The families of two young police constables shot dead in Queensland have called for “real action” to protect officers, following a coronial inquest into the tragedy.
A five-week inquest into the Wieambilla shootings before Coroner Terry Ryan held its final hearing day on Thursday.
Constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, were among six people shot dead at a remote property west of Brisbane on December 12, 2022.
Const Arnold’s mother Sue told Mr Ryan “the time for excuses is over” in terms of new police procedures and equipment to help prevent a similar tragedy.
“It’s time to turn words into real action now. Those who protect us desperately need protecting,” she said.
Const McCrow’s mother Judy said her beloved daughter deserved open disclosure and full transparency.
“Change must be Rachel’s and Matt Arnold’s legacy,” she said.
Mrs McCrow said Friday would have been Rachel’s 31st birthday and it would be "a day marked by impossible grief" after a shooting that could have been prevented.
Brothers Nathaniel, 46, and Gareth Train, 47, set up concealed sniper positions on their driveway and opened fire on Constables Arnold and McCrow as they approached with two other junior officers.
Nathaniel Train joined Gareth and his sibling's wife Stacey, 45, to fatally shoot neighbour Alan Dare, 58, soon after killing the two constables.
All three Trains were shot dead by specialist police officers hours later after refusing to negotiate or surrender.
During a long closing statement, counsel assisting Ruth O’Gorman told Mr Ryan he should not make a finding on whether the shootings were an act of terrorism, because of an ongoing police investigation.
Ms O’Gorman said a key motivator for the Trains’ violent acts were religious extremism and their likely shared psychotic disorder that led to beliefs they were being persecuted by police amid a battle between God and Satan.
The officers had gone to the property to obtain information about Nathaniel Train's whereabouts in response to a missing persons request from NSW Police and to arrest him for firearms offences in Queensland.
"If proper processes had been followed, would Rachel and Matthew and the other officers have been sent to the property that awful day? We believe their deaths were preventable," Mrs McCrow said.
Mrs Arnold said the inquest had revealed "critical operational failings" around radio black spots, incomplete communication from NSW Police about the Train family and a lack of drone capabilities that could have prevented this tragedy.
"We know who pulled the trigger and killed Matt, but systemic failings and negligence on behalf of many others sent him to (the Trains’ property)," she said.
Evidence at the inquest suggested Gareth Train fatally shot Const McCrow while she was on the ground after being wounded multiple times.
Mrs McCrow said she agreed with Ms O'Gorman when she said Rachel had shown "great courage under fire" by continuing to record information about her attackers and shooting back with all 15 rounds from her pistol.
"In the chaotic moments leading up to her brutal murder, she was telling us over and over, 'I love you'. Messages we were not told about until three months after," Mrs McCrow said.
Mr Ryan heard the Trains recorded a YouTube video as heavily armed police approached their house claiming the officers they had killed were "devils and demons".
"How could anyone regard Matt as a demon? The police officer who helped serve breakfast for hungry children, who would play soccer at lunchtime with kids, who would pull over to help someone change a flat tyre?" Mrs Arnold said.
Mr Ryan set a timetable for various parties to provide written submissions over the next three months before he handed down findings.
Queensland Police Union president Shane Prior said outside Brisbane Coroners Court the officers who recovered the constables’ bodies and confronted the Trains while under fire should have their bravery recognised.
