A mentally ill man who was fatally shot by police while trying to stab himself at his southwestern Sydney home was not in contact with anyone else when the gun was fired, a court has heard.
Four NSW police officers are on trial accused of lying under oath about the November 2009 shooting of Adam Salter, after claiming there had been attempts to restrain the knife-wielding 36-year-old before he was shot in the back.
But Mr Salter's father Adrian Salter told the Sydney District Court that his son had moved away from treating ambulance officers and was standing alone at the kitchen sink, apparently stabbing himself, when the shot was fired.
"I saw Adam get to the sink and it seemed to me that he'd grabbed the knife and was sticking it in himself," Mr Salter told the court on Tuesday.
He said no one was in contact with his son or restraining him.
"I heard someone shout 'Taser' then another shout of 'Taser' and then a bang," he said.
He described the sound as a "very sharp and short" bang or crack.
"Adam fell over backwards and I thought he'd been tasered," Mr Salter said.
He added that his son "went limp" before being taken to hospital.
Earlier four police officers had been called to the Lakemba house along with paramedics when Adam Salter, who had a history of mental illness, had begun stabbing himself.
Police officers Sheree Bissett, Emily Metcalfe, Leah Wilson and Aaron Abela are accused of agreeing to give false accounts of what happened.
All have pleaded not guilty to giving false evidence to a 2012 Police Integrity Commission inquiry into Mr Salter's death.
The judge-alone trial continues before Justice Greg Woods.
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