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''.

TF Journey Four Weeks Down

Been doing well on the Tony Ferguson Weightloss Program. I've finished my fourth week and have lost a total of  8.4kg. The weight is probably falling off slightly too fast at the moment (not that I'm complaining, mind you), but I'm sure it will start to slow down to only 1kg or a little less per week soon. If all goes well this coming week though, I should break below the 100kg barrier. That would be nice. I would love to be under 100kg and I do very much hope that I will never get to above 100kg again. Hell, I've joked with the hubby a couple of times that I will weigh less than him. He's 80kg (one of those tall thin type of people the bugger). It definitely would be nice to get underneath 80kg, but that is a long way off in the future just yet. It is achievable however.

Now, exercise has been a different matter completely. I'm doing a little bit of it, mainly on an old exercise bike I have at home. Walking the dog has gone by the wayside. The last few times I was out with the dog, the social anxiety really kicked in, so I've not been able to take poor Nikki for another walk since then. The exercise bike is good enough for the moment, however I will need to become more regular with it. One day I might even see if the old home gym outside still works. :)

Anyway, there's probably so much more to write, but I think this time I will write the mental health stuff in my hand written journal. I've just eaten a portion of shepherds pie for dinner and I'm way too full and tired to get into much more tonight. :D

One Week Down

The first week on the Tony Ferguson Weightloss Program went well. I stuck to it 100%. The big change for me was that I cooked every day, except for Wednesday when I spent the night in Semi Big Smoke after my pdoc appointment. Lost 3.7kg. I know that first week losses are higher than the average due to the "water weight" issue, but still, gotta be happy with that.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to muster any excitement about the first week weight loss. Head-wise I am feeling very flat. I'm not feeling as seriously depressed as I have been, but I'm not feeling all that good either, if that makes any sense. Sometimes I feel like I just can't win, but hey, that's just the way it is I guess.

In a way, I think I'm missing "my guys". The mind has been too quiet. Nobody has made their presence known during pdoc appointments for a while. I'm missing Kelly's silliness and Mel's strength; even Alki. It's lonely not being able to feel them.

Anyway, the in-laws are arriving tomorrow. I should be getting stuck into the housework. Motivation is very lacking though. It might be time for a cup of tea and then I spot of action I think.

Oh My!

It's 5:20pm and I've just (almost) finished my first day on the Tony Ferguson Weightloss Program. Actually, there's a few more hours to go yet before I even attempt to go to bed but half of those will be filled with trying to clean the kitchen after I made a mess cooking dinner. I am not a neat cook by any stretch of the imagination. Actually, I rarely cook much at all; only basic dinners for my husband to take with him to work. I tell you though, tonight's dinner may (hopefully) change that cooking aversion for me if all TF recipes taste that good.

Dinner was Beef and Green Bean Casserole with Cauliflower Rice. Both recipes came from the Tony Ferguson website. Let me just say, I'm completely sated. I can see this recipe combination will become a favourite for me. Together both dishes tasted amazing. I hope the hubby likes it because he's going to get it quite often regardless.

Mental health wise, things weren't too bad today. I had to do a huge shop at the local grocery store so I would have some healthy food options in the house for the start of my TF journey. As always seems to be the case, I was nervous about heading down to the shopping centre. It took me until mid afternoon to be able to take that step. Thank goodness for the need for healthy food otherwise I would not have gone. The Body went through the familiar height changes as I entered the shopping centre. It didn't shrink too much though, considering how much the height can change at times, so it wasn't too off-putting. I survived the entire shop with minimal discomfort, although by the time I was ready to head towards the check-outs I was ready to dump the full trolley and run out of the centre. I didn't, but you know what it's like.

Depression and Weight Loss

Gawd, I feel shocking today. Wish I could get rid of this freakin' depression. It's been hanging on for so bloody long now ... months on end ... not that I'm ever really free of it.

Totally over it! Give me dissociation any day (over depression at least). Pity the two seem to go hand in hand though, at least for me.

How I wish that my psychiatrist would just give me some anti-d's. In my journal, which he reads during every appointment, I've written enough about the possibility of going back on the anti-d's. However, during appointments I've been unable to actually ask for them, so ... *sigh*.

Anyway, I've been reading through the Tony Ferguson Weightloss Program website and forum over the past handful of days. I followed the program for a time back in 2007 and did lose quite a bit of weight if a shirt I bought for a new job I got back then is anything to go by. Memory fails me regarding how long I stuck with the program and how much I lost though. After two plus years break, I've even ordered a month's worth of shakes and associated paraphernalia. I'm not sure which part of me wants to lose weight or why they want to lose weight, but I think I'm totally behind them on this one. Let's go for it!

What is Love?

Pearls of wisdom from some random poster on a relationship forum I've been reading lately ...

There is romantic love and there is mature love. Mature love is about mutual differences, it's about learning to communicate, to appreciate, and to show sincere affection. It is about being someone who can support a partner, it's about being someone who doesn't blame the other for the failings of the relationship. It's about owning your own crap.

Boooo!

Bloody duoDERM! Every time I use it on a wound, the wound seems to get at least some over-granulation in it. I must be doing something wrong; using duoDERM when perhaps I should be using some other type of dressing. The wound nurse at the Semi-big Smoke's hospital that I've seen a few times in the past used to use the stuff on me every visit though. However, Semi-big Smoke is a two hour drive away, and the staff at the local hospital just don't seem to have a clue about wound dressing, so my options are limited. Anyway, I put one of those silver type dressings on it today just to tide me over to my trip to the Semi-big Smoke on Wednesday. I think a pharmacy visit is in order.