A father-of-four dramatically confronted officers in a police station while armed with a hammer, shouting: “King, shoot me.”
Timothy Mervyn Charles Hart, 34, was arrested in Mackay, north Queensland, after breaching his release conditions just 12 days before they expired in March 2024.
Police bodycam footage obtained by the Courier Mail showed Hart entering the station and being advised of his arrest.
He quickly pulled a hammer from his shorts, prompting the officer to pull his Taser.
“Just shoot me, I'm fucking over it,” Hart shouted.
“Don't come to us, you might get shot,” the officer told him, repeatedly asking him to “put the hammer down.”
“F**king, please kill me,” Hart said.
The officer replied, “We don't want to do that, buddy. Let's just have a chat.'
Timothy Mervyn Charles Hart (pictured) confronted Queensland police with a hammer after breaching his parole, just 12 days before the terms ended
At no point did a police officer draw his firearm, only a taser (photo)
The tense standoff lasted about two minutes before the officer fired his Taser, causing Hart to fall to the ground screaming.
At no point did a police officer draw his firearm, only a taser.
It is understood Hart turned himself in at the police station after learning he had violated his parole conditions by failing to report a new relationship to his supervisors.
He had been on parole since 2021 and had only twelve days left to serve when he was issued a return-to-prison order.
The circumstances of Hart's arrest warrant were not made clear to officers at Mackay Police Station; they only knew that he had to be arrested.
“I thought they showed incredible patience and resilience in their dealings with you,” Acting Magistrate Nigel Rees said.
“They didn't draw their firearms.
'This could have ended disastrously for you and your family.
The court heard Hart (pictured) was arrested 12 days before his parole was due to end after failing to report a new relationship to his supervisors
“Police officers have the right to do their job without being threatened.”
However, Magistrate Rees added that 'communication between the different departments might have prevented what happened next'.
The court heard Hart had a 'horrendous' criminal past but had worked hard to get his life back on track.
Lawyer Danny Yarrow from Legal Aid Queensland said Hart had been hired as a hydroblaster, had found shelter and had stopped using drugs.
The thought that the arrest would destroy Hart's efforts clearly disturbed him, as he told officers during the March standoff, “My life is ruined.”
Mr. Yarrow said his client believed “everything he worked for is lost” and pointed to the fact that Hart did not raise the hammer during the confrontation.
“However, he is armed with it (and) has asked several times for it to be dropped. Why does he have a hammer on him?' Magistrate Rees said.
Hart pleaded guilty to aggravated obstruction while armed and was granted immediate parole after serving 314 days in current custody.
“You got your life back on track and your behavior at the police station manifested itself because you thought you were going to lose everything,” Magistrate Rees said.
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