Fatal Shooting of Jerrim Toms justified in Self-Defence
28 November 2019
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that two officers were legally justified in firing 12 shots at Jerrim
Toms on State Highway 1 near Puhoi on 31 March 2018, after he advanced on them while wielding a machete. However, there
was inadequate communication, control and command of the incident as a whole, by Police.
The incident began at about 3.23am, when an officer encountered Mr Toms in a Subaru parked on State Highway 1 north of
Wellsford. Mr Toms' car was partially blocking a lane, and when the officer stopped to speak with him, Mr Toms got out
with a machete in his hand. The officer reversed away, called for backup and then followed Mr Toms when he drove off.
Police pursued Mr Toms for the next 40 minutes, using road spikes on three occasions. At times Mr Toms would stop and
interact with Police before driving off again. Eventually Mr Toms, and the seven patrol cars which had been following
him at a distance, stopped about a kilometre north of the Johnstones Hill Tunnel.
Mr Toms got out of the Subaru and approached one of the two closest officers, who also got out of their vehicle. Mr Toms
was still carrying the machete and ignored the officer's shouted commands to stop, drop his weapon and get on the
ground. When Mr Toms got to within about 1.5 metres, that officer and his partner both began firing shots at him: a
total of 12 within about four seconds. The initial four shots caused two fatal injuries.
The Authority determined that, although 8 of the 12 shots were fired after Mr Toms had turned and started running away
from the officers, they were all legally justified as the officers were acting in self-defence and defence of others.
One officer honestly believed he had fired all his shots before Mr Toms turned away (although other evidence indicated
otherwise), while the other officer believed Mr Toms had still posed a threat.
"The latter officer's actions need to be assessed in light of the fact that he was making instant decisions in a highly
stressful situation; he did not know other Police were in the immediate vicinity; and he thought that members of the
public might have been at the scene. Given Mr Toms' prior actions, it is therefore understandable that the officer's
mind was focused on neutralising the threat that he believed he posed. As soon as Mr Toms dropped his weapon, the officer stopped firing", said Authority Chair, Judge Colin Doherty.
The Authority also found that:
• While the shooting was legally justified, the officers should have turned their minds to coordinating a response
capable of bringing the incident to a safe conclusion rather than putting themselves into a position of immediate
danger.
• The officers were justified in arming themselves, but some breached policy by failing to notify the Police
Communications Centre and not wearing ballistic body armour.
• The Shift Commander should have ensured there was a clear, specific plan broadcast over the Police radio to all
attending Police officers.
"The Shift Commander was not proactive in ensuring that there was a proper plan in place. In the absence of any
communication between them, each unit operated independently, leading to an uncoordinated response that meant the
potential range of tactical options available to Police was not known or used", said Judge Doherty.
Public Report
Fatal Shooting of Jerrim Toms (PDF 1,300 KB)