A Queensland inquest will explore whether it was appropriate for a police officer to fatally shoot a mentally ill man brandishing a knife.

March 12, 2020

An outlaw motorcycle gang associate sent an apologetic text to his ex-girlfriend then took a knife to her Brisbane home before police fatally shot him.

Liam Scorsese was shot in February 2018, after refusing to surrender the weapon, a pre-inquest hearing into his death has been told.

The 31-year-old repeatedly told officers to shoot him as he walked at them with the steak knife, the Queensland Coroners Court heard on Thursday.

“Mr Scorsese increased his pace and closed the distance between him and Constable Till to approximately 2.5 metres,” counsel-assisting the coroner Sarah Lio-Willie said.

“Fearing he would be stabbed by Mr Scorsese, Constable Till shot him causing him to recoil momentarily.”

A second shot brought Mr Scorsese to the ground and he dropped the knife.

Earlier, Mr Scorsese had sent a text to his ex-girlfriend, Chireez Beytell, apologising for his actions during their relationship.

He then called and threatened he would “get her” before turning up at her home with the knife and behaving erratically, Ms Lio-Willie said.

After Mr Scorsese was shot, Constable Till and a neighbour, who was a nurse, applied first aid until paramedics arrived and took him to hospital.

He died an hour later.

An autopsy found the cause of death to be gunshot wounds to his chest and neck.

Ms Lio-Willie said Mr Scorsese had struggled with drug abuse and mental health issues in the months before Ms Beytell moved out of the couple’s Gold Coast apartment.

Her decision to leave followed an incident on the Sunshine Coast when Mr Scorsese pulled out a knife during an argument.

“It was a tumultuous relationship during which time Mr Scorsese made accusations and threats towards Ms Beytell,” Ms Lio-Willie said.

“In some instances, he was also physically abusive towards her.”

Ms Lio-Willie said the couple’s relationship breakdown and Mr Scorsese’s drug use and poor mental health were likely to have contributed to the events of February 25, when he was killed.

Coroner Terry Ryan will explore whether the police response was justified and their use of body cameras after Constable Till’s unit failed to work.

He will also examine whether adequate mental health support was available to Mr Scorsese.

The inquest is expected to be held later this year.