Officer who fatally shot fugitive ‘acted appropriately’, coroner finds

Stanley Turvey, 33, was tasered and shot in the chest three times by police at a property in Victoria’s north-east on September 20, 2023.

Two days earlier, he pointed a sawn-off shotgun at officers and fired a shot in the air when they tried to arrest him over a firearms prohibition order. 

He fled from the property in a police car and managed to evade officers for days, leading to a manhunt involving uniform police and specialist units. 

Turvey, who was previously jailed for rape and false imprisonment, was armed with his gun as he forced members of the public to drive him to different parts of regional Victoria and NSW.

At one point, he crashed into a young couple’s fence and punched a man who was too slow to find his car keys.

On the morning of September 20, Turvey made his way to a long-term family friend’s property in Ardmona, near Shepparton. 

The woman instructed her daughter to notify police, with special operations group officers arriving shortly after 10am.

Turvey’s friend left the house first, but was slow to walk to the operatives due to shock.

Turvey then came out and lifted his shotgun from behind his back when he was told to put his hands up.

He approached the special operatives and ignored their calls to drop his weapon, instead pointing at his own head as he reached the woman.

Turvey was only about two metres away from police when he started to move the gun away from his own head.

One of the operatives fired three shots into his chest, while another shocked him with a Taser either simultaneously or nearly at the same time. 

Turvey could not be revived and he died at the scene from the gunshot wounds.

Investigations later revealed there was no ammunition in Turvey’s gun.

State Coroner Judge John Cain today found the operative who fired the fatal shots acted appropriately.

The officer fairly perceived there to be a threat to the woman and other officers before shooting Turvey and there was no way to know the weapon was not loaded, Judge Cain noted. 

The coroner also found the overall police response during the manhunt had been timely and reasonable, and there were no missed opportunities to find or apprehend Turvey. 

However, Judge Cain was critical that conversations between police and the specialist task force were not recorded. 

He ultimately found there had been a communication error, which had since been rectified. 

The only recommendation Judge Cain made was in relation to body-worn camera footage requirements for special operatives. 

The operatives are not required to wear cameras due to the covert nature of their work, but Victoria Police is investigating how the devices could be installed on helmets for overt operations. 

Judge Cain recommended Victoria Police investigate those options. 

The coroner expressed his condolences to the Turvey family, who were in court on Tuesday.

They described Turvey as a loyal father and son, who had slipped through the cracks from an early age.