New South Wales Health is conducting an “urgent and immediate” review into detention and treatment procedures after a man who had been reported missing from a mental health facility was shot by police in a Sydney mall after allegedly lunging at officers with a knife.
The announcement of the review follows an earlier decision by NSW police to launch a critical incident review, after three women aged between 60 and 80 also suffered gunshot wounds when police opened fire on the man.
Footage has now emerged of the shooting on Thursday that shows a man appearing to run towards a police officer at Hornsby Westfield shopping centre. The footage shows the officer firing at him. He continues to approach the officer and another shot can be heard.
One of the women who was wounded can be heard screaming and saying: “I’ve been shot, I’ve been shot.”
Man under heavy police guard in hospital following shooting at Hornsby. #9News https://t.co/Btxu0UkN3G
— Nine News Sydney (@9NewsSyd) June 9, 2016
The man who allegedly lunged at police officers with the knife had recently been receiving treatment at a mental health facility, but was reported missing a day earlier.
A NSW Health spokesman said in a statement: “While the mental health act allows for mentally unwell people to be involuntarily detained for treatment, every effort is made to provide care in the least restrictive way to ensure a successful return to the community.”
NSW Greens member of parliament David Shoebridge called for an independent review into the police’s handling of the incident.
“In the absence of a fatality, all we will be getting is police investigating police,” Shoebridge said.
“Everyone involved deserves a far more independent review.”
He said there was “woefully inadequate training for the police to deal with mental illness.”
A former senior police officer defended the actions of the two NSW police officers.
“When you’ve got someone waving a knife around, you say: ‘Well we haven’t got time to talk about this’; or ‘We’ve tried to talk about it and it’s a waste of time, we have to make a decision’.
“It may be the decision is: ‘We have to shoot this person before he injures innocent victims’,” he told ABC radio on Friday.
Training and procedures surrounding police have been under review by NSW police. A small group of officers was recently trained by the FBI in a new counter terrorism “armed offender” program that is expected to be rolled out more broadly.
Australian Associated Press contributed to this report
