Following a standoff in North Queensland, police shot and killed a 26-year-old male.
As the man approached them, police radioed to the Mount Louisa suburb of Townsville could be heard yelling for him to “drop the knife”.
An cop shot him when he appeared to lunge with the weapon.
The man, according to Acting Chief Superintendent Chris Lawson, threatened police officers with a knife before they tried to use a Taser on him.
“Police performed immediate first aid and tried to render assistance however with the assistance of QAS, however they were unsuccessful and the man unfortunately passed away,” according to him.
The details surrounding the specific incident with the taser are currently unknown.
“Once we’ve conducted an investigation and we’ve identified what exactly happened, we’ll be able to provide that information through the coroner.”
An assessment of the cops’ mental health had prompted the call.
Ian Leavers, President of the Queensland Police Union, described it as “a tragedy for the family and the involved police officers.”
“It just shows within our society we need to do more for those suffering mental health, and they need treatment,” he stated.
Residents learned of their neighbor’s death as forensics searched the area.
“I heard three pops, ran to a window to see what was going on, didn’t hear much more than that,” said Aaron FIsher.
At the time of the incident, roughly six police officers of various ranks were on the site, and two police officers responded to the mental health check.
The Ethical Standards Command has been tasked with looking into it.
