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Lindt Cafe siege: Tori Johnson's family wants police commanders' jobs reviewed




Lindt Cafe siege: Tori Johnson's family wants police commanders' jobs reviewed

29/5/2017

(Translation of this article appears in Arabic section)

The family of Tori Johnson has called on the NSW Police Commissioner to review the current positions of the two most senior commanders in charge at the end of the Lindt Cafe siege.

"I think … throughout the inquest they have proven that they didn't understand the consequences of their actions and they didn't understand the failures," Tori's partner, Thomas Zinn, said.

"That means, from our point of view, they are not going to learn from it. They're not going to make things better."

Both commanders had the authority to initiate the rescue operation of the hostages in the crucial final hours of the siege.

The forward commander only gave the order for police to storm the cafe after gunman Man Haron Monis shot and killed Tori at 2:13am.

At the inquest, the forward commander said: "Presented with the same facts that I knew at 2.03 to 2.13 on that day, if I was presented with those same facts … I would do what I did then, today."

Under questioning, Assistant Commissioner Jenkins refused to accept he had wrongly assessed the risk and danger posed by Monis in the final hours of the siege.

Tori's mother, Rosie Connellan said: "It takes great strength to admit failures. I think that would've reassured everybody that they had learnt from their mistakes."

POLICE CULTURE A 'PROBLEM'

The Dawson family mostly supported the coroner's findings but remained angry at what they saw as the stubborn refusal of police leadership to more broadly concede their mistakes during the inquest.

"The cultural problem I'm more worried about in the police force was the one afterwards to not actually address the mistakes and to not own up to them and to hide behind the bravery of the front-line police officers — for leadership not to step up and take responsibility," Mr Dawson said.

"That's the culture that I want to see changed."

FULLER'S ADMISSION 'FIRST RAY OF LIGHT'

  Image result for Lindt Cafe siege: Tori Johnson's family wants police commanders' jobs reviewed

Both the families welcomed NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller's admission to Four Corners that he thought police should have launched a pre-emptive rescue earlier in the day.

"The coroner has revealed so many errors, so many failures that you can conclude that the entire management of the siege was a disaster and it cannot happen again that way ever," Mr Dawson Jnr said.

"That is why Commissioner Fuller saying what he said is encouraging. It is the first ray of light we have seen from the police through this entire saga."

THE MANY FACES OF MAN MONIS

The architect of the deadly Lindt Cafe siege had a long and documented history of dangerous behaviour.

Commissioner Fuller told Four Corners police should have stormed the cafe at 2.03am after Monis fired his gun at escaping hostages.

"We certainly should've gone in earlier. The challenge in that of course is that that doesn't guarantee there won't be a loss of life," he said.

"I think the family members should feel disappointed, they should feel let down and I'll obviously own that going forward as the Commissioner."

Commissioner Fuller also said police were working quickly through the coroner's recommendations and some had already been implemented.

"I think it was a big step for the police," Mr Zinn said.

"I doubt that would've occurred under different leadership."

Ms Connellan added: "It's amazing isn't it? That just that little acknowledgement from Fuller that they should have gone in, to me has been probably the most hopeful.

"It is a beginning … an important beginning. He's got to have died for something, some hope that there's change."

Katrina's father, Sandy Dawson Snr, said: "It's obviously too late for us but hopefully it's in time for anybody else."

'WE'RE ALL IN GRAVE DANGER'

Mr Zinn believes police are still "unprepared" for another terrorist attack.

"While these findings may help us to manage the same situation better next time, I think we'll continue to be unprepared for a [terrorist] situation that might be even more complex," he said.

"What if Monis had been a trained terrorist, better-equipped terrorist with more resources, with more sophistication? That is what we are likely to face in the future."

Rosie Connellan agreed: "We're all in grave danger, aren't we, if that's the case."

Mr Dawson Jnr said it remained to be seen if lessons had been learnt.


 














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