggested he may have had mental health issues, apart from telling the officers to shoot him.
"If I had more time I'd make a much better assessment," he said.
The inquest, before Deputy State Coroner Elaine Truscott, continues.
