Police Officer Shoves Finger in Gun to Stop It Being Fired at His Colleagues A POLICEMAN'S finger stopped his gun being fired at his colleagues when it was seized by a man they were trying to arrest, a court has been told. James Lyle Rakatau, 25, fled police when they tried to arrest him in Melbourne on November 14, last year over an outstanding warrant from Western Australia, the Herald Sun reported. The Supreme Court was told senior detectives Matthew Flood, Travis Merlo and Adam Radley gave chase until Sen-Det Flood tackled Rakatau as he tried to climb a fence. Prosecutor Robert Barry said during the struggle that followed Rakatau got hold of Sen-Det Flood's gun from his holster and yelled: "Now you freeze ... ". Sen-Det Flood got both hands on the revolver and held the cylinder so it wouldn't spin and fire. His finger was jammed between the hammer and primer when Rakatau tried to fire more shots as Sen-Dets Radley and Merlo went to intervene. Mr Barry said it was only Sen-Det Flood's index finger that stopped the weapon firing as Rakatau tried a number of times to pull the trigger. Rakatau was eventually subdued with capsicum spray. He pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless conduct endangering life. Defence lawyer Stratton Langslow said the gun had not ever been deliberately pointed by his client at the officers. "This is an event which, on its face, has an extraordinarily impulsive aspect to it," he said. Mr Langslow said his client had been a talented rugby league player in WA until racial taunts forced him to leave school and he ran off the rails. Justice Robert Osborn remanded Rakatau in custody for sentencing next week.
I'm sorry, but in my department, a situation like that, where they have your gun, warrants the use of deadly force.