Two civilian witnesses and a police officer have told a coronial inquest they believe the officer who fatally shot a man in Drouin in January 2021 had no other option.
On the day he died, 31-year-old Benjamin Madex carjacked a vehicle at knifepoint in Mirboo North and, over the course of more than an hour, drove erratically through communities including Morwell, Traralgon and Churchill.
Following several attempts by police to stop the vehicle, Mr Madex eventually collided with a car on Princes Way, on the outskirts of Drouin.
He then climbed out of the stolen car and approached a police officer brandishing a large knife.
On Wednesday, the Victorian Coroners Court in Melbourne heard the police officer had screamed at Mr Madex to drop the weapon several times before firing two shots at him.
Paramedics were called, but Mr Madex died at the scene.
A police officer who witnessed the shooting told the courtroom using a taser or capsicum spray would not have been viable.
"In our training, when there's an armed offender it's always our port of call to go for a firearm, to start up high and then we can de-escalate when we know what's going on," the police officer said.
"A taser isn't designed to be used really quickly … it's designed for when you have an agitated person and you have time … it's more of a planned response.
"Someone with a knife is too close for a taser to be appropriate."
'Chaotic, to say the least'
Three police officers involved in the pursuit that occurred before Mr Madex was shot told the court earlier this week about their attempts to stop him.
One officer had tried to block Mr Madex off in a dead-end street using a police car, but Mr Madex drove over an embankment and escaped.
"It had to be stopped, and then we would deal with the person inside the car with the knife," the officer said.
"But he had two weapons that day — one was the car, one was the knife.
"It was chaotic, to say the least, because we were trying to get the stop sticks deployed, trying to ascertain where he was … and if there were other cars around."
The court heard that had the police helicopter been available to assist with the chase, police on the ground could have focused more on stopping Mr Madex rather than tracking him.
'This bloke's about to get shot'
Two civilian eyewitnesses who had been driving along Princes Way when the incident occurred said they could not think of anything else the police officer who shot Mr Madex could have done.
"I said to [my partner] at the time, I think this bloke's about to get shot, because he wasn't stopping," a witness told the court.
"Then the shots were fired," a witness told the court.
"There was no expression on his face, but his eyes were wide open — he seemed over-alert.
"I don't know how to explain it other than that."
Another witness recalled Mr Madex approaching his car with the large knife in his hand before he turned his attention to the police officer.
"We made eye contact. It's like he stared straight through me," the witness said.
"I don't think he was really with it.
"Then for some reason he stopped, and went towards the police car.
"He was on a mission — there was something he wanted to do and he was going to do it."
On Monday, four mental health professionals told the inquest about Mr Madex's long history of illicit drug use and mental health challenges.
The inquest before Deputy State Coroner Jacqui Hawkins will continue to hear evidence in coming days.
