NSW Police shot Western Sydney man Bradley Balzan after stopping him for wearing a hoodie

A young man died a violent death in his own backyard. Some are calling it "the worst outcome imaginable of proactive policing".Three loud bangs ring out, and Adam Balzan wakes with a feeling of dread.

Adam asks who was shot. "He told me he didn't know," Adam says, in an interview with Background Briefing.The officer tells Adam he has to leave. His house is now a crime scene. More police arrive. There are helicopters landing in the park across the road, and sirens everywhere. It's chaos. They said officers stopped Brad while he was walking home from the shops because he was "acting suspiciously"."At the time it made me angry," she says.

The inquest has put a spotlight on the controversial practice of "proactive policing" in NSW, and how police officers choose who gets stopped, and who gets to walk away.First, there's Brad's front yard in St Marys, captured on the house's CCTV cameras. Brad walks up the street.Loading...A few minutes later, an unmarked Silver Hyundai cruises around the corner and four plain-clothes officers step out.

These accounts are important because for police to lawfully stop and search someone, they need to have grounds to suspect a person might have committed an offence. Adding to their suspicion was Brad's response to their approach. Officer C said that after initially ignoring her, Brad turned around and said "f*** off" and "I'm sick of this shit" before walking away.

"Perhaps if they're wearing a balaclava and they're about to walk into a service station with a crowbar in their hand." He said Brad then got to his knees, picked up a shovel and moved to strike Officer B. But Officer B told the inquest he doesn't recall ever seeing this happen.

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