The Land Down Under, where you can shoot a guy in front of his kids in his own house

From the Austrailian:

Two policemen who took part in the shooting of a mentally ill Victorian man will not have to give evidence at an inquest into his death following a court decision that has upset the man’s widow.

Lee “Wally” Kennedy, 40, was shot in his Shepparton home, in Victoria’s north, on April 19 last year, several weeks after doctors told him to reduce his medication for bipolar disorder. Senior constables Erin Levay and Simon Watts were directly involved in the shooting, and were the only adult witnesses to it, but their lawyer, Martin Grinberg, today argued they should not have to give evidence on the grounds it may incriminate them.

He said they risked exposing themselves to charges such as criminally negligent manslaughter and breaching a duty of care owed to the victim and his two sons, then aged four and two, who witnessed the shooting.

Mr Kennedy’s widow Melissa Kennedy told the inquest she was dismayed by the order and feared she would never know what happened. “It would bring a lot of closure and explain a lot of things that happened in the room,” she said.

The inquest was told Mr Kennedy was grieving for a brother who had recently killed himself and also suspected his wife of having an affair, which she was. Mr Kennedy was diagnosed by his GP, Dr Alan Wallace, as having bipolar disorder and depression, and was taking medication for both.

But in the weeks before the shooting Dr Wallace told Mr Kennedy to reduce his medication upon advice he had sought from mental health specialists at Goulburn Valley Health. One psychiatrist there advised that Mr Kennedy did not have any mental illness and his medication should be stopped completely, the inquest heard.

Ms Kennedy said her husband was upset by the advice but that he generally followed doctors’ orders.
Ms Kennedy ran a massage business from home and on the day of the shooting her husband called police complaining that a client was refusing to leave the house, which Mrs Kennedy said was untrue.

She said she was with a client when they heard yelling, so she went inside to tell her husband and children to be quiet. She said she heard a shot like a cap-gun. “When I walked into the kitchen and around the corner I saw two police officers,” she said. “One was a lady and she had one of my kids.”

Ms Kennedy said she grabbed her other child and ran back to her client then called her older son, who was crying, and later left the house on police orders. The inquest continues.

Is that not bizarre? More Australian news later today.

liz | 12:04 PM | Uncategorized