Man yelled police ‘going down’ before fatal shooting
A man pointed a homemade gun at police and shouted “one of you is down” before an officer fatally opened fire with a rifle, the coroner heard.
Tjay Robert Doeblien, 27, died after being shot in the chest by a police officer outside a home in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, in May 2022.
Coroner Terry Ryan heard at the start of the inquest on Wednesday that police responded to reports of a disturbance and a man chasing a woman with a stick.
Senior Constable John Johnstone testified that following the man’s statements he fired his service rifle at Mr Doeblien and that his pointing of the firearm at officers helped him decide that there was a lethal threat to police.
“I decided to stop this imminent threat. I pulled the trigger once, opened fire once and regained line of sight,” Sen Const Johnstone said.
“He was still standing the same way. This meant that my risk assessment had not changed. I pressed the trigger again and stopped shooting. I observed him fall.”
Mr. Doeblien’s mother, Patricia Roach, and family members were in court for the inquest and saw the body-worn camera video that police were trying to negotiate.
In the footage, a police officer said, “You put down the gun, we will put down our firearms. This is a fair deal.”
A police ethical standards investigation found Mr Doeblien was in possession of a crude “zip gun” made from a pipe, metal plates and a wooden grip covered with tape and painted silver.
Detective Senior Sergeant Tara O’Donnell said: “There was no firing pin. It was unfired. It looked real.”
Sen Const Johnstone testified that Mr Doeblien appeared to be holding a silver pistol.
Senior Constable Darien Gough said Mr Doeblien walked around, pointed his gun at himself and police and told officers “there’s a bullet in here and one of you is going to go down”.
A person pointing a gun at police officers 25 meters away poses an unacceptable risk of death or serious harm to police or the public, Mr Ryan heard.
Sen Const Gough said: “He made a direct threat that one of us was going to fall. I interpreted that to mean one of us was going to be shot and killed.”
Mr. Doeblien was repeatedly told to drop his gun and did not comply, but shouted to police that his gun did not have a firing pin.
Sen Const Gough said he was still prepared to use lethal force with his police pistol.
“It doesn’t change the risks. We didn’t have that trust building,” he said.
Sen Const Johnstone said Sen Const Gough’s words “He’s got a bullet. If he points at it, we need to deploy, mate” was not an incentive to shoot.
“I believed (Mr Doeblien) was capable of killing or seriously injuring any of us,” Sen Const Johnstone said.
“When he gestured at us with both hands, I thought he would soon discharge that firearm, possibly causing death or great bodily harm.”
The investigation is expected to be completed on Thursday.
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