'He seemed okay': Tragedy as an AFP officer 'shoots himself with a service gun in a motel room' - the fifth to take his life at work in two years
- A federal policeman has shot himself with his service gun in a hotel room
- Officer from Melbourne took his own life on Tuesday night while on a work trip
- He was an Air Security Officer whose job was to respond to terrorist threats
By CHARLIE MOORE FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
PUBLISHED: 14:22 AEST, 3 July 2019 | UPDATED: 14:22 AEST, 3 July 2019
A federal policeman has shot himself dead with his service gun in a hotel room.
The officer from Melbourne took his own life on Tuesday night while on a work trip in Canberra.
His body was found by a colleague.
The man was an air security officer whose job was to respond to terrorist threats and hijack attempts at airports and on planes.
He is the fifth AFP officer to have shot himself with a work gun since February 2017 when officer Sue Jones shot herself in the bathroom at the Melbourne headquarters.
A friend, who also is an AFP officer, told news.com he was a 'really good guy' and 'seemed OK' last week.
The officer said the AFP was having a mental health crisis and more needed to be done to help.
'In all my 20 years of policing, I have never felt so deflated by an organisation,' he said.
An AFP spokesman told Daily Mail Australia: 'The AFP can confirm that a member of the AFP appears to have taken his own life.
'A brief is now being prepared for the ACT Coroner.
'The AFP is providing support to the member's family and colleagues.'
The man has not been named at his family's request.
The man is the fifth AFP officer to have shot himself with a work gun since February 2017 when officer Sue Jones shot herself in the bathroom at the Melbourne headquarters
What is an air security officer?
Air Security Officers (ASOs) are armed Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers responsible for the containment or resolution of high-risk security incidents on domestic and international flights.
These specially trained AFP officers provide an intelligence-led deterrence and containment capability on selected Australian domestic and international flights to safeguard Australian registered aircraft against in-flight attack.
ASOs travel on selected Australian domestic and international flights to maintain an armed in-flight response and resolution capacity.
ASOs blend in with other passengers and could be on any flight. They are deployed in response to current threat assessments and form part of the AFP's ongoing deterrence strategy.
Officers are trained and equipped to provide response to threat of hijack/attempt by terrorists or other criminals to take control of an aircraft.
ASOs are extensively trained in many disciplines including negotiation, defensive tactics, specialist firearm handling and small team techniques.
The AFP's ASO Program maintains close ties with its foreign counterparts and the airline industry to ensure international best practice.
Source: AFP