Former NSW police officer maintains shoulder shot was justified in double murder trial
In a Sydney Supreme Court hearing, former officer Beau Lamarre-Condon reiterated that his first shot at Jesse Baird’s shoulder was the correct action, while denying intent to kill.
Former New South Wales police officer Beau Lamarre-Condon continued his testimony in the Supreme Court, defending the first shot he fired at Jesse Baird on 19 February 2024. He told the court that the shot to Baird’s right shoulder was "the right move" and that he aimed there to make Baird drop a knife he claimed Baird had lunged at him with.
Lamarre-Condon said he entered Baird’s Paddington home to retrieve personal items and attempted to disguise himself as a delivery worker to avoid recognition. He testified that he believed Baird was unarmed until the man appeared with a knife and began shouting that he was being robbed.
"I stand by it," he said, adding that police training instructs officers to aim at the centre of mass, but he chose the shoulder to avoid a fatal outcome.
He asserted that he did not intend to kill Baird, describing the discharge of his firearm as accidental after the two men struggled and tripped over a storage box. Lamarre-Condon also claimed that Luke Davies, Baird’s partner, shot himself after a brief exchange in which Davies allegedly pointed a gun at him.
Crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC cross-examined Lamarre-Condon, who maintained that the first shot prevented Baird from potentially harming him and that he acted in line with police training. The trial, presided over by Justice Natalie Adams, continues.