Senior Queensland police are confident officers involved in the shooting death of a man in Townsville acted appropriately.
Officers were called to Bel Air Avenue at Kirwan about 4.40pm on Friday, following reports a 52-year-old man was threatening self-harm.
About 15 minutes later, he approached them while holding knives and was shot, Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Lawson said on Saturday.
The man, identified in media reports as army veteran Steven Angus, was immediately given first aid but died shortly after paramedics arrived.
The incident was caught on police body-worn camera footage, with up to six officers initially responding to the disturbance.
An acting sergeant, a number of senior constables and constables were present at the scene, Supt Lawson said.
He said he was confident based on briefings he’d had that officers acted appropriately during the incident.
“Our thoughts go out to the family involved because we don’t want to see people being hurt and we don’t want to see people die,” he said.
“We want to resolve these incidents as peacefully as possible.”
Queensland Police policy was clear that officers should use whatever force necessary to resolve an incident at the minimum level possible, Supt Lawson said.
‘Great job in trying circumstances’
He said it was a distressing time for the man’s family, with some living locally, but police would continue to provide them with support and information.
Queensland Police Union President Ian Leavers said it was lucky a number of police weren’t murdered as a result of the incident.
“Police never want to use their firearm and this will have an impact on the officers involved for the rest of their lives,” he said.
“My thoughts are with the frontline police from Townsville who are doing a great job in trying circumstances.”
Supt Lawson could not confirm whether it was one or multiple officers who shot the man and said that would form part of the Ethical Standards Command’s investigation.
It would also look into reports the man was taken to hospital before the shooting and discharged.
Mr Angus’s death follows several fatal shootings involving police in Queensland in recent months.
Constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow were murdered in December in a premeditated attack carried out by Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train, before the trio were shot dead by officers at Wieambilla.
Neighbour Alan Dare was also gunned down after going to check on the commotion.
Last month, hundreds of protesters converged on Brisbane’s District and Supreme Court building days after police fatally shot Aboriginal man Aubrey Donahue, 27, in far north Queensland.
Police said he advanced on officers while armed with a knife.
The force and the union were providing support to officers involved in the Kirwan incident.
The standards command’s investigation into the incident is subject to oversight by the Crime and Corruption Commission.
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