Southern Cross Soliders in Australia

Call for answers after cops kill 15-year-old Tyler Cassidy | The Australian

You were so young to die soon. I think, if you were not shot dead, you might change one day from a fascist to be a supporter of multiculturalism in Australia. May peace be with you and your families and friends.

TYLER Cassidy, the 15-year-old schoolboy shot dead by three police officers at the bottom of a skate ramp in the Melbourne inner city suburb of Northcote, probably was his mother Shani's "scared little boy".
How could a teenager who ended up dead in such dreadful circumstances be anything but terrified when he found himself cornered by four cops firing warning shots into the pitch dark and screaming at him to drop the two large knives he was brandishing? But there is more to the story.

Tyler's MySpace page reveals he was a member of the anti-immigration white-pride Southern Cross Soldiers, a group formed in the wake of the Cronulla riots, which specialises in Romper Stomper-style street violence against rival gangs and ethnic minorities. Tyler's fellow "soldiers" yesterday left condolence messages online saying "You went down fighting like a true champion". How did a kid described by friends as "kind and caring", and who was deeply affected by his father's death from cancer a few years ago, get himself mixed up in an ugly fascist scene?

As the the Victorian State Coroner, the homicide squad and the Ethical Standards Division of Victoria Police begin their investigation into the boy's death on Thursday night, other disturbing questions are being asked. The perennial one that split talkback radio almost down the middle yesterday, and arises whenever there is a police shooting, is why the police had to shoot the boy in the chest and stomach, virtually guaranteeing his death? His distraught family have labelled the police trigger-happy and accused them of being heavy-handed and devoid of negotiating skills at the scene. "Why was he slayed to death when it was so unnecessary?" the family asked.

There is a gaping disjoint between the teenager his family and friends describe and the evidence of his disturbing foray into the world of race hate. There is also little common in the community debate about what police are expected to do when confronted with a person who is armed and out of control.

His family are calling for a thorough investigation into the police officers' actions because they believe Tyler should never have died in such circumstances. "I promise you my darling, I will fight for you as you were taken from me under the most horrific circumstances," his mother said.

The stock police answer is that they are trained to hit a person's body, not their arms and legs. And Thursday night in Northcote was no different. "Our training has always been that way and that's consistent with training across the world," said Assistant Commissioner Tim Cartwright.

"The movies would portray that you can shoot to disarm people but that's not our experience. These are events that are life-threatening."

Assistant Commissoner Cartwright said his four officers -- two women and two men -- did everything possible before firing the fatal shots. "At the end of the day one of our member's lives was at risk and the three members saw fit to defend that member," he said. "This is not a police failure. It's a dreadful tragedy, it's a failure of the community that we get a young man in these circumstances where the ultimate outcome is he violently approached police and he's shot dead."

The tragedy began to unfold about 8pm when police said Tyler tried to arm himself with knives at his home before he was "disarmed" by his mother. The 15-year-old then stormed out of the family home and went to the local shopping plaza, stealing two kitchen knives from K-Mart and threatening shoppers and staff. His mother said she had called the police already to warn them to look out for her son. She briefed them on the situation and gave them a description of what he was wearing. The local police station was only 50 metres away and two divisional vans with four police arrived on the scene fast.

There is no doubting the four police were confronted with an out-of-control kid. Part of the homicide investigation will examined whether it was even a case of "suicide by cop". Police said Tyler yelled: "Kill me, I'm going to kill you", as they warned him to put down his weapons after two separate blasts of capsicum spray failed to subdue him. According to police, when Tyler continued to advance and backed one of the constables into a corner, the other three officers opened fire from about 15m away and shot him dead.

Harriet Stuart, who lives close to the All Nations Park where the shooting happened, was walking home from the shops when she saw the teen running, carrying two large carving knives. She did not see Tyler die but saw and heard enough in the minutes leading up to the shooting to convince her the boy was out of his mind or on something. "I'm not easily scared and I quickly went into hiding myself, having seen him, but he was just a kid," she said. "From what I could tell, he looked like he was either incredibly angry or on ice or something. I thought perhaps he had a vendetta."

Police said there was no evidence of drug use or mental illness.

Tyler's grieving mother said her youngest son -- she has one surviving elder son, Blake -- would have been completely overwhelmed by the situation. "He had a very gentle side, striving to grow into a young man," she said.

It seems that Tyler's journey to adulthood went horribly awry in the months leading up to his death. It is believed that Tyler was likely to be charged over an assault at a shopping centre in October after recently being interviewed by police.

A 15-year-old close friend said Tyler had been "really, really angry" since his father died. "He had no direction. He had no one to tell him what was wrong. He was just really really angry," she told The Weekend Australian.

More details about the teenager are revealed on his MySpace page. It's covered in a huge picture of the Australian flag, You-Tube tributes to the Cronulla riots, racist "white supreme" videos and photographs taken at a meeting of the Melbourne chapter of the Southern Cross Soldiers earlier this month. He also states that he loves drinking rum with his mates, and his heroes are his dad and his brother. The main photograph is one where he is drinking.

"My names Tyler im aussie i love Australia more then eneythink and 2nd to that i love bundy (good stuff)," he wrote. "play hard and fight to win ... victory and pride forever!"

His friends yesterday left dozens of messages on his MySpage page, including many from other members of the Southern Cross Soldiers. "You were a respected bloke. You went down fighting like a true champion," wrote one.