Some witnesses to the shooting say otherwise, though, and this act of aggression doesn't fit with the sweet, sensitive, but troubled young man that Elijah's family and friends knew him to be. The shooting devastates Elijah's family and the police officer alike. So what happened in that Armidale laneway and how could it have been avoided? Waiting for Elijah is the culmination of journalist Kate Wild's six-year investigation an investigation that not only seeks to answer these questions, but also poses some vitally important ones of its own- Why is it still taboo to talk about mental illness in our society? Is it fair to expect police to be first responders in mental health crises? If the community insists this job belongs to police, how can these interactions be improved? Written with clear-eyed compassion and a compelling narrative drive, Waiting for Elijah is an account of a tragedy that didn't have to happen. It is also an intense, forensic deconstruction of the extended legal proceedings that followed, and a heartbreaking portrait of a family's grief. Rich, Andrew. | Holcombe, Elijah. | Police shootings -- New South Wales -- Armidale -- Case studies. | Mentally ill -- New South Wales -- Biography. | Mental illness -- New South Wales -- Biography. | Police services for the mentally ill -- New South Wales. | Mentally ill -- Care -- New South Wales. | Mentally ill offenders -- New South Wales -- Case studies. | Police -- Complaints against -- New South Wales. | Police shootings -- New South Wales -- Armidale -- Case studies. | Australian