WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following article contains the name and image of a person who has died.
The police officer who fatally shot an Aboriginal woman in a regional Western Australian city has told an inquest into her death everything he did that night "was right" and rejected assertions he breached police policy four times.
In 2019, then-first class Constable Brent Mitchell Wyndham shot and killed the 29-year-old Yamatji woman, known for cultural reasons as JC, in Geraldton, about 400 kilometres north of Perth.
At the time, she was holding a 30-centimetre serrated edged knife and a pair of scissors it's believed she took from a relative's house earlier that day.
He was charged with her murder but a Supreme Court jury acquitted him of murder and the lesser charge of manslaughter in 2021.
A coronial inquiry into the events which led to JC's death five years ago has been examining if officers tried to de-escalate the situation.
Officer Wyndham told the court he received a warning notice from the Assistant Police Commissioner, saying he had breached the use of force policy.
On Wednesday the Coroner's Court heard an internal investigation found officer Wyndham failed four times to follow police use of force policy when he exited his vehicle and fired his gun within 16 seconds.
Appearing in court for the first time today during this inquest, officer Wyndham agreed he failed to contain the threat but rejected several findings and said he believed everything he did "was right".
The court also heard that during a bespoke training required for Constable Wyndham to police again, he did not tell the trainers he disagreed with the findings.
Constable Wyndham said he yelled four commands at JC, but she did not respond: "Put the knife down, get on the ground, you're under arrest, put the f**king knife down."
When asked by council assisting Rachel Young if, in hindsight, he could have used a different form of communication when commands like "drop the knife" didn't work he said yes.
"I could have gone [to JC], 'What's going on in your day? What's making you feel this way?,'" officer Wyndham said.
Family thanks former officer
The inquiry heard evidence from ex-constable Adrian Barker, who said comments made by his former colleagues had made him feel responsible for JC's death.
Constable Wyndham described former officer Barker as "inept" during the 2021 Supreme Court trial.
Mr Barker, who resigned from WA Police in 2021, was the second officer to arrive on the scene and told the inquiry he got out of his car and tried to get JC's attention as he approached her.
The court heard Mr Barker used more gentle commands, using her first name as well as "drop the knife darl", and while he considered her a risk, he believed he maintained a safe distance.
Mr Barker admitted he had "tunnel vision" on JC and did not know Constable Wyndham had his firearm ready.
Mr Barker had taken JC to Geraldton Regional Hospital for mental health treatment 10 days earlier, and told the inquiry his plan to communicate with her was still a work in progress when Constable Wyndham pulled the trigger on his gun.
Asked what he would have done had he known Constable Wyndham had his gun out, Mr Barker said he would have shouted "hang on".
After JC was shot, Mr Barker travelled by ambulance with JC to the hospital and was with her when she died.
Lawyers acting on behalf of JC's foster mother, son and sister formally thanked Mr Barker for his kindness toward her.
"I'm instructed by JC's foster mother Anne Jones to thank you for the empathy, compassion and concern you displayed toward JC when you took her to the hospital on the 7th and again 10 days later," lawyer Anthony Crocker said.
Mr Barker said he was told he breached police policy in his managerial interview following the event, but he disagreed.
He said he was "a bit jaded" and "resentful" toward WA Police at the time of the interview.
The inquest continues.
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