Police body cameras not used in fatal siege shooting
Fraser Barton |
A specialist Queensland Police team had access to body-worn cameras but they were not in use when a man was fatally shot in the state’s far north.
Aubrey Donahue died after being shot four times by police who allege he advanced on officers while armed with a knife in Mareeba, near Cairns, last month.
The 27-year-old’s family and the local Indigenous community have disputed the police response to the incident and held a protest in the town and in Brisbane late last month.
Hundreds of protesters converged on Brisbane’s District and Supreme Court building days after Mr Donahue was fatally shot.
The court building was briefly placed into lockdown after about 200 people marched through central Brisbane chanting “Justice for Aubrey”.
A special emergency response team responded to the incident with Mr Donahue in March and a police representative said a trial to introduce body-worn and vehicle-mounted cameras to police officers was completed in December 2022.
Police say the trial to fully implement body worn cameras was to be finalised on March 31.
“The cameras were delivered to SERT Cairns shortly before the events in Mareeba,” the police representative said.
“This fitment and technical connection of the devices was completed by the required date of March 31, 2023, and are now operationalised.
“The implementation process in respect of the use of body-worn and vehicle-mounted cameras by SERT has been completed.
“SERT officers now utilise both body worn and vehicle-mounted cameras during their operations unless there are justifiable operational effectiveness or safety limitations.”
State Coroner Terry Ryan will hold an inquest into the shooting.
AAP
