Two country police officers who rendered assistance to Brevet Sergeant Jason Doig and his alleged shooter at a property in regional South Australia have been praised as “heroic” and “courageous”.
Key points:
- Brevet Sergeant Jason Doig was shot dead at a regional property in SA
- SA Police Minister Joe Szakacs described the officers as “heroic”
- The alleged shooter remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital
Police will allege that 53-year-old Sergeant Doig was shot and killed by Jaydn Stimson, 26, while responding to what was believed to be a routine job at a rural property at Senior in the state’s south-east.
Another officer, Sergeant Michael Hutchinson, and the alleged shooter, Jaydn Stimson, both suffered injuries from the incident.
Police said that a third officer, Constable Rebekah Cass, provided assistance to both Brevet Sergeant Doig and Mr Stimson.
SA Police Minister Joe Szakacs said the actions of Constable Cass in the immediate aftermath of the shooting were “heroic”.
“Rebekah’s actions in that first response on that tragic morning were brave, it was heroic,” Mr Szakacs said.
“She did an extraordinary job, she looked after her colleagues as she was protecting our community.”
Police Association of South Australia president, Mark Carroll, echoed the minister’s comments and said the courage shown by all the officers involved showed what kind of people they were.
“I want to pay homage to the courage of Rebekah and Michael Hutchinson and Jason in that moment as will become known to people in time,” Mr Carroll said.
“There actions were being completely courageous in what was a horrific incident.”
“And then to have the presence of mind to render aid not just to Jason but also to the offender goes to show the kind of people that they are and the kind of country cops that they are.”
Sergeant Hutchinson underwent surgery on Friday and was expected to be discharged from hospital by early this week.
Mr Stimson remains in hospital in a critical but stable condition and is under police guard.
Mental toll on the policing community
SA Police Deputy Commissioner, Linda Williams, said Constable Cass was being well supported after what she described as a ” very traumatic experience”.
“She has been surrounded by fellow officers and her family and friends but as you would imagine [it was a] very traumatic event,” Ms Williams said.
“We often talk about the physical toll on people but we can’t underestimate the mental impact that this has on lots of officers including those at the scene.”
The incident is currently subject to a commissioner’s review but Ms Williams said it appeared that the officers involved “conducted themselves in an exemplary manner and followed appropriate operational safety protocols”.
Mr Szakacs said the shooting highlighted the danger police officers face every single day.
“Whilst the outcome here has been horrific, the type of risks and the type of operational response was not remarkable,” he said.
“From the police that I have spoken to, that’s what hits home pretty hard is the fact that this could have happened at any time and it could have happened to anyone.”
