Police kill armed man in Armidale

A policeman was left with no choice but to shoot an armed man who allegedly made
threats with a knife, a senior officer says.
The 25-year-old was chased into a laneway in the northern NSW city of Armidale where
he was shot dead by a male officer following a brief standoff.
Many passers-by in busy Cinders Lane witnessed the shooting at about 1.50pm (AEST)
on Tuesday.
The man threatened officers with a knife and refused to drop it, Acting Assistant
Commissioner Geoff McKechnie told reporters in Sydney.
"We're talking about a split second in time when a person makes a decision that he
or she deems to be the right one at the time," he said.
"On this occasion, the officer has resorted to the use of his firer (pistol) and
this young man has now lost his life.
"It's early days but, at this stage, it appears that this officer was left with no
other choice but to use his pistol and now we're dealing with the outcomes of that."
The one-way traffic lane was immediately cordoned off by police who began speaking
to the many witnesses from nearby businesses.
"We heard a gunshot and then we saw the dead young man lying on the street," said a
local restaurant operator wanting to be identified only as Marie.
"A few patrons of ours went to try and resuscitate the man. They said he was shot at
close range in the chest and there was no hope of reviving him."
The officer who fired the shot also worked to revive the man, who was pronounced
dead by paramedics who arrived a short time later.
"Quite a few of the people who work in the businesses have witnessed the incident,"
an employee of the Armidale Business Centre said.
"The police have apparently chased this young guy into the lane for some reason ...
then he's been shot."
One distressed woman was taken to Armidale Hospital suffering shock, a NSW Ambulance
spokesman said.
A specialist police investigation team will examine the circumstances of the shooting.
"There are a number of factors that led to this incident that at this stage we can't
discuss," Mr McKechnie said.
Neither of the officers at the scene were carrying Taser stun guns, Mr McKechnie said.
He declined to comment on the rank or years of police experience of the pair.
Investigators will seek CCTV footage of events leading up to the incident and will
interview both officers, who were separated after the shooting, in accordance with
NSW Police protocol.