Police face an internal investigation into why they charged a man with firearm offences after his licensed partner shot herself.
Julie Taylor, who had a Cat H firearm licence, committed suicide in June using a .22 calibre registered to her husband, John.
Mr Taylor was subsequently charged by South Australian police for allowing his wife to have access to the keys to the gun safe.
He was also charged with not securing the ammunition locker with a padlock.
The case went to court, where the judge queried the charges.
Prosecutors dropped the charge relating to access to the safe but not the other, to which Mr Taylor pleaded guilty. However, the judge did not record a penalty.
Police have been heavily criticised for their insensitivity in the case, and experts warned that their actions could have had a bad effect on Mr Taylor’s mental health.
Police appear to have ignored Mr Taylor’s grief and been heavy handed in applying punitive charges, the main one even failing to stand up in court.
This is perhaps the worst example of the treatment meted out to sporting shooters by police throughout Australia.
For more details, see the Adelaide Now story.
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