NSW Police have settled a lawsuit brought by a sniper over the failures of command during the Lindt Cafe siege, The Daily Telegraph reports.
In the lawsuit, the chief sniper alleged he and fellow officers were prevented from doing their jobs and the lives of cafe manager Tori Johnson and barrister Katrina Dawson could have been saved.
The civil action filed in April was set for a public hearing next year but has now been settled "confidentially", the newspaper reports.
The officer, who can only be identified as Sierra 3-1, alleged in a 30-page affidavit he had suffered psychological trauma as a result of the decisions taken by his superiors during the siege on December 15, 2014 in which 17 people were taken hostage.
In the final moments of the siege, gunman Man Monis could be seen clearly through the window of the Lindt café holding a shotgun before a hail of bullets cuts through the darkness.
A little after 2am, Monis was seen ushering hostages around the room, never removing the bag police feared contained explosives.
As a group of hostages escaped, a gunshot was heard from inside the café and a nearby police sniper relayed the message to police on the ground.
The window of the café was soon lit up with automatic gunfire and stun grenades from police.
The black flag bearing an Islamic creed still tacked to the glass, bullets flew inside the café as heavily armed officers rushed inside.
The interior of the café was left riddled with bullets and smouldering, intermittent bursts of light illuminating the street.
After 38 seconds of gunfire, Monis and two of his hostages, café owner Tori Johnson and lawyer Katrina Dawson, were dead and the remaining hostages freed.
© AAP 2024