Hero Lindt Café cop recalls tragedy 10 years on, calls for national trauma inquiry for first responders

The police officer who stormed the Lindt Café in Sydney 10 years ago, killing terrorist Man Haron Monis, is advocating for a national trauma inquiry for first responders.

Ben Besant had a suppression order on his identity lifted last month, meaning he was now able to tell his story publicly for the first time.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Calls for national trauma inquiry for first responders.

It’s a move he hopes will help him and others dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

“It has been very important to me to get my name back,” Besant told Weekend Sunrise on Sunday morning.

“I want to share my story, not only what happened on the day, and the brave actions of every TAU officer, but also to share my journey with PTSD and my method of going about fighting it.

“I want to get out there to help as many other PTSD suffers as I can.”

Man Monis took eight staff members and 10 customers hostage inside the café on Martin Pl in Sydney’s CBD on the morning of December 15, 2014.

At 2.13am the next morning, café manager, Tori Johnson, 34, was shot dead by Monis, prompting police officers to storm the café.

Sydney mum, Katrina Dawson, 38, died when she was hit by fragments of police bullets.

Besant said he held her as she took her last breath.

“It’s the most difficult moment of my life,” he said. “It’s a moment I’ll always remember.”

Besant said his PTSD symptoms were ongoing for many years, resulting in the breakdown of his marriage and landing him in a psychiatric hospital, where he said he was living in denial of his PTSD.

“I got to a point where I met a psychologist that I trusted and worked closely with,” he said.

“I’ve never allowed anyone or anything to defeat me, and PTSD became my new challenge.”

Besant said he dropped his inhibitions and tried things he never thought he would, including yoga, breathing techniques and meditation.

“I applied myself 100 per cent to it, and would encourage anyone with PTSD to do (the same).“

After years of work, Besant says he is now on top of his PTSD, and has brought his symptoms to a point he can live with.

Now, he is calling for a national trauma inquiry and advocating for other first responders.

“There needs to be a serious discussion,” Besant said.

“It hasn’t been taken seriously, police officers, including myself, you feel like you’re just another number despite giving such a big part of your life to the job.

“You can’t beat it on your own, I tried for many years and I couldn’t.”