A man who was shot dead by police in western Sydney overnight had allegedly run up to a police car and tried to stab an officer in the shoulder.
Emergency services were called to Bird Walton Avenue in Middleton Grange about 11pm yesterday after reports a man had thrown a knife at a vehicle.
Upon arrival, five police officers were allegedly confronted and threatened by a 34-year-old man with a knife.
Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden said the man rushed towards one police car before striking the officer with the knife through an open window.
“I’m very thankful that the driver of the police vehicle – a 33-year-old senior-constable – was not seriously injured,” McFadden told reporters today.
“We are very close to something that could have been fatal or life-threatening.”
“The damage to (the officer’s) operational vest, was around his right shoulder, collarbone area, we’re talking centimetres from hitting another part of his body and causing catastrophic injuries.”
The driver managed to move the vehicle away from the attack before another officer deployed a Taser.
McFadden said the Taser was unsuccessful and police fired two shots to the man’s torso.
Officers conducted CPR on the man until paramedics arrived, but he could not be saved.
McFadden said an investigation into the incident was underway and the man’s frame of mind will be subject to inquiry.
“At this stage, we understand the male had been walking on the street,” he said.
“The people that he’s interacted with..in that civilian vehicle, I don’t believe that they’re known to him, and that’s the thing that’s caused the member of the public concern and contacted the police.”
The incident will also be subject to an independent review.
