THE Firearms Branch was told not to examine a potentially lifesaving tethering device during a four-year legal battle until a third person had turned the gun upon himself at a city firing range.

Chief Superintendent Paul Ralphs, the then head of the Firearms Branch, said they were working together with Marksman Indoor Firing Range to “explore” a tethering system after recommendations from an inquest investigating two people who took their lives at the range in 2008 and 2009.

Then-Chief Inspector Ralphs had suspended any development of the tethering system, pending a District Court appeal into the cancellation of Markman’s licences, even though the owner Andrew Marks had a prototype ready to be inspected in early 2012.

He said he had acted upon legal advice by the Crown Solicitor’s office and was under the impression the delay would only “take a short span of time”.

But State Coroner Mark Johns questioned why Chief Supt Ralphs thought the appeal against a “commercial range in the CBD” would take a similar amount of time to the licence cancellation of an individual.

“You were a senior officer ... working on budgets ... so you’d understand the financial impact of the significant commercial enterprise in the CBD,” Mr Johns said.

Adelaide's Lunchtime Newsbyte 21st February 17 Adelaide's Lunchtime Newsbyte 21st February 17

Chief Supt Ralphs conceded the appeal would have taken “weeks or months” but when asked if he was concerned that a suicide happened during the almost four-year long legal battle would “blow back on SAPOL”, he said: “I certainly know that my conduct would be under scrutiny”.

The tethering system was approved after Mr Johns questioned police why it had taken four years to inspect the device last year.

Mr Johns is investigating the death of Brenton Winton McConnal, 47, who turned a gun on himself at Marksman Indoor Firing Range in December 2015.

When asked if Chief Supt Ralphs knew the Firearms Branch received daily a list of court-imposed orders — including intervention orders — which specify firearms prohibition conditions, Chief Supt Ralph said he was aware but did not fully know the details.

He said he couldn’t recall if the list including court-imposed orders would have been passed on to Marksman but agreed if Marksman had been notified of the list, Mr McConnal might not have been allowed to enter the range.

The inquest heard on Tuesday Mr McConnal was under mental health order conditions not to use a firearm or obtain a firearms licence.