Page "Queen Street massacre" Paragraph 21

The coronial enquiry in September 1988 heard that there was chaos during and immediately after the shooting and there was uncertainty over which of the police officers present was in charge.

When ambulancemen entered the building with police, the police shouted to announce their presence as lifts arrived at their destination.

Police on the floor also called out and pointed their guns in the direction of the lift.

According to Inspector Adrian Fyfe, the officer in charge at the scene, the first police officer on the scene, a traffic policeman, had acted appropriately.

He had used his initiative to isolate the area and had made an accurate assessment of the situation.

However Fyfe criticised this officer's " appalling " lack of knowledge of " police command structure " for not realising who was in charge until 5. 00 pm, 40 minutes after his arrival.

Fyfe said the radio call sign he used identified him as the officer in charge.