[Doggie 1]

Live: CBD horror, three dead, 15 injured as car knocks down pedestrians

[Phil №❶]

Purposely done, too.  to those who lost their lives.

[The Gonz]

We'd been out at our new home all day and only got a clue when the freeway approach signs mentioned "incident in city", then Googled news.

[Dazzler]

Terrible. It is a small world. The people I stayed with in Perth have a son who is a teacher who lives and works in Melbourne. He was on an excursion with some of his students and witnessed the carnage! He is very shaken up. 

[eye30]

Melbourne footage shows erratic driver

A bystander films the driver of a car arrested in Melbourne in connection with the death of three pedestrians struck by a vehicle.


Melbourne footage shows erratic driver - BBC News

[CraigB]

The guy shouldn't have even been allowed out of prison 
Bourke Street driver identified as James "Jimmy" Gargasoulas

[beerman]

His jail time will not be plesant. Can't say I am overly aggrieved by this.

But there will serious scrutiny. The coroner Sara Hinchey​ will hold an inquest and surely examine how 26-year-old Dimitrious "Jimmy" Gargasoulas​ was bailed at the weekend after being arrested for offences of violence.

She will ask why the police request to keep him in custody was ignored and whether his violent Facebook rants against the public and police were taken into account.

"He has hundreds of priors [convictions] particularly in South Australia. He should have been remanded and not on the streets. He has a massive history of violence," one investigator said. He is known to be a chronic ice user.

Judge Hinchley will also look at Victoria Police's pursuit policy to see if Gargasoulas, wanted for the alleged near fatal stabbing of his brother Angelo the same day, could have been stopped earlier.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/comment/bourke-street-tragedy-melbourne-is-shocked-and-broken-but-the-city-will-be-the-same-again-20170121-gtvz2s.html

Should have been in jail full stop, but those who sit in judgement are immune from responsibility. Though they will happily throw their two cents worth in at those who were left to deal with the consequences.

Pursuit policies are designed with this in mind, no matter what the organisation wins, they use weisel words to allow them to say no we ment this, after the fact.

[Doggie 1]

The fact is those people should not have died.
At the risk of sounding political, Victoria's limp left, gender-equality, sexually-deviate-normalising, anti-police government have let the people of Victoria down.
Police cannot engage in a pursuit if the identity of the offender is known.
They are instructed to let him go, do whatever he likes and catch up with him later.
That is why the police, who are now being criticised for not stopping him, sat there and watched him doing burnouts in the city, endangering lives and were not allowed to intervene.
They were instructed not to.
That is why they were instructed to abort an earlier pursuit with him.
A properly executed PIT manouvre would have taken him out early in the pursuit and those people would not be dead.
Fact.
And the Victorian government was so, so quick to come out and say it was not a terrorist-related incident, but the actions of a mentally unstable individual.
Partly true.
I have no doubt he has mental issues. He is a known criminal with extensive criminal histories in South Australia and Victoria. He is a known ice addict. He is a known violent offender.
But he also publicly denounced his Greek heritage, declaring himself a Muslim.
I watched an eye witness being interviewed shortly after the carnage happened, telling the news media that as police sat and watched, the offender shouted, "Allahu Akbar" as he deliberately drove into the crowd, murdering people.
It is utterly disgusting that a government that is supposed to represent and protect the people can allow this to happen.
There is absolute outrage from the Police rank & file, the Police Union and other associations. Rightly so.
Yet all the while the Police hierarchy and government ministers tell us what they want us to hear.
I have said for a long time that these are the consequences of weak government, weak policies and weak policing.
There was ample opportunity to "neutralise" this maniac prior to him doing what he did and if I was a family member of one of the deceased, one of which was three years old for God's sake, I would be screaming from the roof tops.
I hope the State Coroner does her job.

[beerman]

The State Coroner is conflicted as far as i am concerned. Very hard to make hard calls on the people you work with.

I will be very surprised if anyone bar the police get it. 

[Surferdude]

Victoria's bail system is unbelievable.

Victoria change bail after Melbourne Bourke Street Mall | Daily Mail Online

Magistrates to work at NIGHT and sweeping bail law reforms proposed after revelations crazed Bourke Street Mall driver was released by 'volunteer with no formal legal training'
Bail laws in Victoria to change after Bourke Street Mall tragedy in Melbourne
Dimitrious 'Jimmy' Gargasoulas allegedly mowed down pedestrians in the city
He had been release on bail on an assault charge just days before the tragedy
Five people died in the tragedy on Friday and dozens more were injured 
By Australian Associated Press


An after-hours magistrates court will handle now bail matters following outrage over the Bourke St Mall tragedy, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced.
Volunteer bail justices will no longer be used for serious matters in out-of-hours decisions, Andrews announced on Monday.
It followed the shocking incident on Friday in which Dimitrious 'Jimmy' Gargasoulas, 26, allegedly mowed down pedestrians causing five deaths and leaving dozens oinjured.
He had been bailed against the wishes of Victoria Police five days before Friday's attack.


Read more: Victoria change bail after Melbourne Bourke Street Mall | Daily Mail Online
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

[Surferdude]

And they're still advertising the position.
Bail Justice position description - Department of Justice and Regulation, Victoria

[Lakes]

That was very sad!!
And like has been stated, should not have been allowed to happen!
but the sad truth is it did so they need to ensure that can't happen again!!

[Doggie 1]

They said that after Jill Meagher.

[Mr Dig Bick™]

Absolute tragedy.. Stay strong Melbournians!

[beerman]

Or they could just keep them overnight, and see the Magistrate in the morning...Like they do up here.

Of course that does not ensure a good decision....