THE first a police negotiator knew that Sydney siege gunman Man Monis wanted the lights in Martin Place switched off was when a desperate hostage called and said they were going “to be shot’’ if the demands weren’t met.
The negotiator, codenamed Matt, wasn’t told of the demands at an official handover that Monis wanted the lights outside the Lindt cafe switched off.
In a call at 12.52am on December 16, 2014, Selina Win Pe told him they had made the request two or three hours ago and Monis wanted to know why it hadn’t happened.
Matt told the siege inquest on Wednesday afternoon he immediately realised there was a problem and passed the threat to his superiors.
“I became aware it was an issue.”
He agreed with Counsel Assisting Jason Downing the language and tone of Ms Wen Pe’s call was “dramatic” and was concerned about what was happening in the cafe.
The final decision about switching off the lights would be made by his superiors, but Matt said he discussed the request with colleagues and they believed it could give them a strategic advantage in dealing with the increasingly erratic Monis.
Mr Downing asked Matt several times to offer a view about whether he thought the fact he wasn’t told about the lights demand was a “failure in handover”.
“I would have liked to have known about the lights,” Matt answered. - newscom
Man Monis digital epitaph - December 2014https://tangentcode.org/2014/12/16/man-monis-haron-digital-epitaph/