Sydney Lindt cafe siege inquest: Police commissioner says 'we should have gone in earlier' – as it happened
Follow our rolling coverage of the coroner’s report on the Lindt cafe siege, which resulted in the deaths of three people, including gunman Man Haron Monis
Updated
A hostage runs to police for safety after she escaped from the Lindt cafe under siege at Martin Place in Sydney on 15 December 2014.
Photograph: Rob Griffith/AP
Man Haron Monis took 18 people who had been going about their ordinary business hostage inside the Lindt cafe two and a half years ago. The inquest opened six weeks later. Public hearings were held from 25 May to 5 June 2015, 17 August 2015 to 4 September 2015, and 21 March to 17 August 2016. 118 witnesses gave evidence, including 15 experts.
Today, with the publication of his 500-page report, the NSW state coroner Michael Barnes finalised his recommendations and findings resulting from the 18-month-long proceedings. He praised the bravery of those who responded to the “horrendous events”, and extended his condolences to the families of Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson.
He also accepted the view of an international expert that the siege “would have challenged any police force in the world”.
If any aspects of the force’s best efforts were not quite good enough, this report attempts to identify how and why. However, it will not and should not be used to blame particular officers for outcomes beyond their control ...
When critiquing the police response, it is important to remember that right from the outset, 18 lives were imperilled.”
That said, Barnes identified deficiencies in the response, among them:
The “contain and negotiate” police response to the siege failed.
Commanders underestimated the threat Monis posed.
There was some confusion around the lines of command.
Negotiators had received little, if any, specialist training about how to deal with terrorists and did not explore options to communicate with Monis.
The consultant psychiatrist made erroneous and unrealistic assessments of what was occurring in the stronghold, and permitted to go beyond his area of expertise to give advice about Islamic terrorism
Commanders dismissal of a deliberate action strategy was based on flawed advice.
But, Barnes found, Monis “undertook the siege in a controlled, planned and methodical manner”. Whether or not he had any direct contact with Islamic State, the siege was a terrorist incident.
“I cannot stress too heavily that the deaths and injuries that occurred as a result of the siege were not the fault of police. All the blame for those rests on Man Monis.
“He created the intensely dangerous situation. He maliciously executed Tori Johnson. He barricaded himself in a corner of the cafe, and his actions forced police to enter the cafe in circumstances where the risk of hostages being wounded or killed was very high.
“Monis deserves to be the sole focus of our denunciation and condemnation.”
With that, we conclude our coverage of the inquest into the Sydney siege. Thank you for following today and over the past 18 months.
Louisa Hope, a survivor of the Lindt cafe, has said it is “wonderful” that the inquest is over.
“As we all try and negotiate living in this new age of terror, we all need to consider new things in new ways. As a community we all come together and support our police. There are things to be reviewed and considered and it’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“It’s really a wonderful thing that this is over now, it’s been a very stressful time ... and getting back to normal will be lovely.”
She also “gave a little shout-out” to Tony King of the NSW Police Association outside the court this afternoon. King had criticised the inquest as being unfairly adversarial towards police.
“I was concerned for him when I saw him on Monday as he reflected on feeling the pressure of what might be discussed at the report here at the inquest. What I’d like to say about that is we don’t at all feel that the police are under attack or unnecessarily harassed, I hope. I’d like to encourage him ...
“I’d just like to say that, when it comes to something like the coroner’s report, it is necessary that we have critical analysis around all of our institutions and government analysis and critical analysis is not necessarily criticism.”
The clip below shows the size of the media pack at the court.
Thomas Zinn, Tori Johnson’s partner, has said during the course of the 18-month coronial inquest “one shocking discovery followed the next”.
“Soon it became apparent that we were not simply fighting for the truth of the circumstances of Tori and Katrina’s deaths. Rather, we were confronted with systematic failures of various authorities who, at times, were confused, ill-informed, unprepared and under resourced to deal with Monis.
“While we have been shocked by these failures, I would like to make clear that our family has high regard and respect for the officers who put their lives at risk after waiting so long for orders to act, and we acknowledge the grief and trauma that they have experienced.”
Speaking outside the coronial inquest, Zinn said “the pain deep in our hearts from losing Tori is as strong now as it was in December 2014”.
“Everyone who knew Tori would agree that we lost a guardian angel that night.”
Police should have stormed the Lindt cafe as soon as Man Haron Monis began shooting, state coroner Michael Barnes has found in his inquiry into the Sydney siege: in the 10 minutes they delayed, hostage Tori Johnson was forced to kneel on the floor and was murdered by the gunman.
