After a huge 18-month inquest, Coroner Michael Barnes handed down his formal report on the handling of the Sydney siege.
Despite heavy criticism from the families of the Sydney siege victims, Mr Barnes said the police were not to blame for the two deaths in 2014.
“I cannot stress too heavily that the deaths and injuries that occurred as a result of the siege were not the fault of the police,” he said.
“All of the blame for those rest with Man Haron Monis.
“He created the intensely dangerous situation. He maliciously executed Tori Johnson. He barricaded himself into a corner of the cafe and his actions or police to enter the cafe in circumstances where the risk of hostages being wounded or killed was very high.”
Mr Barnes praised police for their bravery and insisted that “Monis deserves to be sole focus of our condemnation.”
“No shortcomings can be attributed to lack of courage or dedication,” Mr Barnes continued.
“Of course it is tragic two lives were lost. Right from the outset, 18 lives were imperilled. The outcome could have been far worse for many families … against what standard does one [critique] a man ordered to stare down death to save strangers?”
Although Mr Barnes conceded mistakes were made on the day, he acknowledged “the burden of command they carried”.
“Opinions may differ as to whether they made the best decisions, but no-one could reasonably accuse them of shirking their duty.”
Mr Barnes also ruled that his Monis’ attack that day was terrorism, although it was understood that he was an isolated figure who had acted alone.
“It remains unclear whether it was ISIS’ bloodthirsty agenda or he used their fearsome reputation to bolster impact for his own gains.
“He adopted extreme violence to influence the government … that clearly brings his crimes within the definition of terrorism.”
“The siege was a terrorist incident.”
Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson
Before the findings were handed down, the families of Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson slammed the police’s tactics on the day the pair died.
They told Four Corners of their devastation to learn during the inquest that police had only intended to enter the Lindt Café if Man Haron Monis killed or seriously injured a hostage.
“I can’t forgive people for that trigger,” said Rosie Connellan, Tori’s mother.
“I’ll never be able understand how you can make a calculated decision that you wait for someone to die. It’s just beyond me.”
Police only stormed the café after Tori had been shot and killed by Monis – minutes after the shooter forced Tori at gunpoint to kneel in front of him.
Ms Connellan told the program that before the inquest, she didn’t question the police’s role in the day, believing it to be relatively uncomplicated.
“We thought that Monis had killed Tori and, you know, it was relatively simple: the police had done everything possible and that was it,” she said.
But as the inquest progressed, the evidence shocked the families.
“As it unfolded it was just, it was horrific. Every day we thought: ‘This can’t get worse’, and every day it got worse — what was coming out in evidence,” Ms Connellan said.
“Every time they reached that last 10 minutes, I had the same physical reactions and I just, you know, I was just so aware of the fact that Tori was still alive at that moment — it was almost like I was stepping back in time to that night every single day of the inquest listening to that,” she said.
Tori’s partner of 14 years, Thomas Zinn, echoed Ms Connellan’s loss of faith in the police.
“I have no trust because of the great level of incompetence that has been revealed,” Mr Zinn said.
Katrina Dawson’s parents also attended the inquest in the hope they would understand how their daughter died.
“What I said in the beginning was that we weren’t after retribution. But what we did want desperately was for them to have the courage to tell the truth,” Mrs Dawson said.
“To admit the mistakes and then talk about what they would do to rectify those mistakes,” Katrina’s father Sandy Dawson said.
“But we never saw anything like that.”
Flowers left at Sydney siege memorial
Katrina’s brother hopes the coroner’s report will shine more light on the situation.
“I want to see the coroner have the courage to really challenge an alternative view of what could have happened and to make sure the lessons are being learnt and that it honours the remarkable memories of Katrina and of Tori,” Angus Dawson said.
Four Corners showed that both families have a wary distrust of police in the wake of the inquest.
“If there is no recognition in the authorities that mistakes were made and that these failures have happened, then this learning will never occur and this culture will not change,” Mr Zinn said.
“I think we all had this feeling that the police are there to protect us all and that they know what they’re doing — that’s one of the worst things about this is that we feel very let down,” Mrs Dawson said.
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To ensure Katrina is never forgotten, the NSW bar is giving an annual $12,000 prize to a female lawyer with excellent academic scores and strong leadership skills in her name.
“Katrina Dawson will not be forgotten by the NSW bar,” Bar Association president Arthur Moses, SC, said on Sunday.
“Katrina spent a considerable amount of time mentoring young women barristers and contributing to the collegiality of the bar.
“The award is part of a number of measures the bar is implementing to encourage more women to consider a career at the NSW bar.”
Watch the first part of the Four Corners special investigation tonight at 8:30pm on ABCTV
