The royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion has heard that New South Wales police officers were dramatically outgunned during the Bondi beach massacre on 14 December, forced to duel attackers armed with rifles while carrying 9mm Glock pistols - a tactical mismatch that would be comic if it weren't so deadly.
Deputy commissioner David Hudson testified that officers were "placed at significant risk" when they engaged the gunmen in a firefight with handguns against long-arms. "Obviously, on the 14th of December, our police officers were placed at significant risk, being in a gunfight armed with 9mm Glocks against long-arms," he told the commission, in what might be the year's least surprising admission.
A plan to create an armed response command - 210 officers packing long-arm weapons - has been "escalated" but won't be fully staffed for at least another 12 months, Hudson said. The Police Association of NSW had been lobbying for more consistent access to long-arms after the attack, which seems reasonable given that the attackers used a bolt-action high-powered rifle and shotguns to fire into a crowd celebrating Hanukah at Archer Park.
Within 30 seconds of opening fire, the gunmen shot 11 people, fatally wounding 10. The pair, Sajid Akram and his son Naveed Akram, allegedly killed 15 people total. Sajid was shot dead by police; Naveed was wounded and now faces charges including 15 counts of murder and one count of committing a terrorist act allegedly "inspired by" Islamic State. The entire attack lasted seven minutes and 41 seconds - an eternity when you're reloading a Glock.
Detective Senior Constable Cesar Barraza is believed to have fired the shots from his 9mm Glock that killed Sajid, 50, and disarmed Naveed, 24. Two other officers, Const Scott Dyson and probationary Const Jack Hibbert, were seriously injured.
Hudson also told the commission that giving the Community Security Group - which provides security to the Jewish community - additional powers would be "problematic," noting that "isolating a particular group for additional powers within our community is problematic. It creates a disconnect between groups." A fair point, though one imagines the Jewish community might have preferred slightly fewer disconnects and slightly more rifles during the attack.
The new Armed Response Command, announced in February by police and counter-terrorism minister Yasmin Catley, will consist of 250 officers operating 24/7, patrolling high-risk areas, places of worship, major events, and mass gatherings. Hudson said it should be fully operational within 12 months - which, coincidentally, is exactly how long it would have taken to stop the last attack.
Hudson also raised concerns about information sharing between commonwealth and state agencies, noting that NSW police have a "very open" interpretation of the Protective Security Policy Framework but other agencies are less forthcoming. "If there is risk or threat, we will share information with other agencies, but other agencies can, on occasions, not be so forthcoming, and that has created a difficulty," he said. Because nothing says "lessons learned" like a bureaucratic turf war over who gets to share the threat intel.