Clint Eastwood used to thrill movie-goers with "Dirty Harry" Callahan, a police inspector who blew bad guys away with his .44 Magnum to make the streets safe. Of course it was enjoyable, because it was entertainment. But has life imitated art, and have Queensland police become too quick to use their firearms? Five recent shootings in two months suggest that might be so.

The fact is, more people have been shot and killed by police in Queensland in the last two months, than were shot and killed by criminals in the whole twelve months beforehand.

In the latest incident on Monday night, a man was shot after allegedly coming at officers with a knife. The night before, a man was shot by police on the Sunshine Coast after allegedly threatening them with a metal pole. He was shot three times in the chest.

There have been three other police shootings since September 29, and in total four people have died. One man survived in spite of being shot in the head.