A 'deeply affected' policeman who shot dead a crazed Tinder stalker after he stabbed his ex-girlfriend says he wished he could swap spots with the knifeman.
Police opened fire on Paul Dennis Lambert, 36, at the end of a high-speed chase after he violently attacked Angela Jay and doused her in petrol at her Port Macquarie home in NSW in 2016.
Officers managed to force Lambert off the Pacific Highway near Coffs Harbour after chasing him 150km along the stretch of road.
Lambert then lunged at police before he was shot.
Paul Dennis Lambert, 36, was shot at the end of a high-speed police pursuit after he stabbed his ex-girlfriend and doused her in petrol at her Port Macquarie home in NSW in 2016
Police managed to force Lambert off the Pacific Highway near Coffs Harbour after chasing him 150km along the stretch of road (pictured, Angela Jay)
Acting State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan ruled shooting Lambert was unavoidable given his actions and said it 'deeply affected' the officers who pulled the trigger.
'Senior Constable Damien Buckley said he reflects on the death every day and desperately wishes that there could have been a different outcome and that he could have ''sent Paul home'' to his family,' the judgement reads.
'He even said he wishes he could have ''swapped spots'' with Mr Lambert.'
A NSW coronial inquest found police had no choice but to shoot dead the 'toxic' Tinder stalker.
'I do not consider there was any available alternative to lethal force,' Coroner O'Sullivan said.
'Senior Constable Damien Buckley (pictured in purple) said he reflects on the death every day and desperately wishes that there could have been a different outcome and that he could have ''sent Paul home'' to his family,' the judgement reads
Acting State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan ruled shooting Lambert was unavoidable given his actions and it 'deeply affected' the officers who pulled the trigger, the coroner found
Lambert was on parole at the time of the attack after he assaulted his previous partner in Queensland.
Coroner O'Sullivan said the only other way Lambert could have been stopped from attacking Dr Jay is if communication was better between Queensland and NSW.
She said Lambert had been in breach of his parole conditions when he lived in NSW.
Had Queensland Police issued an arrest warrant, Lambert could have been arrested when he was pulled over for speeding only a few days before the attack happened against Dr Jay.
The relationship, which lasted less than two months, deteriorated after Lambert became 'controlling and possessive', threatened suicide, lied about deaths and created a false identity, findings by the NSW Coroner released on Friday reveal
Included in his history of brief dates was Emmy award-winning TV reporter Brittany Ann Keil, 32
Though Coroner O'Sullivan said it wasn't her role to examine the state's parole system.
Lambert began dating mid north Coast doctor Angela Jay long-distance after matching with her on Tinder in August 2016.
The relationship, which lasted less than two months, deteriorated after Lambert became 'controlling and possessive', threatened suicide, lied about deaths and created a false identity, findings by the NSW Coroner released on Friday reveal.
But Lambert's 'insidious' manipulations were part of a much larger history of abuse against women, Coroner O'Sullivan found.
Included in his history of brief dates was Emmy award-winning TV reporter Brittany Ann Keil, 32.
Though his 'erratic' behaviour forced Keil to end the short-lived relationship.
He was the subject of 10 apprehended violence orders from five separate women, including his former wife.
Former workmates of Lambert said the man had struggled with mental illness, and described him as 'not right in the head' and said he told them he had been 'hearing voices'
Lambert broke into Dr Jay's home at Port Macquarie (pictured), ambushing and stabbing her 11 times in the chest, arms and legs days later on November 3
He was deported from the United States in 2015 for extorting a woman he dated while married.
He claimed diagnoses of psychological disorders including multiple personalities - up to nine at once - including 'evil Paul'.
Former workmates of Lambert said
