Latest news with #DonnaAdams
News.com.au
8 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘Respected' Constable Keith Anthony Smith killed in shooting incident on regional Tasmania property
Tasmania Police has confirmed the identity of the police officer killed during a shooting in Tasmania's north. Constable Keith Anthony Smith, 57, an officer for 25 years at Tasmania Police, was executing a court-ordered warrant on a regional property in North Motton with another officer on Monday. Constable Smith was shot and killed at the property – the first fatal police shooting since 1999. Tasmania Police Commissioner Donna Adams identified the fallen officer with permission from his family. She said the police veteran had previously worked in the north and northwest region of the state before moving to the Ulverstone area about five years ago. 'Keith was a respected and committed officer, and his loss will be deeply felt across our policing family and the wider community,' she said. 'My heart goes out to Keith's wife and family. We will be supporting them in every way we can during this incredibly difficult time.' A 46-year-old North Motton man has been arrested and has been taken to Launceston General Hospital for treatment. No charges have been laid.
ABC News
27 minutes ago
- ABC News
Tasmanian police officer shot dead in North Motton named as Constable Keith Anthony Smith
Tasmania's police commissioner has named the officer fatally shot on Monday while on duty as Constable Keith Anthony Smith, a 25-year veteran of the police service. Constable Smith, 57, was shot dead while taking part in "routine duties" at a rural property at North Motton property in the state's north-west. "Keith was a respected and committed officer, and his loss will be deeply felt across our policing family and the wider community," Commissioner Donna Adams said. "My heart goes out to Keith's wife and family. We will be supporting them in every way we can during this incredibly difficult time." Constable Smith was shot by the resident of the home as he approached to execute a court-ordered warrant to repossess the house. Special Operations Group (SOG) police who were in attendance shot the man in the hand, after which he surrendered, police said. Constable Smith died at the scene. The family of Constable Smith has asked for privacy at this time.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Tragic new details emerge about veteran Tasmanian policeman who was shot dead while on the job
A veteran policeman has been shot dead at a rural property while delivering a home repossession order in a tragedy that has rocked the community. Constable Keith Anthony Smith, 57, went to the property in northwest Tasmania with other officers about 11am on Monday. Constable Smith was killed as he approached the house after leaving his car, allegedly shot by a man who lived at the property. The tragedy was 'truly shocking', Tasmania Police Commissioner Donna Adams told reporters. 'He was a genuine, dependable police officer who served the community well for the past 25 years,' she said. It is understood to be the first fatal shooting of a police officer in Tasmania since 1922. Another officer fired at the alleged offender, who was struck in the hand and surrendered, police said. He was taken to hospital for treatment under police guard. No charges have been laid. Officers were at the property in the rural area of North Motton to serve a court-approved warrant to repossess the home, Ms Adams said. A special operations group that travelled to the property with the two officers was understood to be at the entrance to the driveway, further away from the home. Police professional standards and the coroner will investigate the death. 'We will review every aspect of this response and if changes need to be made, they will be made,' Ms Adams said. She praised the second officer's bravery and gave her heartfelt condolences to the man's family, friends and colleagues. The visit to the house was part of 'routine' duties, she said. 'To every police officer, we know policing can be risky but we expect every officer to finish their shift and come home to their family,' she said. 'I've been a police officer for 38 year and I've never seen an incident like this.' North Motton is home to a few hundred people and is about a 15-minute drive south from the coast. 'This is a tragedy. We will wrap our arms around our colleagues,' Police Association Tasmania president Shane Tilley said. 'There are going to be some difficult weeks and months ahead.' Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the 'love of an entire state' was with the officer's family and friends. 'You will have every possible support made available, as we come to grips with this heartbreaking tragedy,' he posted on social media.
ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
What we know about the fatal shooting of a Tasmania Police officer
The Tasmanian police community is in shock after an officer in the process of executing a "routine" job was shot dead on Monday morning — the first shooting death on duty in more than 100 years. The 57-year-old constable, a "genuine, dependable police officer who served the Tasmanian community well for the past 25 years", according to Tasmania's top cop, died while attending a house in North Motton, in the state's north-west. During a media conference on Monday afternoon, Tasmania Police Commissioner Donna Adams said the officer, along with one other uniformed officer, attended the property to serve a warrant. The Specialist Operations Group (SOG), the state's heavily armed specialist tactical unit, was stationed at the bottom of a long driveway at the property. But questions remain about why the alleged offender opened fire on the officer — and why the police specialist tactical group remained at the end of a driveway, sending the uniform officers in first. Here's what we know about the incident so far. The uniformed officers were attending a residence on Allison Road in North Motton, a remote town south of Ulverstone. The officers were there to serve a court-approved warrant to repossess a home — described as a "routine" operation. The deceased officer has not been named yet out of respect for the family, some of whom had not been advised of his passing at the time of yesterday's press conference. However, Commissioner Adams confirmed the officer was a 57-year-old "senior and experienced" male who had a "distinguished 25-year career" and held the rank of constable. He was accompanied by one other "senior experienced sergeant". "As soon as those contacts have been made, we'll provide further information about the identity of the police officer." The occupant of the residence was present when the officers arrived, Commissioner Adams said. At some point between the officer leaving his vehicle and making his way to the front door, he was fatally shot. The SOG were stationed at the end of the property's driveway near the gate. They responded once they heard the shot. She confirmed a number of first responders, police and "other services" attended the incident. At Monday's press conference, Commissioner Adams said she was "struggling to give you the information". "I've been a police officer for 38 years and I've never seen an incident like this that's resulted in the loss of a life of one of our colleagues and friends," she told reporters. The last police shooting death in Tasmania occurred over a century ago, in 1922, according to Tasmania Police Association president Shane Tilley. Police have not provided any details about the identity of the alleged offender, other than confirming he is a male. Commissioner Adams said she did not know his age at the time of yesterday's presser. Asked if the alleged offender was known to police, she said a Professional Standards investigation will look into understanding "the profile of the offender and whether there were any circumstances that may have led to him having a firearm". As of Monday evening, the offender was in hospital receiving treatment for non-life threatening injuries and yet to be charged. The SOG is Tasmania Police's tactical response unit, with similar units in other states and territories. In August 2024, the Tasmanian SOG transitioned from a part-time to full-time unit. Commissioner Adams said the unit was at the North Motton property "to support the frontline officers". When pressed by reporters as to why the SOG was required, Commissioner Adams said the investigation will "look at the request for the special operations group to provide the front-line response". "Now that we have a permanent special operations group, we can deploy [them] in a wider, broader manner," she said. When pressed further as to why the SOG were at the end of the long driveway at the time of the incident, Commissioner Adams did not answer directly. "There's lots of questions that we all have as a result of the incident and that's why we need to be really methodical in our investigation," she said. Commissioner Adams said the SOG had attended around 800 "frontline response jobs" in the last 18 months. The Police Association of Tasmania's Shane Tilley said it was common for them to assist frontline police officers in a wide range of jobs, including drug squad investigations, searches, or jobs where buildings may need to be breached. "Some would be high-risk searches … others would have a lower level of risk attached to them … they may not be required to go into an address, or simply just run a little bit of security around the perimeter," Mr Tilly said. He said delivering a court warrant was an "unusual type of job", but this outcome would not have been expected. Mr Tilley said the police crew assigned to any given job could reach out to the SOG "if they thought that there was potential for things to develop". Commissioner Adams said every police commissioner from around Australia had reached out to express their support, including "a number of other senior colleagues". She said she would remain in the north-west for the next few days to support the family and all those who were in attendance. "Officer safety is my highest priority, and this incident is a stark reminder of the risks our officers face every day," she said. Wellbeing support is being provided to all officers and individuals affected by the incident, she said. "We are doing everything we can to support our officer's colleagues and family, who are understandably devastated." "The trauma for each of those officers attending in a critical response when one of their own has been killed — I can't imagine the grief they are feeling at the moment.
Otago Daily Times
5 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
'Truly shocking': Officer shot dead in rural Tasmania
A veteran policeman has been "shockingly" shot dead at a rural property while delivering a home repossession order in a tragedy that has rocked the community. The 57-year-old constable, whose name hasn't yet been made public, went to the property in northwest Tasmania with other officers about 11am on Monday. He was killed as he approached the house after leaving his car, allegedly shot by a man who lived at the property. The Tasmanian Police Commissioner has revealed the circumstances that led to a 25-year veteran of the force being gunned down at a rural property in Tasmania. — The West Australian (@westaustralian) June 16, 2025 The tragedy was "truly shocking", Tasmania Police Commissioner Donna Adams told reporters. "He was a genuine, dependable police officer who served the community well for the past 25 years," she said. It is understood to be the first fatal shooting of a police officer in Tasmania since 1922. Another officer fired at the alleged offender, who was struck in the hand and surrendered, police said. He was taken to hospital for treatment under police guard. No charges have been laid. Officers were at the property in the rural area of North Motton to serve a court-approved warrant to repossess the home, Ms Adams said. A special operations group that travelled to the property with the two officers was understood to be at the entrance to the driveway, further away from the home. Police professional standards and the coroner will investigate the death. "We will review every aspect of this response and if changes need to be made, they will be made," Ms Adams said. She praised the second officer's bravery and gave her heartfelt condolences to the man's family, friends and colleagues. The visit to the house was part of "routine" duties, she said. "To every police officer, we know policing can be risky but we expect every officer to finish their shift and come home to their family," she said. "I've been a police officer for 38 year and I've never seen an incident like this." North Motton is home to a few hundred people and is about a 15-minute drive south from the coast. "This is a tragedy. We will wrap our arms around our colleagues," Police Association Tasmania president Shane Tilley said. "There are going to be some difficult weeks and months ahead." Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the "love of an entire state" was with the officer's family and friends. "You will have every possible support made available, as we come to grips with this heartbreaking tragedy," he posted on social media.
