Man charged with murder after Tasmanian policeman shot dead
A man has been charged with murder after a veteran police officer was shot dead on the job. Tasmania Police Constable Keith Anthony Smith, 57, was killed on Monday as he approached a property in rural Tasmania to deliver a court-ordered home repossession warrant. A 46-year-old North Motton man surrendered at the scene and on Thursday was charged with murder, attempted murder and aggravated assault. He appeared before court in a bedside sitting while under police guard in hospital and will return to court at a later date. The state's tight-knit northwest community has been left reeling from the well-respected officer and passionate cyclist's death.
It is the first fatal shooting of an officer in the island state in more than a century. Smith was at the house with another experienced frontline officer, with a supporting team of three specialist operations group officers stationed further away at the driveway before the incident occurred. The alleged offender was shot in the hand by one of the specialist operations group and then surrendered, police said. Commissioner Donna Adams thanked those involved in the ongoing investigation for their diligent work in difficult circumstances. "The support our members have shown for Constable Keith Smith's family and loved ones, and each other, is testament to the strength of our blue family," she said. He had worked at the nearby Ulverstone Police Station for the past five years after joining the force in 2000. Smith received the commissioner's medal in 2011 and a 20-year clasp in 2021, as well as the national police service medal in 2016. In 2005, he cycled through Tasmania to raise money for tsunami victims in Asia, and in 2011 he rode a 420km mountain route for the Menzies Institute for Medical Research. Police professional standards and the coroner are investigating the incident, and whether officers knew there was a gun at the property will form part of the probe.
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