Shooting inquest hears police grappled with victim

Updated

September 29, 2011 14:39:45


Adam Salter was shot by police in November 2009.
Photo:
Adam Salter died in November 2009. Constable Aaron Abela has told the inquest he did write about his physical contact with Mr Salter because he knew we would be making a formal statement. (ABC News)

A Sydney policeman has told an inquest he grappled with a man shortly before another officer shot him, but the constable has faced questioning about why the information was not included in his notes.

Constable Aaron Abela gave evidence in the Glebe Coroner’s Court today into the shooting death of Adam Salter, 36, in Sydney’s south-west in November 2009.

The constable had graduated from the Goulburn Police Academy six months before he attended the Lakemba home of Mr Salter’s father.

Deputy state coroner Scott Mitchell has previously heard Mr Salter was stabbing himself in his father’s kitchen when a policewoman shot him in the back.

Today Constable Abela told the inquest he had physical contact with Mr Salter and tried to grab the man as went to retrieve a knife from the kitchen sink.

But the court heard Constable Abela did not write about the contact in his police notebook.

The Salter family’s lawyer, Stephen Rushton, suggested perhaps Constable Abela did not include the detail in his notes because the physical contact never happened.

“That’s incorrect,” Constable Abela replied.

He told the court he knew he would be giving a formal interview about the incident, and did not think it was necessary to write the information down.

Previous witnesses have testified Mr Salter did not lunge at officers with the knife before he was shot.

Paramedics in the kitchen at the time have said they did feel threatened by Mr Salter, but one told the inquest yesterday she believes the situation was poorly handled.

Constable Sheree Bissett, the officer who shot Mr Salter, is expected to take the witness stand before the end of the week.

Topics:
courts-and-trials,
police,
lakemba-2195,
glebe-2037

First posted

September 29, 2011 14:35:04



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