THE partner of a policeman who gunned down a man in a north Brisbane back yard has told a coroner he did not see a replica pistol as it was "cleared" from the injured man's body.
Protheroe, 36, died after being shot multiple times by plain clothes Constable Thomas Hess in the Bracken Ridge back yard of Krystal Sinn's home on April 17.
Constable Hess and partner detective Senior-Constable Troy Weston wanted to speak with Protheroe in relation to outstanding charges before the shooting at Ivor St.
Sen-Constable Weston told State Coroner Michael Barnes yesterday he confirmed Protheroe was armed after seeing a black gun lying in the grass.
He told the court he "assumed" Constable Hess moved the gun after the shooting but didn't see it because there had been so much going on.
Sen-Constable Weston said he "vaguely" remembered his partner bending down and moving the gun, even though he was standing over Protheroe to "cover" his colleague at the time.
"I'm assuming he's moved it away from Mr Protheroe's body," he said.
"I can't be sure."
The court heard Sen-Constable Weston initially made no reference to Protheroe wielding a gun during a taped police interview on April 17, which was replayed to the court.
Around half an hour into the interview, Sen-Constable Weston told his superiors he saw Protheroe run around with a "black item" in his hand but "didn't see it properly".
Counsel assisting Peter Johns said there was a record of Sen-Constable Weston trying to ring Constable Hess around 6pm on the day of the shooting but the call went unanswered.
Sen-Constable Weston said he may have dialled his partner by mistake.
He told the court he saw Protheroe "jumping and turning" as he was shot and queried whether he was diving for cover behind a concrete incinerator.
Sen-Constable Weston relayed that his partner yelled out "drop the gun" to Protheroe moments earlier.
He said he saw Protheroe holding a "black object" he assumed was a firearm at chest height towards Constable Hess, who was in the car port.
QPS ballistics expert Sgt Brett Meara said the gun allegedly brandished by Protheroe was identified as a replica pistol as early as 2.10pm on April 17.
He said two bullets struck Protheroe - one in the upper arm and the other in the lower back - one went through a fence paling and hit a sewer vent stack in the neighbour's yard and the fourth could not be found.
Sgt Meara said Protheroe would have been more than 1.75m from the shooter.
He mapped out numerous possible paths the bullet could have travelled using scientific calculation and "string-line" tests but said it was "impossible to recreate exactly what was at the scene" given the number of variables.
He told the court the location Ms Sinn indicated where the shooter had been, slightly outside of the carport near to an incinerator, would have been at "the absolute maximum value" of his calculations.
Sgt Meara said it was "more probable" the shooter was standing within the car port area identified by the two police officers.
A warrant for Ms Sinn's arrest was issued after she failed to show yesterday - allegedly due to ill health - to face cross-examination of her evidence in March that Protheroe was unarmed.
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