TRIGGER POINT is a powerful two-part series examining the use of deadly force by police and the massive fallout that occurs when one human being takes the life of another in the course of doing their job. It airs Sunday 1 and 8 June at 9.30pm on ABC1.
Episode 1 focuses on an episode of violent social history in Australia – the 1980s and 90s when police in Victoria went to war against violent criminals. It features interviews with members who served in the Armed Robbery and Major Crime Squads during those years; they have never spoken publicly about the killings before.
Episode 2 documents the public and judicial response to the infamous Walsh Street killings, in which two young police constables were ambushed and gunned down in cold blood. The killings sparked changes to police operational training and dramatically reduced the number of police shootings. It also examines one of the most controversial police shootings in recent history, that of 15-year-old Tyler Cassidy. For the first time, two of the officers who had fired on the teenager speak frankly about the events of that tragic day in 2008.
TRIGGER POINT is presented by journalist and author John Silvester, and co-produced and directed by Terry Carlyon
TERRY CARLYON ACS
Terry Carlyon is an award-winning Australian documentary filmmaker specialising in social issues. Over 35 years, he has produced, directed and/or photographed many television and cinema productions worldwide. His programs have tackled issues including: HIV/Aids, euthanasia ethics, racial injustice, police corruption and murder, parental child abduction, victims of crime, environmental issues, the homeless, child abuse, the road toll, war and its after effects, corporate morality and the prison system. Trigger Point is his third collaboration with John Silvester.
JOHN SILVESTER
John Silvester is an award-winning crime writer and has reported widely on shootings involving police for more than 30 years. From 1978 until 1993 he worked for the Sun News Pictorial and Herald Sun. He then moved to the Sunday Age and Age and currently writes The Saturday Age’s weekly crime column ‘Naked City’. With collaborator Andrew Rule he has written, edited and published more than 30 true crime books including the Underbelly series adapted into the television franchise of the same name. One of their first books was The Silent War – an examination of police shootings in Victoria published in 1995. John has worked with director Terry Carlyon on previous documentary productions about police, notably ‘The Brotherhood’ (2003 SBS Cutting Edge) and ‘Dead Famous’ (2009 ABC).