Specialist police commander tells Wieambilla inquest he believed extremists would flee to NSW border
In short:
A Special Emergency Response Team commander told the inquest he believed three extremists would flee the scene after killing two officers, noting negotiation attempts were "met with gunfire".
Superintendent Tim Partridge said police would have accepted a peaceful surrender, but knew that outcome was unlikely.
What's next?
The inquest into the 2022 Wieambilla terror attack continues in the Queensland Supreme Court.
A senior police officer was almost certain three extremists would flee their Western Downs property, believing nobody would fatally shoot police and "just sit and wait", an inquest has heard.
On December 12, 2022, four officers were ambushed at a Wains Road property at Wieambilla.
Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold were shot dead by Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey Train. Their colleagues, Constables Keely Brough and Randall Kirk, survived.
Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold were killed in the ambush, with the inquest hearing other responding officers also faced life-threatening danger. (Supplied)
The Trains also killed their neighbour Alan Dare before they were gunned down in a shootout with specialist police.
Superintendent Tim Partridge was the Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) commander at the time of the incident, tasked with containing the Trains' property and negotiating the surrender and arrest of the trio.
He told the inquest he was incredibly concerned the extremists would flee the scene due to a missing person's report made about Nathaniel interstate.
The house where Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey ambushed police in 2022. (Supplied)
"My immediate thoughts were they'd be heading for New South Wales, as they were close to the border," he said.
"I thought 'who shoots police and just sits and waits, they're going to want to be mobile'.
"The fact a civilian had also been killed, not just police, elevated that concern and emphasised the critical nature of isolating the threat from the public."
Special Emergency Response Team commander Superintendent Timothy Partridge. (AAP: Darren England)
Little confidence an arrest would be made
Superintendent Partridge said negotiators failed to reach the Trains by phone, and their reaction to negotiations over a loudspeaker made it clear their arrest wasn't likely.
The commander said it was unlikely that Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train would surrender.
"Any attempts to negotiate was met with gunfire," he said.
"I understood by pushing SERT operators forward it was probable I would be pushing them into tactically compromised positions, and it was likely there would be a confrontation and an exchange of gunfire, but I remained concern about our ability to stop them leaving.
"I told teams if they surrendered, we would accept a peaceful surrender, but to be aware of past actions — and I felt it would be unlikely that would be the outcome."
Senior Constable Will Goodwin negotiated with the Trains. (AAP: Darren England)
'Mate, it doesn't have to be this way'
Senior Constable William Goodwin was a negotiator inside an armoured vehicle trying to communicate with the Trains.
Clips from recordings of the negotiation were played to the inquest.
"Mate, it doesn't have to be this way, we don't have to hurt you. Please put your weapons down, hands up, we can help you," he is heard saying to Nathaniel, who is shot moments later and the last of the trio to die.
A number of weapons were found at the Trains' property following the deadly shootout.
A similar exchange occurred only minutes earlier with Stacey Train.
"To the female in the building, put your hands up, listen to these discussions and you will be OK.
"We cannot guarantee your safety if you do not listen … take your hands off the weapon, we do not want to hurt you."
Incredible danger to operators
Superintendent Partridge was questioned why non-lethal methods weren't used to try and take down the murderous trio.
He noted measures like beanbag rounds were inaccurate at the range where officers were, and attempts to use them would expose them to life threatening danger.
He told the inquest throwing tear-gas like canisters would expose teams to similar danger, and have the opposite desired effect.
"I didn't want them to run away if, by some miracle it did work, their natural reaction would be to say 'let's get out of here', and I didn't want that, I wanted to contain them."
He told the inquest the surest way to instantly incapacitate the Trains was by gunshots to the head.
Superintendent Partridge praised the SERT team involved in the operation, stating there wasn't a moment of hesitation with regards to any of his instructions.
"In terms of danger to SERT operators — due to the number of offenders, the heavy calibre weapons and amount of ammunition they had, the preparation undertaken before police arrival, none of which we were aware of at the time, and their intense motivation to kill police — it's my view the SERT response was the most dangerous operation SERT has ever been involved in," he said.
"I felt there was a high risk, a high likelihood, we would lose a SERT operative in that response."
The inquest is being heard in the Queensland Supreme Court in Brisbane. (ABC News: Demi Lynch)
He made a number of recommendations to the inquest where operations could have been improved, including the ability to be able to deploy a sniper marksman to an aircraft.
He noted there had been significant expenses invested in examining communication issues experienced by police teams throughout the deadly shooting, and the organisation was working towards a solution for those.