Man who shot police officer, guard at Sydney hospital found not guilty
A "completely delusional" ice user who shot a police officer and security guard at a Sydney hospital's emergency department has been found not guilty by reason of mental impairment.
Michael de Guzman on Tuesday was found not guilty in the NSW District Court of 11 charges including shooting dog squad officer Sergeant Luke Warburton with intent to murder at Nepean Hospital in January 2016.
The police officer was shot with his own gun as he tried to take scissors from the hand of de Guzman, who had seconds earlier held a doctor hostage and made threats to kill.
The court was last week shown the moment negotiations gave way to chaos, when de Guzman grabbed the officer's gun, sending hospital staff scattering.
Out of shot, the 41-year-old had been holding scissors to the neck of doctor Ma Guinto before a scuffle ensued.
He grabbed Sergeant Warburton's Glock 22 from its holster and fired twice.
The first shot severed a major vein in the policeman's leg while the second struck a security guard in the shin.
Forty minutes of CCTV footage was shown at the trial.
Sergeant Luke Warburton has testified he thought he was going to die and still believes he would have died if he had been shot anywhere other than the hospital ward.
The CCTV footage shows Sergeant Warburton being pulled along the ground to safety, leaving metres of blood trails behind him.
He is back working part-time in the police force but has had 14 surgeries on his leg and suffers from foot drop.
Audio was also played to the court last week taken from a police body-worn camera after the shooting.
Across the four minutes, a man - identified as de Guzman - can be heard saying "I am dying" and "I'm going dizzy, I'm dead" among incoherent yelling.
De Guzman also says "they're stabbing me" to which a male voice replies "we're not stabbing you, mate".
On Tuesday, Judge Christopher Robison found although the man had used the drug ice for years, he'd returned negative readings prior to the incident and was exhibiting delusions at the time of the shooting.
AAP
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