Senior constable shot mentally ill man after warning he had phobia of police, inquest hears

I can't even think about a comment to the following story. Just stupid!

Jodie Minus From: The Australian October 11, 2010 1:10PM

NSW Police officers were warned a mentally ill man, who was shot dead by a senior constable, had a phobia of police and should be approached with caution.

Elijah Holcombe, 24, died after being shot in the chest by Senior Constable Andrew Rich in Armidale, in northern NSW, on June 2, 2009.

On the opening day of a two-week inquest into Holcombe's death, Armidale Coroner's Court heard that police were warned the psychology student suffered from a mental illness characterised by paranoid episodes and a phobia of police.

Officers were told over the police radio to "approach with caution'' and that Holcombe was "extremely frightened of police''.

Counsel Assisting the Coroner Chris Hoy told the court that Holcombe, a Macquarie University student, had been living with his parents, Jeremy and Tracey at Wee Waa, in the state's north-west, following concerns about his declining mental health.

On June 1, Mr Holcombe drove his son to nearby Narrabri for a doctor's appointment but while running another errand, Holcombe took his father's car and made the four-hour drive east to Armidale.

Mr Holcombe reported his son missing to Constable Brett Allison at Narrabri Police Station at 4.30pm, telling the officer that Holcombe was suffering from paranoid delusions and was afraid police would extradite him to the United States.

Mr Holcombe warned Con Allison his son would run away if approached by police but that he "would not hurt anybody''.

When Holcombe arrived at Armidale he went to the police station and told the officer at the front counter, Senior Constable John Aitken, that he had stolen his father's car, which was parked on a nearby residential street and that he wanted to be taken to hospital.

Sen Con Aitken organised for Holcombe to be taken to Armidale Hospital by Senior Constable Paul Shelton, while Sen Con Rich was asked to locate Mr Holcombe's silver Falcon.

Holcombe was assessed by registered nurse Carla Rutherford about 1.45pm, on June 2. In her witness statement Ms Rutherford said Holcombe appeared paranoid and could have been experiencing hallucinations.

Holcombe told Ms Rutherford that the "Boongalarees were after him'', but when she questioned who they were, he said he was leaving the hospital and because he was a voluntary patient the nurse could not stop him.

Holcombe was later spotted by Sen Con Rich and his partner, Sen Con Christopher Dufty, walking along Rusden Street, in Armidale's city centre.

The officers pulled up alongside Holcombe in their police vehicle and there was a brief exchange before the young men fled and was pursued on foot by Sen Con Rich.

Holcombe ran through Caffeinds coffee shop, grabbed a bread knife, and then ran out the cafe's back door to Cinders Lane.

Sen Con Rich continued his pursuit, asked three times for Holcombe to drop the bread knife and then shot him in the chest.

State Coroner Mary Jerram said the inquest was not about "pointing the finger, not finding innocence or guilt . . . (but) just how it came to be that Elijah died''.

Mr Hoy said an "integral component'' of the inquest would be to determine whether Holcombe's death resulted from justifiable homicide or not.

The inquest, which will hear from 71 witnesses, would also look at the role of police officers and how they interact with people with a mental illness.

"It is a sad fact that it is so often frontline police officers . . . who generally come in to first contact with troubled citizens,'' Mr Hoy said.

Outside the court Mr Holcombe said he would not speculate on the outcome of the inquest but said he loved his son "more than words can say''.