The Northern Territory’s elite tactical response group police unit tasered a man accused of murdering four people after he was arrested by other officers.

September 30, 2021

The Northern Territory’s elite police unit tasered a man accused of murdering four people after other officers had arrested him, a court has been told.

Benjamin Glenn Hoffmann, 47, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder during a drug-fuelled shooting spree on June 4, 2019.

His alleged rampage came to an end on the Daly Street bridge after he called police and begged for help after admitting to one killing.

Senior Constable Michael Kent was the first police officer on the scene.

“I got onto my radio … and said words to the effect of ‘the offender is in front of me. He’s surrendering’,” he told the NT Supreme Court on Wednesday.

“He had both hands in the air saying ‘I’m sorry, don’t shoot me’.

“I said ‘I will protect you with my life’. He seemed very nervous that he was going to get shot.”

Const Kent then told another policeman, who’d arrived at the scene, to be careful as they handcuffed Hoffmann after it became apparent he was injured and in pain.

The arrest was interrupted when three tactical response group officers wearing camouflage uniforms stormed towards Hoffmann with their automatic rifles raised.

“He’s alright, he’s unarmed the firearm is in the vehicle. He’s coming quietly,” Const Kent can be heard telling the TRG officers in body-worn camera footage played to the court.

“The defendant tensed up. I tensed up. (The other officer) tensed up,” he said from the witness box.

“I didn’t want any excitement or escalation. I was trying to calm and reassure the defendant.”

Const Kent said the TRG officers ordered him to put Hoffmann on the ground in a lying position as he was half way through handcuffing him.

“I wanted to comply with that and go with it, but I wasn’t just about to drop him. We have a duty of care,” he said.

Asked whether he had arrested Hoffmannbefore the TRG arrived, Const Kent said “he was in my custody” and compliant.

Former TRG officer Baughn Allitt said he aimed his rifle at Hoffmann’s head then put himself in a “position where (he) could still apply lethal cover” after he was on the ground.

“Hoffman was laying on his front and his arms were underneath his body and obviously that’s concerning,” he said.

“One of the other operators there fired his Taser into the back of Mr Hoffmann.”

Screams of agony are then heard on the recording.

“As a result, both his arms were secured behind his back,” Mr Allitt said.

Hassan Baydoun, 33, Nigel Hellings, 75, Michael Sisois, 57, and Rob Courtney, 52 are the men who died.

Hoffmann has also pleaded not guilty to 10 other serious charges, including threatening to kill and recklessly endangering life.

The trial continues on Thursday.