An ordinary Melbourne morning has turned to tragedy after police shot dead a man on the side of a major freeway, in an incident that will now be intensely investigated.
The traumatic event unfolded on the Monash Freeway at Dandenong North in the city's outer south-east, as motorists continued to drive past.
Police had arrived at the scene to help a 53-year-old man from the nearby suburb of Narre Warren, who was parked on the side of the freeway and experiencing what police have described as a "mental health episode".
During that encounter, the man reportedly produced a knife and was shot multiple times by police.
He died on the side of the road.
Exactly what happened in that emergency lane on the side of the Monash Freeway will be the subject of a large investigation, involving police from the Homicide Squad and Professional Standards Command, as well as the coroner and Victoria's Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC).
The investigation will scrutinise vision from the body cameras worn by the police officers involved as well as VicRoads cameras and any dashcam footage from passing trucks and cars.
Officers used 'beanbag round' before lethal shots
But early accounts of this morning's events have already been given.
Victoria's Assistant Commissioner Bob Hill spoke to media this afternoon from the freeway.
He described the man as agitated when police officers arrived.
"We tried to engage with the male, we tried to actually calm the male down," he said.
But Assistant Commissioner Hill said the man produced a knife and advanced towards police during the negotiation.
"It was during that encounter that first our police tried a tactical withdrawal," he said.
But he said the man continued to advance and police used a non-lethal "beanbag round" to try and stop him.
Assistant Commissioner Hill said that too was unsuccessful.
"Then police resorted to force, a semi-automatic firearm was then discharged, the member shot that man in the chest. We believe at least two shots were fired," he said.
Truck driver Terry Leehane was on the freeway when the shooting took place and said he heard four shots.
He said about five police cars had arrived earlier during the incident and blocked the freeway, where a car and a VicRoads vehicle were both pulled over.
"We didn't know what was going on but they [police] were talking to a gentleman and everything was fine, it went for about five minutes and he was a little bit agitated, he was moving around," he said.
He said he then saw a police officer put his hands up beside his chest, before backing away to where other officers were.
"Within about a minute they approached him again, that is when there was a police officer that looked to be behind the back of the car. He [the man] came to the back of the car and that's when the shots were fired," he said.
Mr Leehane said the VicRoads van obscured his view of what happened between the man and the police officer.
Actions of officers at the scene 'will be scrutinised'
Assistant Commissioner Hill said five officers were directly involved in the incident and a further seven officers arrived as the event was concluding.
He said one officer was slightly injured.
Assistant Commissioner Hill said the officers involved would be separated and interviewed as part of an intense investigation.
"Their actions will be scrutinised," he said.
But Assistant Commissioner Hill said it looked like police officers had done everything they could to resolve the matter, before the shooting.
This most recent tragedy has left Victoria Police again investigating a death on the side of a Melbourne freeway, but this time in very different circumstances to last month's major collision that saw four officers hit and killed by a truck.
The Assistant Commissioner summed up today's shooting in this way.
"It is a sad occasion certainly for family, the loved ones, the friends of this deceased male," he said.
"It is a sad occasion for the community of Victoria, the local community here and certainly a tragic event for our police to now deal with."
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2020-05-28 09:20:36Z
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