Veteran constable Keith Smith arrived at a rural property in Tasmania on June 16, 2025 to deliver a house repossession order to homeowner Leigh Geoffrey Sushames.
The 57-year-old walked to the front door with colleague Sergeant Gavin Rigby while other specialist police waited further away out of sight.
As the pair approached, they encountered Sushames who was crouched behind a blue Ford Falcon in the carport holding a rifle.
Const Smith asked "how are you mate?" to which Sushames replied "not good".
Sushames then stood up and shot Const Smith twice from virtually point blank range - once in the back and then in the head while he lay defenceless on the ground.
On Friday, Sushames was sentenced to 40 years' jail with a non-parole period of 25 years for the callous, intentional killing.
"He stood no chance against your murderous intent," Justice Tamara Jago told the Supreme Court of Tasmania in Burnie.
"He would not have had time to arm himself or take evasive action. This was a premeditated ambush."
Sushames, now aged 47, had fallen behind on mortgage repayments over years and had ignored contact from his bank which filed a court application against him.
Const Smith and Sgt Rigby visited Sushames in May 2025, telling him they would return on June 16 to carry out the repossession notice.
The job was assessed as low risk, with Sushames previously showing no hostility or aggression towards police.
"(It was) a deadly attack for reasons not clear, but carried out for feelings of misplaced resentment," Justice Jago said.
At a sentencing hearing in May, crown prosecutor Daryl Coates said the shooting was "little more than an execution".
Sushames, who in January pleaded guilty to murder as well as aggravated assault for pointing the gun at Sgt Rigby's head, was under the impression God would "take care" of his mortgage.
In 2024, he told a friend he would kill anyone who tried to take his house off him.
Const Smith, who served for 25 years, has been remembered as a devoted officer who loved his daughter, cycling and a catch-up over a hot brew.
He was farewelled with a police funeral and full ceremonial honours, while a laneway near the station where he worked now carries his name.
"Now that the court process is complete, we hope that Keith can be remembered for the man he was, not the way he was lost," his wife Janaha Smith said.
"Keith's legacy is that policing works best when it is grounded in community, trust and human connection.
"He carried these values into every part of his life."
Since the crime, Sushames has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of a difficult upbringing which included witnessing the death of his brother as a child.
He twice received professional help for psychosis in the early 2000s and his gun licence was suspended in 2016 on mental health grounds.
But this didn't reduce his moral culpability, Justice Jago said, adding she had no further information about why his licence was suspended.
Sushames had shown remorse but the crime was a grave case of murder, she said.
Tasmania Police Commissioner Donna Adams said Const Smith's loss would forever be felt.
"No sentence will ever make up for the fact that Keith was so cruelly taken from those who love him," she said.
"I want to acknowledge Keith's family who have become important members of our blue family.
"We continue to stand beside them, just as we stand beside each other."
Police had prepared appropriately for the delivery of the repossession order, Justice Jago said.
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