New South Wales Police establish new gun rules after killing of TV presenter and partner in Sydney
The New South Wales Police Force is set to launch new gun rules after Jesse Baird (right) and Luke Davies (left) were killed. (Instagram/@jessebairddd)
The New South Wales Police Force is set to establish new gun rules after gay couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies were killed in Sydney, Australia in February 2024.
A 28-year-old former police officer Beau Lamarre was charged with two counts of murder after the disappearance of Baird and his partner Davies. NSW Police allege that Lamarre broke into their Paddington home and shot the TV host and the Qantas flight attendant with his police-issued firearm on 19 February.
Police later charged him with domestic violence-related murder and break and enter with intent to commit an indictable offence. He has been in custody since his arrest and has not entered any pleas.
At the time, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb called for a review and apologised to the families of hate crime victims after a report into LGBTQ+ hate crimes in the state surfaced. She said that procedures had “failed” if Lamarre “used a service firearm in the matter that’s alleged”.
A task force was launched to review the issue, storage and movement of general issue firearms. Webb explained key recommendations from the review, which include digitising the force’s movement register for weapons and an application form to store firearms and other equipment away from an officer’s host command. Currently, such data is paper-based.
The force is also set to create a compliance manual for all officers handling firearms and the approval and movement of the weapons. Webb said the review ensures “best practices” and “better oversight” of police-issued weapons and other equipment.
She said: “While the work is not yet complete, I am confident the review and its recommendations represent a clear path for improvement in this area.”
Following the charges, NSW Police had removed Lamarre from the force by mid-March. The case is set to return to court this month, with his lawyers suggesting that he could enter a plea to two charges of domestic violence-related murder.
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