Top cop defends Bondi Beach officer accused of ‘surrendering’ to terrorists — reveals what she was really doing

The highest‑ranking police officer in Sydney has stepped forward to defend a female officer who was photographed with her hands up after the Bondi Beach shooting. Online mobs had accused her of “surrendering” to the armed gunmen, but the commissioner’s statement clarified that the image was taken completely out of context.

A new timeline now shows that the officers brought the father‑son gunmen down in about six minutes, rather than the ten‑to‑twenty minutes that were originally reported.

In a broadcast on 2GB Sydney, NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon slammed the misinformation that spread when the photo went viral, pointing out that the officer’s hands were raised to urge the public to keep moving and to prevent further harm.

The officer and her partner arrived early at the Bondi Beach scene, were fired upon, and a bullet hole later appeared on the windshield of their car. Lanyon said the officer thought she was in imminent danger yet still performed her duties, moving quickly to help evacuate people and to direct them away from the massacre—action that was captured on camera.

Trolls on social media cropped the image to claim the officer was “freezing” and giving up to the gunmen. The full photo shows her walking in front of civilians near the site, telling them to clear the scene.

“That type of misinformation, taken out of context, is incredibly harmful,” Lanyon warned. He added that such false narratives can push officers to leave the force because they feel unsupported.

Australian police have faced severe backlash after the Sunday killings, with witnesses blaming officers for not intervening quickly enough. Lanyon and NSW Premier Chris Minns have defended the officers, saying they acted courageously and appropriately to take down the shooters.

A study by the Australian Financial Review found that police responded almost immediately. The first shots from the department were recorded about five minutes after the gunmen started shooting, with officers firing back at 24‑year‑old Naveed Akram, the AFR reports.

At that moment, Akram’s father, 50‑year‑old Sajid, was seen hobbling beside his son on the footbridge, after having been disarmed by local hero Ahmed al Ahmed. Sajid was later fatally shot by police and fell to the ground, while Akram was also shot and detained moments later.

In total, 103 shots were fired during the chaotic scene, about 83 of which were attributed to the gunmen, according to the AFR and an audio analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.

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