The police commander responding to the deadly Wieambilla shootings was unable to order an officer's rescue from likely death due to phone and radio blackspots, a coroner has heard.
Constable Keely Brough hid in grassland after two of her fellow officers were fatally shot and another wounded at a remote property at Wieambilla, west of Brisbane, on the afternoon of December 12, 2022.
The killers, armed with high-powered rifles and two Glock handguns stolen from the fallen officers, lit a grassfire to try and flush out Const Brough.
Queensland Police Inspector Wayne Rasmussen gave evidence on Thursday at an inquest into the shootings at Brisbane Coroners Court.
He told State Coroner Terry Ryan he had been assigned as the shooting incident's forward commander.
During the 95km journey from Dalby police station to a mobile command post at Wieambilla, Insp Rasmussen said he was unable to order an “extraction team” to enter the property and rescue Const Brough.
"The comms stopped ... the mobile phone dropped out of reception," he said.
Const Brough was on the phone to triple zero while hiding in grass less than 20cm high.
She told the operator flames were approaching her and she could either stand up and be shot or stay still and burn to death.
Mr Ryan heard Sergeant Werner Crous already gave the order on his own initiative that resulted in a successful rescue of Const Brough.
Insp Rasmussen said he had previously given his "commander's intent" to all officers and Sgt Crous could have acted based on those general instructions.
"My commander's intent ... was that all units were to resolve this incident as safely as possible, to retrieve injured persons without compromising our own safety," he said.
Wieambilla resident Alan Dare was shot dead after he went to investigate the fire.
Insp Rasmussen said he made the decision not to attempt to retrieve Mr Dare’s body.
“It was tactically dangerous … we still did not have control,” he said.
Patrol Group Inspector Timothy Mowle, who ranked directly above Insp Rasmussen, told the inquest he was “comfortable” with that decision.
Insp Mowle said the greatest challenge of the shooting was its remote “geographical location”.
“It was ... the tyranny of distance, no access to support resources …communication was an issue with phone and radio blackspots,” he said.
Constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow were shot dead as they walked up the driveway of a property owned by Gareth Train and his wife Stacey.
The officers intended to arrest Nathaniel Train on suspicion of firearms offences and illegally crossing the NSW border during a COVID-19 lockdown.
Constable Craig Loveland told Mr Ryan he was about 30km south of Wieambilla when he got the call to assist in a “shots fired” incident.
Const Loveland said the incident was in an area known as “the blocks” that he had been advised by more experienced officers not to enter by himself.
“There were signs saying ‘do not enter or you will be shot’ … (they) had mantraps, pits with spikes and other things around the block in certain properties … to injure people when they entered,” he said.
Mr Ryan heard the officers who responded to help were not allowed to approach the shooting scene as they were armed with Glock pistols with an accuracy range of 15m.
Const Loveland said one of the few officers trained to use rifles kept at police stations was Const Arnold, who was killed in the initial shooting.
Mr Ryan on Thursday released multiple videos from infrared cameras on two police helicopters that circled a house surrounded by bushland about three hours after two officers were killed.
Gareth Train is seen firing a rifle at one of the helicopters before sitting at an outside table with his wife Stacey and recording a YouTube video with her, calling police “devils and demons”.
Nathaniel Train can later be seen lying prone behind a log and firing at an armoured BearCat police vehicle using a rifle with a scope.
Soon after the helicopter video ends, all three Trains were fatally shot by police within minutes of each other.
