I believe tasers would have been effective,,,even when peple are very affected by drugs/alcohol, tasers usually work.
I talk to cops every day. First response officers SHOULD have tasers.

Based on things heard about how out of control, violent and angry this kid was... and based on his threatening behaviour at the scene, I'd have bloody shot him myself.

It is an incredibly rare thing for an Australian Police Officer to shoot a member of the public. Let alone shoot them unprovoked. And if THREE officers, not just ONE, decided that there was enough danger and threat to shoot him, then there MUST have been a genuine fear and reason for their own lives and the safety of members of the public.

It was said by a friend (read in some newspaper) that this boy was beyond help (even by his friends and family) and that he would have meant everything he was saying. So if he said that he was going to kill those cops, he probably would have tried it.

Whilst it should be the absolute last avenue, it sounds as though this was the choice that these officers were forced to make... for themselves, for the public and even for that kid.

apparently his was trying to get knives from his house. i read that same story his friend was in. he said he was capable of anything and he'd have shot him too if he were the cops.

my dad reckons the cops get treated like shit. it's a hard job to do and not everyone can do it. i doubt those three wanted to kill a 15 year old. people seem to forget that cops are people and that that shit will probably haunt them for years.

it's so weird that it happened in northcote. i've sat at the skate park. it's like when the guy was stabbed in fairfield. all these childhood places i lived in out hung out in aren't so innocent now.

I read (must find article lol) that he was angry about an anniversary of his fathers death. He stole the knives from Kmart and was slashing boxes and stuf on the way out, which was how the cops came to be following.

I work for the cops, and will say your dad is on the money. They get treated like absolute shit for doing their job, for doing their duty. It is a thankless, dangerous and full on job... it takes A LOT. They deal with people like this kid every day and 99.9% of the time they can talk them down. I dare say this kid was beyond the point of no return.

there's a cop shop at the plaza in northcote. like right in the car park near the skate park. it's a good thing they were right there to respond. but like nothing ever happens there so it must have shaken the cops a least a little.

dad knows police, and he also has to deal with unhinged people sometimes. so he gets that it's fucking hard and scary and that no one respects you. it's like, what would you do if a crazy guy with knives was threatening you? if you had a gun and he made a move on you? you'd shoot them. it's like, no one gets that. they're all willing to be up on their high horse and not think that maybe the cops didn't want to kill a fucking kid, but they had no choice.

You'll find most cops working in plaza/mall Police Beats are actually attached to a much bigger station and work the plaza on a rotational basis. So whilst it may have been out of the ordinary for the shopping centre, for the cops it probably wouldn't have been.
Though those situations will always shake a cop up. What people forget is that they don't follow people to shoot them. THat is the last thing they want.

This guys mother is all "OMG my fragile baby, they were trigger happy".
Maybe if she had a control on her sons life, maybe if she was helping him by seeking help for his anger issues.
Maybe if she knew where he was and didn't allow him to be hanging around with a white supremist group.
I think mum needs to be questioned... where was she in her sons life?

I agree. How did he end up like this in the first place? Many of the problems we have these days with young criminals and violence is because some parents don't actually want to take responsibility for raising their children with a respect for the law and to recognise right and wrong.

I think these police officers were put in a very difficult position, but this guy was clearly a danger to the public. What if they hadn't shot him and he'd stabbed and killed someone?

the police did what they had to do. His parents are very ignorant if they think Tyler was shot innocently.

I think the police did exactly what was necessary in the situation. It isn't like the police shot him without trying other options first, and they had to protect themselves as well as the public surrounding them. I understand the parents being upset, as it is a terrible situation. No one wants a 15-year-old to have to be shot to death, and I'm sure that INCLUDES the police officers that fired their guns.

kid is an epic FAIL.............................................

Having been a cop before, I'll say from what I've read the police did exactly what they should have done, and what they were trained to do. It sounds like typical reactions from uninvolved parents. The fact that they allowed their child to get into this criminal group, drink excessively, and become so violent, attests to the fact that these parents were not doing their jobs. This type of parent is usually the one who cries foul when their child ends up in a situation like this.

Their allegation that police were trigger happy is ridiculous. Three officers, and seven shots fired (says a witness)? That's perfectly normal. These officers are typically trained to fire three shots in reaction to a threat. Three officers, and three shots, equals six shots. If there was seven shots, eight shots, or four shots, all would be perfectly acceptable based on the situation.

If the police had already tried pepper spray and it did not work, and this kid still had knives and was threatening to kill officers, they really had no other choices at hand. If this individual had in fact been intoxicated (alcohol) or influenced by ICE or some other drug, that pepper spray was likely to have no real affect on him anyhow. Which rendered the use of it pointless on such an individual.

As part of the training I received, we were shown videos and first hand demonstrations of how to deal with knife wielding subjects. It can surprise you how quickly a subject with a knife can close the gap of space between them and an officer before an officer can draw their pistol. These officers more than likely already had weapons drawn, but there comes a point where you simply cannot allow a knife wielding subject to get any closer and retain your personal safety.

Shame on the parents. Shame on the kid. Shame on his peers who taught him this garbage.

God be with those officers who were forced to take another human's life. And God be with the family and friends who now must cope with the loss of their loved one.

the seventh shot was a warning shot fired into the air. each officer shot three times if the information on it i read is accurate. but like you said, three officers, three shots each.

it's nice to get a former cop's view on this. well said.

You said the seventh shot was a warning shot fired into the air? Is this real information? From a reliable source? Warning shots are certainly not something we were trained to do here in the U.S. In fact we were advised against them completely. Had that shot been fired straight up into the air, one must realize that bullet MUST come back down somewhere....

All this is assuming what you said is true. I can see the mentality behind the officers perhaps wanting to fire a warning shot, in hopes of telling the subject they were willing to shoot him. But it sounds like the individual was hoping for suicide by cop anyhow.

well that's what i've heard. i don't know if it was into the air, but i heard they did fire a warning shot at him when he started advancing on one of the officers.

The shot at his legs first (apparantly). So as to injure but not kill, but it did not stop him.

What happened to this boy was awful but the cops had no choice.
Like Gina, I talk to them all day eevry day and know what shit conditions they work under and how very disrespected they are.
I feel for the family...and I feel for the officers that had to shoot. They have to live with this as well.