Name hero police officer who killed terrorist Man Monis in Lindt Cafe siege finally identified
Written by admin on November 29, 2024
The name of a hero police officer who stormed the Lindt Cafe in Sydney in 2014, killing terrorist Man Haron Monis can now be revealed.
For the last 10 years, he was known as Officer A, but following a court decision on Friday Ben Besant can tell his story publicly for the first time.
Mr Besant’s name was suppressed at the time for his own protection, meaning he could not tell anyone what happened inside that building.
On Friday, after a lengthy legal battle led by Channel 7, the suppression order on his name was lifted.
“I’m never one to walk away from a fight, and I have been fighting for a long time to have my name returned to me,” he tells this Sunday’s episode of Spotlight.
Mr Besant led the assault and fired the final shots that took Monis down.
The suppression order on his name aggravated Mr Besant’s post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), that cost him his career and marriage, he claims.
“It’s become such a big issue for me to be able to get my name back,” he said.
The landmark decision comes two weeks before the 10-year anniversary of the siege.
Mr Besant said having his identity back will help him deal with what is the most difficult day of the year for him.
On the morning of December 15, 2014, a terrorist took eight staff members and 10 customers hostage inside the popular cafe on Martin Place, in the middle of Sydney.
Police quickly evacuated the area and surrounded the building. The terrorist claimed he was armed with a shotgun, and a bomb in his backpack.
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At 2.13am the next morning, the cafe’s manager, Tori Johnson, 34, was shot dead by Monis, promoting police to storm the building.
Barrister and Sydney mother-of-three, Katrina Dawson, 38, was hit with fragments of police bullets and died.
The 17-hour siege brought the harbour city to a standstill.
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