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Dramatic footage has emerged showing a man allegedly speeding in a stolen police car before being shot in a confrontation with police in Far North Queensland.
Police were called to an incident in Westcourt, Cairns, involving a distressed woman about 5.30am on Wednesday when a 21-year-old man approached them.
Witnesses saw the man, known to police, allegedly taunting police as he used a metal pole and a machete to vandalize police cars before stealing one.
Footage captured by a resident and shared on social media showed the 21-year-old allegedly speeding down Newell Street in the marked police vehicle.
The man, now recovering in the hospital, can also be seen with his arm hanging out the driver’s side window as police watch.
Dramatic footage captured the 21-year-old man allegedly speeding down the road in a stolen police vehicle (pictured)
The vehicle was observed allegedly ignoring traffic rules and driving dangerously on Mulgrave Road, prompting a chase into the nearby suburb of Woree.
Police units were ordered to box in the car and at 8.15am were alerted to a multi-vehicle accident outside Woree IGA.
Officers confronted the man who was allegedly wielding a steel pole and a machete outside the supermarket on the corner of Sondrio and Torino Street.
Employees at Cairns Vinyl and Canvas Kashia Vue watched the incident unfold as police surrounded the young man.
“We saw an officer running down the road and then all these other police cars surrounded him and there was an Indigenous man driving away and (allegedly) started taunting the officers with guns,” Vue told the mail.
“He (allegedly) had a metal pole and a machete from what I could see and was throwing things and smashing police cars.”
Vue claimed police were reluctant to Taser the young man because he “doused himself with fuel.”
“All the agents retreated, they were very cautious, because fuel was sprayed. That’s why they didn’t Taser her because she would have turned it on,” he said.
The man was allegedly wielding a steel pole and a machete when police cornered him (pictured).
Police shot man after he crashed allegedly stolen police car outside IGA in Woree, Cairns (pictured)
At a press conference on Wednesday, Far North region crime co-ordinating Detective Superintendent Mick Searle declined to comment on whether the man poured petrol on himself, but confirmed he was shot by police.
“At that point, police intercepted that vehicle and a further confrontation ensued between a man and police, which resulted in a police officer shooting that man,” Mr Searle said.
‘This is the last thing this police officer thought he would have to do when he arrived at work today, and it is the last thing any police officer wants to do as part of their duties.
“It will be distressing for him, as it would be for anyone… it is a traumatic incident.”
Searle would not comment on how many times the man was shot, saying those details would be used as part of the Ethical Standards Unit’s investigation.
Acting Commissioner Steve Gollschewski supported officers in making the right decision under great pressure, while waiting for the 21-year-old to “make a full recovery.”
“This just highlights the dangers of frontline policing and the decisions our officers have to make every day and I support them 100 per cent in doing their jobs professionally,” he said.
‘We do everything we can to ensure that they are appropriately trained to do this and that they are supported to do this.
“I am confident that the organization will be very professional about this, not only in the response in the first instance, but also in how we properly investigate the matter afterwards.”
The 21-year-old was taken to Cairns Hospital, where he is now stable and conscious.
He has not yet been charged and is currently helping police with his injuries.