Harrowing footage of police fatally shooting a knife-wielding mentally-ill woman only 41 seconds after arriving has been seen for the first time.
Officers shot dead Courtney Topic in 2015 as she stood outside a Hungry Jack’s in Hoxton Park, Western Sydney while brandishing a 30-cm long kitchen knife.
It took less than a minute after arriving on the scene for police to gun down the 22-year-old, who lunged at officers with the blade following desperate pleas for her to ‘put the knife down’.
Officers fatally shot Courtney Topic (pictured) in 2015 as she stood outside a Hungry Jack’s in Hoxton Park, Western Sydney while brandishing a 30-cm long kitchen knife
It took less then a minute after arriving on the scene for police to gun down the 22-year-old, (pictured) who lunged at officers with the blade following desperate pleas for her to ‘put the knife down’
The shocking vision of the shooting was played at the coronial inquest into Topic’s death, which found officers charged a defective taser and attempted to subdue the woman with capsicum spray before opening fire, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Shaky bodycam footage shows Topic standing on a grassy hill outside the Hungry Jack’s, holding the knife in her right hand and a soft-drink cup in her left hand.
Probationary Constable Angela Tyson can be heard repeatedly asking Topic to put the knife down.
‘Put the knife on the ground for me. Put it on the ground,’ she said.
Topic refuses to put down her weapon and instead takes several steps to her left while menacingly swinging her knife.
The shocking vision (pictured) of the shooting was played at the coronial inquest into Topic’s death, which found officers charged a defective taser and attempted to subdue the woman with capsicum spray before opening fire
Shaky bodycam footage shows Topic standing on a grassy hill outside the Hungry Jack’s, holding the knife in her right hand and a soft-drink cup in her left hand
Probationary Constable Angela Tyson can be heard repeatedly asking Topic to put the knife down (Hungry Jack’s pictured)
Senior Constable Darren Jones then appears to try and use his capsicum spray to stop her and Constable Tyson tried to use the defective taser.
Surrounded by three officers, Topic then moved towards Senior Constable Tesoriero and then the fatal shot was fired.
‘She turned immediately to her right and looked at Senior Constable Tesoriero, she raised the knife in her left hand and extended her left arm and ran towards Tesoriero,’ Sergeant Glenn Sadler told the inquest.
An inquest is examining Topic’s death and the adequacy of police training for responding to people with mental health problems.
It will also examine whether ‘non-lethal force’ could have been used to respond to the incident.
Shaky bodycam footage shows Topic standing on a grassy hill outside the Hungry Jack’s, holding the knife in her right hand and a soft-drink cup in her left hand
An inquest is examining Topic’s (pictured) death and the adequacy of police training for responding to people with mental health problems
In a statement to court, Topic’s family described her death as ‘sudden, unexpected and violent’
The court heard Topic was in the middle of a days-long psychosis when she took the kitchen knife and walked to Hungry Jack’s on February 15 2015.
She had also been diagnosed as suffering from ADHD, Asperger’s and symptoms of autism.
Constable Sanja Djuric said Senior Constable Tesoriero ‘seemed to be in shock’ after firing the fatal shot.
In a statement to court, Topic’s family described her death as ‘sudden, unexpected and violent’.
The inquest into Topic’s death continues.