Geraldton police shooting murder trial: Radio call recounts frantic moments after JC was fatally shot

Dramatic radio calls from police officers at the scene of a fatal shooting of an Aboriginal woman in Geraldton have been played to a WA court. The audio, which features the moment Yamatji mother-of-one JC was shot in the stomach and the chaotic aftermath, were played during the Supreme Court murder trial of the first class constable who fired his gun. The accused policeman was one of eight officers who had rushed out to Petchell Street in Rangeway on September 17, 2019 after receiving reports of a person wandering the road armed with a knife. Prosecutors say that officer, whose name has been suppressed, had no justification for firing his weapon arguing his actions were not only “wholly unnecessary” but unreasonable. The court has been told the first class constable shot JC within 16 seconds of arriving on the scene. But the accused officer, who admits he shot JC, claims the 29-year-old had pointed the knife towards him and that he when he drew his gun he was only acting according to his training – to draw his firearm on a suspect armed with a knife. The trial has heard before the tragic incident, JC, had become embroiled in an argument with a family member, and had threatened to harm them and herself. In the audio, officers can be heard receiving a call around 6pm about a disturbance at the home of JC’s relative on Joel Court. Sergeant Adrian Geary, who was the shift supervisor that night, told the trial a car carrying two officers, Senior Constable Bryan Bird and Senior Constable Dillon McLean, were dispatched to the home of Sheraldine Oliver, who had made the call. He then told the court shortly after, at 6.15pm, they received another call about a man carrying a 30cm knife along Assen Street, Rangeway. In the radio calls that were played to the court, Senior Constable Lucinda Cleghorn could be heard saying they had found the person and that they “most definitely has a big knife”. She then said the person was JC and that she had a knife and a pair of scissors and was ignoring their request to drop her weapons. “We just told her she will be Tasered, she doesn’t seem to care and is not acknowledging our directions,” Sen. Const. Cleghorn says on the audio. She then made another call over the radio. “Geraldton, we need an ambulance to the location. One shot fired.” Another officer could be heard also requesting St John Ambulance be called out, saying one shot has been fired then Sen. Const. Cleghorn telling Sgt Geary JC was down and “secured”. The next person on the radio was Sgt Geary, who told all units to be “on standby” and that a senior officer was on the scene. What followed was a flurry of transmissions between Sgt Geary and officers on the ground about JC’s injury, preserving the scene and about who fired the fatal shot. One officer in the audio informed Sgt Geary that JC was in a stable condition before being transported to hospital. Sadly, JC died a short time later. In the audio, Sgt Geary could also be heard telling officers to not “pick up the casing”. When asked by Director of Public Prosecutions Amanda Forrester SC what he meant by this, he said he was referring to the shell casing that had been fired from the first class constable’s weapon. When asked if he organised for the accused officer to then be picked up and taken away from the scene by other officers, Sgt Geary said he did. The trial continues.