Bondi hero police officer faces devastating health battle
The police officer credited with saving lives in the Bondi Junction stabbings faces her own battle, it has been revealed.
NSW Inspector Amy Scott has been diagnosed with an aggressive and rare form of breast cancer, it emerged on Monday.
“She is so important for NSW and our community and I’m devastated to hear this news. If anyone deserves a break it is Amy and we wish her the very best, she is an absolute champion,” NSW Premier Chris Minns said, adding that Scott was “a genuine, bonafide Australian hero, someone we owe a huge debt of gratitude to”.
Scott was the first police officer to arrive on the scene after Joel Cauchi, armed with a 30-centimetre long knife, embarked on a stabbing rampage at the Westfield at Sydney’s Bondi Junction on April 13, 2024.
He killed six people and wounded more than 10 others, including a nine-month-old baby, in the indiscriminate attack.
Scott, who was on her own as she entered the shopping centre, pursued the 40-year-old.
She warned bystanders to get out of the way as she prepared to use her gun. Then, as Cauchi ran towards her with his knife, she shot him twice. He died at the scene.
Scott gave harrowing evidence at the coronial inquest into the attack last year.
“I actually felt nauseous as I ran in because in my head I resigned myself to the fact that I was probably going to die,” she told the court.
Asked what was going through her mind as she fired the first shot, she said: “That he was going to kill me.”
Amy Scott calls for help after shooting Joel Cauchi to halt his stabbing spree at Westfield Bondi.
Scott told the hearing that Cauchi continued advancing towards her even after she hit him with her first shot.
“He just turned and started running at me,” she said.
After Cauchi fell, Scott took his knife from beneath his body and gave him first aid.
Cauchi had been diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teen and had been successfully treated until 2019 when he stopped his medication.
His family later said that Scott “was only doing her job to protect others”.
The mother-of-two was awarded the NSW Police Commissioner’s Valour Award and praised by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minns.
Scott’s health battle was revealed in a fundraising appeal on the NSW Police Legacy website.
“Our beautiful friend and colleague, Inspector Amy Scott, has recently been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of breast cancer,” the site says.
“Beyond her dedicated service to the community, Amy is a devoted wife, a loving mother of two young boys, and has a family who depend on her and walk this journey beside her every day.
“Amy is widely known as selfless, compassionate, and one of the kindest people you could ever meet. She is every bit the remarkable human you would think. She is fiercely independent and the first to champion others.”
The organisation’s funding appeal had smashed through its $25,000 goal within two hours and reached $50,000 by 12.30pm on Monday.
NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley said Scott had been one of the first to call in to offer help after two gunmen opened fire on Bondi Beach in mid-December, killing 15 people.
“Amy is the epitome of the brilliance of the NSW Police Force. The whole police family are suffering at the moment with the knowledge of her diagnosis. We wish her and her family well,” she said.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said Scott was “surrounded by the unwavering love and support of the entire NSW Police force”.
“Amy is a valued member of the Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command, and her colleagues have rallied around her,” he said.
“Despite everything Amy is facing, she continues to show the remarkable person that she is by going out of her way to support her workmates, regularly coming into the station to offer comfort and assistance to those impacted by the recent Bondi terror attack.”
