Adam Salter was shot and killed in his

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

home in November 2009 after police responded to a call that the 36-year-old was stabbing himself with a knife. He was shot in the back by a

New South Wales Police The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...

Sergeant Sheree Bissett who yelled "Taser, Taser, Taser" before discharging her gun. The shooter later claimed that Salter was threatening another officer with the knife and that lethal force was her only option. However, the

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

found that there was strong evidence that the policewoman mistakenly used her gun instead of her

taser A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to ...

. The police actions on the day, and the Critical Incident Investigation which followed, were sharply criticised by Scott Mitchell, the NSW deputy state coroner, at the 2011 inquest.

Mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

advocates say that Salter's case was a "failure of care". Psychiatric experts say that such tragedies will happen again without systemic change to Australia's mental health system. "The high-ranking homicide detective, etective Inspector Russell Oxfordwho led the investigation into the 2009 police shooting of mentally ill man Adam Salter has admitted that a report he gave to senior police soon after the incident contained false information." ... "The commission heard that, at the time of writing the report, Inspector Oxford had neither been present at any of the seven interviews police had conducted with witnesses, nor had he read any written transcripts of these interviews." The Adam Salter shooting was the subject of an episode of the investigative journalism TV program ''

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

''. In October 2014, four officers were charged for giving false evidence and have been ordered to stand trial on 26 April 2016. All four officers were acquitted of all charges in the Downing Centre District Court on June 22, 2016. In New South Wales, other police shooting fatalities related to mentally-ill people included Elijah Holcombe (shot dead in Armidale in 2009),

Michael Capel Michael Capel, 43, a man with schizophrenia, died on 10 October 2008, from multiple gunshot wounds during a confrontation with police at Belmont, near Newcastle, New South Wales. The shooting followed reports that Capel had assaulted his mother a ...

(shot dead in the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

in 2008), and Roni Levi (shot dead on

Bondi Beach Bondi Beach is a popular beach and the name of the surrounding suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Bondi Beach is located east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Waverley Council, in the Easter ...

in 1997). In Victoria, the fatalities included the 2008 shooting death of

Tyler Cassidy Tyler Jordan Cassidy was a 15-year-old boy who was killed by Victoria Police officers in Australia in 2008. His death influenced changes in the way Victoria Police respond to people presenting as mentally ill, and in the use of tasers. Shooti ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salter, Adam 1970s births 2009 deaths Deaths by firearm in New South Wales Deaths by person in Australia Mental health law in Australia People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Australia

See also

References