Coroner to reveal Sydney siege findings
Coroner to reveal Sydney siege findings, An Australian coroner has begun delivering his long-awaited findings into Sydney's deadly cafe siege.
In December 2014, gunman Man Haron Monis held 18 people hostage inside a Lindt cafe until police stormed the building 17 hours later.
Relatives of the two victims have sharply criticised police tactics, but a police union called the 18-month coroner's inquest a "witch hunt".
The inquest heard critical testimony of police tactics and the justice system.
Monis, an Iranian-born Australian citizen with a history of violence, had pledged allegiance to so-called Islamic State not long before the siege.
He was shot dead by heavily armed police who entered the building after he executed cafe manager Tori Johnson.
A second hostage, barrister Katrina Dawson, was killed by police bullet fragments during the firefight.
Emotional build-up
Coroner Michael Barnes is expected to reveal his findings over two hours, ending the emotional inquest which finished last year.
The inquest heard evidence critical of police, including that commanders did not receive information quickly enough and had operated under an incorrect assumption that Monis was carrying an explosive.
It was also told that Monis was free on bail despite having been charged with 43 sexual assaults and being an accessory to his ex-wife's murder.
On Monday, the families of Mr Johnson and Ms Dawson criticised a police command tactic to intervene only if the gunman killed or injured someone.
"I'll never be able understand how you can make a calculated decision that you wait for someone to die," Mr Johnson's mother, Rosie Connellan, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC).
However, New South Wales Police Association acting chief Tony King said the inquest had scrutinised police officers "as if they were on trial".
"For some lawyers the focus appeared to be not just to attribute blame but moral culpability, twisting words to belittle experienced officers," he wrote in a long post on Medium.
How the Sydney siege unfolded
- A gunman enters the cafe early on 15 December 2014 and has a coffee before holding a gun to manager Tori Johnson's head.
- The gunman is identified as Man Haron Monis, an Iranian self-styled Muslim cleric given asylum in Australia.
- Monis already faces a string of criminal charges, including sexual assault and being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife.
- Several hostages manage to escape the cafe which is surrounded by hundreds of armed police.
- Police commandos storm the cafe in the early hours of 16 December, after Monis shoots Mr Johnson dead.
- Monis and cafe customer Katrina Dawson die in the police operation.
