A senior member of the crack NSW Tactical Operations Unit has broken down as he recalled how his men entered the Lindt Cafe to end the Sydney siege believing they might be greeted with a "massive explosion" from a bomb.
His voice cracking, the chief inspector, whose name is suppressed, paid tribute to his men at the siege inquest, describing their actions as the "most courageous" he's seen.
When police TOU members entered the building shortly after cafe manager Tori Johnson was executed at about 2.13am on December 16, 2014, they did so believing gunman Man Haron Monis was armed with an improvised explosive device (IED).
"I honestly believed that it would probably be my last command and there was potentially going to be a massive explosion from the stronghold," the tactical commander told the inquest on Thursday.
The tactical commander, who has also served for 30 years as a special forces commando, believed that, even if Monis was paralysed, the IED may have been connected to a "dead man's switch" which would automatically detonate the bomb.
He said of his men that it "was in the forefront of their minds that they would most likely have to enter and confront a terrorist with an IED".
Counsel assisting NSW Police Dr Ian Freckleton asked the officer "And yet ... they moved in?"
Tactical commander: "They did."
"I think it's one of the most courageous efforts I've seen."
It eventuated that there was no bomb, while the tactical commander has maintained throughout his testimony that a direct action was less risky compared to the Emergency Action (EA) plan.
Police initiated their EA - the trigger for which included death or serious injury to a hostage, or imminent death or serious injury - and stormed the Martin Place building more than 17 hours after the siege began, after Monis shot Mr Johnson.
Authorities had also weighed up ending the siege via a Direct Action plan - entering the cafe at a time of their choosing - but instead maintained a strategy of contain and negotiate until Johnson was killed.
It was also revealed on Thursday that the EA had been given the codename "S.L.O.T.H." - which stood for "save Lives of the hostages."
The codename appears on page three of the formal document setting out the EA orders, and appears under the heading "mission".
Monis was killed by police, while hostage Katrina Dawson died after being hit by police bullet fragments.
The inquest continues.
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