Police blasted by coroner in island report
Amanda Watt in Townsville
September 27, 2006 03:00pm
Article from: The Courier Mail
For a full copy of the report in PDF format go to:
http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/courts/coron...runji270906.pdfA POLICE officer should never have arrested a Palm Island man, and should never have hit him in an assault that led to his death, a damning Palm Island coroner's report has found.
The report, by Acting State Coroner Christine Clements, was delivered today in the wake of riots two years ago by Aborigines following the November 2004 death-in-custody of Mulrunji, 36.
The riots were sparked by the anger felt by Palm Island residents towards police over Mulrunji's death.
In her report today, deputy coroner Chris Clement berated not only berated the handling of Mulrunji by police, she attributed his death to an assault by the Officer-In-Chargeon the island, Snr Sgt Chritopher Hurley.
She said any decision to charge Snr Sgt Hurley was a matter for the State Director of Public Prosecutions.
"I emphasize that any decision to prosecute rests solely with other authorities," she said.
She also berated the subsequent internal police investigation: she found that the police sent to Palm Island to investigate Mulrunji's death lacked objectivity and independence.
In her report, Ms Clements said police should never have arrested Mulrunji -- they had learnt nothing from the Royal Commission into Deaths in Custody, and hadn't even bothered to administer CPR when Mulrunji was close to death.
"The arrest of Mulrunji was not an appropriate exercise of police discretion. There were a range of alternatives to arrest available that should have been preferred," Acting State Coroner Christine Clements said.
"He was a fit, healthy man . . He was not a trouble maker and had never been arrested on the island.
"It is reprehensible that the detailed recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody should have to be referred to, so many years after the Royal Commission. The evidence is clear however that these recommendations are still apt and still ignored.''
She also found that Mulrunji's death was the direct result of him being assaulted by the officer-in-charge on the Island, Senior Sergeant Christopher Hurley.
The Queensland Police Union has responded to these damning findings and QPU president Gary Wilkinson's response is presented as audio on this website.
Sergeant Hurley arrested Mulrunji who was drunk while he was attending to an unrelated issue at a home in Palm Island and after a drunk Mulrunji queried why an Aboriginal police officer was arresting another Aborigine.
Ms Clements found that Mulrunji's comments were a minor matter and could have been dealt with by the officer cautioning him or, if he wanted to arrest him, with a notice to appear.
She found that Mulrunji and Snr Sgt Hurley had a struggle at the police station and Mulrinji punched him on the jaw and the pair fell..
Ms Clements found that Snr Sgt Hurley's version of events that the pair both fell in different directions was inconsistent with medical evidence that Mulrunji had suffered 'trauma' that was so bad that his liver was cleved in two because of a compression force on his abdomen.
She found that Sen Sgt Hurley hit Mulrunji a number of times in response to his hit and the fall and these actions by Snr Sgt Hurnely caused the fatal injuries that killed Mulrinji.
"Senior Sergeant Hurley did respond to Mulrunji's punch by himself punching Mulrunji . . . I reject Senior Sergeant Hurley's denial as untruthful.'', Ms Clements said.
"I find that Senior Sergeant Hurley hit Mulrunji whilst he was on the floor a number of times in a direct response to himself having been hit in the jaw and then falling to the floor.'
`"I conclude that these actions of Senior Sergeant Hurley caused the fatal injuries.''
Ms Clements said that the police treatment of Mulrinji after the assault was 'woeful', that the checks on his health and welbeing while in a cell were inadequate, and when it was discovered that he could be dead, no CPR was done whatsoever.
She said the initial police investigation of Mulrinji's death was lacking in objectivity and independence.
"It is reprehensible that the initial police investigations into the death were so obviously lacking in transperency, objectivity and independence."
``It is to be hoped that Mulrunji's tragic death may yet lead to some positive changes and reduce the likelihood of similar deaths in custody.
``It is regrettable that even in these proceedings some senior police officers have not been prepared to acknowledge the lack of sensitivity shown in the investigation and how it must damage public confidence."
Ms Clements made also multiple recommendations for internal police reform.
She said police needed to review their training for police officers, and the way they investigated deaths-in-custody.
She said the fact Snr Sgt Hurley picked up the investigators from the airport, took them back to his place, and had dinner with them was one example, and the way police dealt with the community after the death was another.
She said the investigators didn't recognise that their social interaction with Hurley and their comforting of him were a problem and didn't do anything about it.
Ms Clements did not have any problem with the subsequent investigation by the Crime and Misconduct Division, once its investigators arrived at the island.
She recommended manditory first-aid training for watchhouse staff, and that the State Government consider setting up a diversionary centre on Palm Island as an alternative to the watch house.
She also recommended the government consider a community patrol on Palm Island.
Palm Island Mayor Erykah Kyle said the community now expected that this officer was now coming to the end of his police career.
"We hope that justice is going to be done for all Australians; that police officers misusing power have to be judged in the same way as everyone else in this country," said indigenous activist Grace Smallwood who sat through the findings.
``We are very pleased and she was extremely courageous and we are very grateful that this has happened and we want an outcome and we all know what the outcome hopefully will be becuase there's too much public, national and international scrutiny on this case.