‘Extensive’ inquiry after police shoot and kill man in Adelaide during mental health incident | Adelaide

Police have shot and killed a 40-year-old man in Adelaide after they said he confronted officers with a knife during a mental health episode.

South Australian police shot the man at his home in the suburb of Craigburn Farm in the early hours of Tuesday morning after they said they were called to reports he was allegedly self-harming.

Police claimed the man threatened the officers with a knife and that they deployed a Taser which was unsuccessful.

Police claimed officers shot the man after he continued to threaten them with the knife. He died in hospital, they said.

The South Australian police commissioner, Grant Stevens, on Tuesday announced an “extensive” inquiry into the incident, which he said would be led by the force’s Det Chief Supt Scott Fitzgerald.

Stevens said he had reviewed the body-worn video of the incident and determined it had been a “highly stressful, dangerous situation”.

“The police officers appear at this time to have acted in the accordance with their training and taken the action necessary to protect themselves and the ambulance officers who were on the scene,” he said.

“As you can appreciate, this is a very difficult situation for police and all other people who are involved in the situation, as well as the extended family of those police officers and the patrol partners and team members.”

Stevens said four officers had attended the man’s house after his girlfriend – who was not on the premises – reported to police that she had been on a video call with him and “confirmed he was threatening to harm himself”.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning, Stevens said more than one of the officers discharged their firearm and that he did not know at this stage how many shots had been fired.

The man had been alone at home, Stevens said.

Asked why the Taser had been unsuccessful, Stevens said it was “dependent on many factors”.

“In this instance, we understand the male was covered in a blanket and it may have been the case the blanket [prevented] the barbs from the Taser being effectively lodged,” he said.

Asked how appropriate it was for police to respond to mental distress, Stevens responded that it had been “inevitable” police were called.

“In many circumstances, such as this one, those incidents and events involve acts of violence and police often attend to support South Australian ambulance officers,” he said.