NSW Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Jeff Loy has taken the stand at a coronial inquest into the deadly Sydney siege.
Mr Loy is the first of the three most senior officers during the December 2014 stand-off to give evidence at the inquest this week.
He was acting as the state emergency response controller during the Martin Place siege, and told the coroner on Monday morning that he did not have a role in strategic or tactical responses.
Mr Loy will be followed in the witness box later on Monday or on Tuesday by Deputy Commissioner Cath Burn and Commissioner Andrew Scipione.
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The trio of top cops was originally scheduled to appear before the coroner earlier this month, but were thrown off course by a surprise bundle of documents that had not yet been properly vetted.
The documents were offered up to the counsel assisting the coroner in June after families of slain hostages Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson requested that the three officers be called to give evidence.
But the stack of files - including text messages, emails and cabinet documents - had been inadvertently overlooked.
Legal professionals have spent the past fortnight combing through the records.
Meanwhile, the inquest has heard that a search for deleted text messages Ms Burn sent during and soon after the deadly Martin Place stand-off has so far been unsuccessful.
NSW Coroner Michael Barnes wants to know if any of the three top cops inappropriately intruded - or failed to intervene when they ought to have - during the December 2014 siege.
Central to questions levelled at Ms Burn and Mr Scipione will be conversations each had with Commander Mark Jenkins at about 13 hours into the deadly 17-hour siege.
Ms Burn spoke with the commander about progress in negotiations, and Mr Scipione discussed with him options for storming the stronghold.
Officers ultimately stormed the cafe and shot gunman Man Haron Monis dead about three hours later - after cafe manager Mr Johnson was executed, with hostage Ms Dawson fatally wounded in the assault.
All three senior officers have denied giving any key operational guidance, directions or advice during the stand-off.
Coroner Barnes will test these claims when the trio give their long-awaited evidence.
