A man is dead after falling from a multistorey apartment complex while police were responding to a domestic violence incident.

NSW Police have now declared it a critical incident and have revealed new details in the lead up to the man’s death.

Officers were called to the unit on Hamilton Road, Fairfield in Sydney’s southwest about 2.10am on Saturday by a female resident reporting a family violence incident.

“She was fearful. There was a male on the balcony of the premises that was agitated and intoxicated, ” NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden told reporters on Saturday afternoon.

Mr McFadden said police arrived within minutes to find a distressing scene.

Police arrived to find the man on the ledge of balcony. Picture: NewsWire/ Monique Harmer

Officer tried to de-escalate the situation, speaking to the man from the street. Picture: NewsWire/ Monique Harmer
“On getting out of their vehicles and approaching the unit block, they saw a 55-year-old man on the balcony of the seventh floor of the unit block,” Mr McFadden said.

“The man had straddled the balcony, the ledge, and placed himself in a position on the outside of the building.

“Simultaneously, police started negotiating and pleading with the male to go back onto the safe side of the balcony.”

The incident took a fatal turn when the man lost his grip on the building. Picture: NewsWire/ Monique Harmer
Moments later the incident took a fatal turn.

“While police were then travelling up the stairs to get to the seventh floor, at 2.21 a.m, the male lost his grip on the outside of the building and fell to the ground in front of the police,” Mr McFadden said.

NSW Ambulance paramedics treated the man for critical head injuries however he died at the scene.

A 46-year-old woman – who was inside the unit – was assessed by paramedics for shock and minor injuries.

It is unclear whether the woman had suffered the injuries prior to the incident or if they were pre-existing.

Investigations into the incident are continuing. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard
Mr McFadden said an AVO was in place but it did not specifically prevent contact between the man and the woman.

“The critical incident investigation team have been engaging extensively with the 46-year-old woman,” he said.

“As you would appreciate in the circumstances, the shock and trauma that she’s experiencing is a factor that we are managing at the same time.” 

A crime scene was established and a critical incident team is investigating police actions during the incident.

The investigation will be subject of an independent review by the Professional Standards Command and oversight by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission.