An Aboriginal leader in Pingelly where a man was shot says there is no tension between the Noongar community and police.
A man in his 20s was shot in the torso when, according to police, he ran towards a responding officer in Western Australia's Wheatbelt region during the early hours of Sunday morning.
The man is in a stable condition in Royal Perth Hospital and an investigation into the incident is underway.
Malcolm Jetta, an Aboriginal community leader from the Pingelly area, met with police officers today.
"It's good to see that the elders were contacted and had a voice in the process," he said.
"It seems to be just a one-off incident that's occurred, an unfortunate incident."
Mr Malcom said everybody in the community was hoping they could work together to build stronger relationships.
"The Noongar community are happy to progress with the local WA police to continue to build relationships in the community."
Resourcing not a problem: Premier
Premier Mark McGowan earlier defended police resourcing in regional WA saying an officer responding alone to a triple-zero call that left a man shot was an "exceptional circumstance".
Yesterday, Deputy Commissioner Allan Adams said resourcing issues meant only one officer could respond immediately and backed the constable's decision to attend.
In a press conference today, Mr McGowan defended the officer's decision to attend the call alone.
"A police officer called in sick on the day in question … [it was an] exceptional circumstance, and so a police officer went out on their own," he said.
"That is an unusual event ... it doesn't happen often but on this occasion, because of the illness, that was what was required."
When questioned whether regional police stations were adequately staffed, the Premier said WA has "the best resourcing of police in history", and that 1,100 more officers were being recruited to the WA Police Force.
"1,100 additional police officers is about a 15 to 20 per cent increase in the police numbers across the state.
"We're obviously in a very difficult environment for recruiting across the board, but we're getting more police through the academy… and putting more police out there into police stations and regional communities around the state."
WA Police Union declined to comment on the matter.
A 'critical decision'
Acting Superintendent for the Great Southern region Glenn Spencer also defended the actions taken by the officer.
"The officer concerned made a critical decision … he put the community's safety first and he went out by himself, and I don't think he can be criticised for that," he said.
Shire of Pingelly president William Mulroney said there was a sense of cohesiveness within the community and that all members wanted to move forward with the healing process.
Mr Mulroney said it was uncommon for police in Pingelly to attend an incident on their own.
