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Michael Gaetano was kitting up for a night in the divisional van and Jared Eames was nearing the end of his watchhouse shift when they heard the shots, then they heard their sergeant on the radio say he was engaging with an active shooter.
“I had just dropped my offsider off when I heard loud bangs and drove there not knowing what to expect,” their sergeant, Brad Dettman, recalled of that night.
It was 9.10pm on January 13, 2022. The shots came from a block of flats a street away, so the two officers ran about 200 metres from Mordialloc police station towards the danger.
It was only later the three officers from the Mordialloc station would learn that the gunman, Rodney Lee, then aged 73, had shot and killed Tibor Laszlo and Saumoto Gasio, who were fellow residents in the block.
Lee had taken to watering the communal garden but after the hose was turned off multiple times, he took his revenge with a single-barrelled shotgun.
After an argument he went to a communal area and announced, “I’m going to kill all of you.” He fired five shots, calmly reloading repeatedly and appeared to be hunting more victims when police arrived.
Dettman could hear screaming (he later learnt they were from people who were with the two victims and feared they would be shot next). “I just wanted to make the area safe. Our job was to stop the killing,” he said.
Lee came from the shadows and Dettman could make out the shotgun in the man’s hands. “When I challenged him, he raised the weapon at me and said, ‘You’re gunna get it’,” Dettman said.
The sergeant fired a shot (it missed) as Eames and Gaetano covered him.
The policeman’s shot worked as Lee retreated into his flat. The three officers then created a cordon, trapping the offender inside where he could not harm anyone else. Senior police believe this stopped a mass shooting.
Soon the cavalry (more accurately the Critical Incident Response Team) arrived and Lee surrendered. It was 41 minutes after the first shots were fired and Gaetano was yet to officially clock on. His shift was due to start at 11pm.
On Friday, the three officers were presented bravery awards by Chief Commissioner Mike Bush, who says police can no longer cordon and contain while waiting for heavily armed specialists to arrive. They must engage immediately whatever the risks.
Two months after he took the job Bush released a set of values he expects from all police. “Professionalism, respect, integrity, compassion and courage,” they read.
“Because of the threat of active shooters our staff are trained and are expected to be brave – it is part of the job,” Bush said.
‘The training and adrenaline kicked in so you don’t have time to be scared. We were able to protect each other.’
Sergeant Brad Dettman
Police now do active shooting training using American interactive scenario videos.
Bush said of the three police at Mordialloc, “Two people tragically lost their lives but their courage and bravery stopped further loss of life.”
Dettman was awarded the Medal for Courage and senior constables Eames and Gaetano received chief commissioner certificates.
Talking to the three you sense there is a bond between them forged from risking their lives together. Police have an instinct about each other. They can sense the brave, the competent and those with questionable judgment. They need to know their colleagues have their backs.
The trio separately reflected how they had trust in each other, which gave them confidence on the night.
“The training and adrenaline kicked in so you don’t have time to be scared,” Dettman said. “We were able to protect each other.”
Gaetano said every police officer knows there are risks but, “you don’t go to work expecting something like that”.
Eames said it was humbling to be acknowledged for bravery and added “many members put their lives on the line every day”.
Lee later pleaded guilty to two counts of murder and was sentenced to 30 years in jail with a minimum of 24.
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