A mother who died after she was hit with a bean bag round and Tasered by police had livestreamed her stand-off with officers for hours before they broke into her house.
Krista Kach, 47, died in hospital on Thursday night following an incident in which she barricaded herself inside her unit in Stockton, Newcastle, about two hours north of Sydney.
NSW Police were called to the unit at about 12.30pm that day following reports Ms Kach had threatened real estate agents with an axe over a dispute about a barber shop at the bottom of her building.
Ms Kach barricaded herself in her home before specialist tactical officers forced entry into the property at about 9.45pm and used a bean bag round and Taser to arrest her.
Krista Kach, 47, died in hospital on Thursday night following an incident in which she barricaded herself inside her unit in Stockton, Newcastle, about two hours north of Sydney
Ms Kach had livestreamed parts of her nine-hour stand-off with police on Thursday
She was then transported to John Hunter Hospital, where she died.
Ms Kach had livestreamed the stand-off for hours where she rambled about topics like sovereign citizens, fraud and espionage.
While she appeared to be mostly calm, Ms Kach became visibly upset when police outside her door tried to negotiate.
Ms Kach’s family have disputed police’s version of events, saying they begged for her to receive medical help before she was arrested
‘You’re trespassing, you’re illegal,’ she shouted in the livestream, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘They are terrorists. This is terrorism. Trying to settle on the porch when you’re not invited. What are you going to collect illegal tax revenue? They’re not stating any reason they’re here … I haven’t done anything.
‘I was safe before they arrived.’
It’s unclear who if anyone was watching the footage.
Greens MP and justice spokeswoman Sue Higginson called for a parliamentary inquiry into NSW Police after she obtained four hours of footage from Ms Kach’s livestream leading up to the arrest.
She said the footage showed Ms Kach was scared, alone, unarmed and experiencing a mental health episode while police in riot gear ‘hovered’ on the veranda outside her window.
‘Krista was lying on her bed watching a children’s movie for at least an hour before the police broke into her home,’ Ms Higginson said.
‘You have to ask what the hell was the purpose of the police operation?
‘The police are not equipped to deal with such situations. That’s why we keep seeing vulnerable people killed at the hands of police.’
A 47-year-old woman has died following a nine-hour standoff with police (pictured, tactical officers entering the property)
Ms Kach’s family have disputed police’s version of events, saying they begged for her to receive medical help before she was arrested.
Her family said Ms Kach was stressed because she had been told that day she was being evicted from her home.
It’s understood she had a dispute with her landlord over the barber shop, resulting in her being handed a 14-day eviction notice.
‘We told the police in no uncertain terms that she was not well that day and she needed medical help,’ the family said in a statement.
‘We were assured that the police would look after our mother and that she would be cared for by a hospital and qualified medical professionals.
‘What happened on Thursday was a disturbing and heartbreaking response by the police to a vulnerable person that had been told that she would soon be homeless.’
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said the woman suffered injuries during the confrontation but was able to walk to an ambulance.
‘Shortly thereafter her condition deteriorated. She was taken to John Hunter Hospital and, unfortunately, she later died that evening.’
An autopsy will confirm the woman’s cause of death.
Commissioner McKenna said she had no ‘significant’ history with police with only a ‘minor matter many years ago’ on record.
He did not comment on whether she suffered a mental health episode.
The unit has been declared a crime scene with Homicide Squad officers investigating the incident.
An independent critical investigation of the NSW Police operation is underway.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
The 47-year-old Stockton woman’s death follows the tasering of great-grandmother Clare Nowland.
NSW Police were called to a unit in Stockton following reports of a woman threatening people with an axe (pictured, officers at the scene)