Islamist extremist Man Monis, brandishing a shotgun and claiming he was an Isis operative with explosives in his backpack, took 18 people hostage inside the Lindt cafe on the morning of 15 December 2014.
Seventeen hours later, just after 2am, with negotiations having foundered and his behaviour growing increasingly erratic, Monis fired his first shot, in the direction of escaping hostages.
The coroner said that action should have been the cue to police to forcibly end the siege, which the new New South Wales commissioner of police agreed with.
Delivering his findings from the 18-month inquest into the siege deaths, Barnes said: “I conclude that after a brief period to allow officers to gather information, an emergency action should have been initiated following the first shot of Monis at 2.03am.
“That made it clear there was little to no chance of resolving the siege and those within the cafe were at an extreme risk of harm. The 10 minutes that lapsed without decisive action by police was too long.
“Tori Johnson was executed in the meantime, before the decision to entered the cafe was made.”
Mick Fuller, who was the first commander at the siege, said on 2GB Barnes had made some very valid comments about the police negotiations and early intervention when dealing with terror incidents: “[We] hadn’t faced a similar event to this.”
He said other countries were still learning from the Sydney siege, and that “prevention and disruption” were key.
With regard to Monis being out on bail, Fuller said police provided a brief of evidence.
“We are a mature, honest and transparent organisation, and our highs and lows of Lindt cafe are there and it’s up to me to not just be sorry for the loss of the two lives but to make sure that we’re in the best place to protect the people of NSW.”
Fuller had earlier told ABC that police were getting “poor advice” during the siege when Tori Johnson was placed on his knees in a position of execution.
“At that time I can only assume they felt they were in a cycle of contained negotiation and were hoping that was their best outcome. They were getting poor advice from people that lead them to commit to something which turned out to be the wrong strategy at the time.”
The NSW police commissioner, Mick Fuller, has conceded armed officers should have stormed the Lindt cafe earlier to rescue the hostages from the Sydney siege in December 2014.
The new commissioner acknowledged it was a mistake to wait but said there had still been “great hope” that police could negotiate a way in without loss of life.
“In hindsight, as with everything, we know we should have gone in earlier,” he told ABC’s Four Corners in a pre-recorded interview released after the NSW coroner, Michael Barnes, delivered his findings on Wednesday into the terror incident.
“It does not guarantee there will not be a loss of life ... but clearly a deliberate action is a much more professional action and a lower risk in terms of emergency action.”
Fuller told Sydney radio station 2GB after the findings were handed down that police had learned from the siege two-and-a-half years ago.
“We will certainly look closely at the 45 recommendations, with a view of making sure we’re in a better place,” he said.
“That’s why we (NSW police) need to evolve because, unfortunately, the terrorists evolve as well.”
Fuller assumed command of NSW police in March this year. He was first commander during the Lindt cafe siege.
The coroner’s report includes testimonies of Dawson’s and Johnson’s characters by their family members. Barnes called them “touching” and encouraged people to read them to get a sense of their tragically unrealised potential.
Bevan Shields (@BevanShields)
Impossible to read this part of the coroner's report and not cry. Thomas Zinn writes about his partner, victim Tori Johnson #sydneysiegepic.twitter.com/LPvtJdA4ld
In this statement, Johnson’s partner of 13 years, Thomas Zinn, writes of the dreams they’d had as a couple of moving to the country, building a house and getting a dog:
“That simple. We already had found the meaning of our life – our love for each other.”
Johnson dreamed of becoming an architect and had started to build a model for their future house. “It is still sitting in our living room. He had told me it would have a huge surprise and he obviously could not tell me what it was – I will never know what he meant.”
The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has responded to the completion of the inquest into the deaths arising from the siege, calling it “an important step along the path to recovery”.
In a statement, she acknowledged the difficulty of the process for the families, and commended the bravery of police and first responders to the incident that “devastated” the state.
“We will also never forget the ordeal suffered by the surviving hostages. The outpouring of grief that saw a sea of flowers grow in Martin Place is still palpable.”
She said the state government would “take the lessons learned” and thoroughly review the findings.
Systemic improvements to authorities’ ability to respond to future terrorist events would do nothing to alleviate the grieving for Dawson and Johnson, said Barnes. “I am powerless in that regard,” he said.
He then presented the following findings:
Tori Johnson, the first fatality of the Sydney siege, died immediately on Tuesday 16 December from a gunshot wound to the head.
Man Haron Monis died from multiple gunshot wounds when police returned fire after having stormed the cafe.
Katrina Dawson died in the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital from mortal wounds sustained by ricocheting bullets as she sought safety on the floor.
“Those are my findings. I authorise the publication of the report that I have prepared. I close this inquest.”
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