Siege 1

 

Late 80’s. 

 

It was after my morning coffee and before the morning tea break on a quiet Sunday morning.  You know, some one told me very early in the piece that nothing ever happened on Sundays. 

Myself and Big Al were in the D’s office catching up on paperwork when a call came over about a woman being shot in the street.  It was a bit hard to get a call like that mucked up so we took it very serious from the start. 

 

It had transpired that there had been a domestic argument and the wife had walked out of the house heading to the right (westward) out of her house.  She had the five year old son with her, hanging onto her hand.  She was on the footpath where the driveway of the neighbours house meets the street a few steps from the fence-line, when hubby came charging out of the house with the semi-automatic 12 gauge shot gun.  He leaned over the fence and discharged a round into her back.  It killed her instantly.  As she fell she let go of the child who had sense to run to the next door neighbours front patio and there he banged on the door. 

 

A neighbour across the road ran over to drag the woman away and got her half way across the street before the husband turned and fired on him hitting in the feet and legs.  He fell to the roadway in some amount of agony letting go of the woman.  Another young man came to the help of the wounded guy and helped him off the street. The offender had by this time turned and walked back into his house.

 

Petals, a SWOS field commander had been driving past off duty, saw the woman lying in the street and bought into it.  Neighbours were out on the street and as he approached he saw the gun shot wounds.  He quickly checked the woman was dead and retreated.  From there the rest of us swung into action.  People knew their jobs they just needed direction and Petals provided that direction.  

 

Big Al and I got to the area after the uniforms had set a perimeter.  The street was closed off and the woman’s body was clearly visible on the roadway.  She’d suffered a very messy but apparently quick death (no blood had pumped out of a rather bad series of wounds to her back and head, it had just pooled). 

 

I approached the offenders house from the west.  Firstly evacuating the next door neighbour and then quickly checking the perimeter and displacement of officers.  I ended up covering back yard as we had very few resources on a quite Sunday morning. Where I was, was not a place of cover just one of concealment.  Beaky the boss of the SWOS got called out and Special Weapons were authorised and activated.  Old Iron Fist who simply wasn’t good enough for the SOS boss job but was senior in rank, had come out and was directed back to the armoury to get our kit. 

 

He turned up hours later with all of the equipment and it was divvied out.  First job, put on vest, shit no helmet, check shot gun – look check, feel check, weapon clear.  Get rounds and load. It was then I noticed the rounds were light. Iron Fist had got training rounds.  These were 12 gauge shot gun rounds filled with unexpanded styrofoam beads. Not quite the ammunition of choice for a siege.  I called it in that we needed proper ammunition and the prick had the hide to say “That’ll do you.”  Pig of a man. 

 

Beaky eventually persuaded the arsehole to fuck off and get the proper ammunition.  Old Iron Fist took a distinct dislike to Beaky after that.

 

Anyway locked and loaded we waited out the day.  I was lead to understand there was very little in the way of communication with the crook, although I did see him once when he came out to check the back yard.

 

We rotated through the perimeter to keep alert and to get a change of scenery.  We were keeping one full hose away from the crooks house except for the back yard where we had to be right on the fence.  About the second movement I was looking at the neighbours house to the east of the crooks when I saw movement.  I asked around and it worked out no one had got around to clearing that house.  I switched places with a uniform bobby, called what I was doing  and grabbed a second ballistic vest. These vests were at that time top of the line. 16 lbs each but very effective for the type of thing coppers generally go up against.  I jumped the fence and made my way to the house.  Knocked on the door and was greeted by the proverbial little old lady.  I had half a mind to look for Sylvester and Tweety.  I explained the situation and put the vest on her.  Slump.  It was too heavy for her.  To get her back behind friendly lines without throwing her over a fence I had to expose us to the crooks front door.  So I stuck the other vest on.  I gave her a quick safety briefing.  Walk in front of me at all times. If I fall try your hardest to run around the fence, someone will help you.  So there I was little old lady in front of me and me trying to be a turtle and pull my head in below the neck line of the vests.  We made it without any problems.

 

The siege dragged on.  We were waiting for the assault group from Sydney to arrive

 

Now I think I’ve mentioned that thing about driving before, well there was a similar thing with the sniper rifle only this time I didn’t like it and everybody else trusted me implicitly with it.  It was night and I was stuck on the end of a long arm watching the front door. 

 

The front of the house had one of those little fences out the front two or three bricks high with a bit of iron work up to about 40cm.  And there was one of the Sydney lads backwards leopard crawling for want of a better term.  He was on his back using his shoulder blades and heels to ‘walk’ along the front fence line.  I called when he was about level with the door.  Slowly he reached up to peek over the fence, just as the front door swung open.  I called the door and several thoughts ran through my head predominantly good grief look at that Sydney bloke go! and also what the hell am I doing here! I’m going to have to shoot someone.  The door continued to swing as the Sydney guy made his way <i>very</i> rapidly on his heels and shoulder blades feet first back to the rest of the assault team.  Try it, its hard.

 

Nothing happened, it was just the breeze.  I could now see the back yard of the house through the top half of the rear screen door.  It was black as pitch inside.  We didn’t have any night vision equipment worth a damn and I certainly wasn’t shining a torch in there.

 

A few hours more and time had come for the assault group to enter the house.  Very quietly with little fuss. They found the husband’s dead body on the hall way floor

 

We tidied up and Al and I got the investigation.

 

It worked out (because Big Al and I interviewed him for the coronial investigation) that when the little boy had been bashing on the door, the neighbour had looked out seen the woman, saw the second shooting and the little boy.  So he closed his curtains and slunk further back in to his house.  He left the little boy to fend for himself, bashing on the door until he ran to another neighbour further up the street.