Court asked to consider whether the coroner has jurisdiction to examine Shipley’s arrest
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The actions of New South Wales police during the arrest of an Indigenous woman who later died in custody should be examined, given officers did not identify her “acute mental illness”, a court has heard.
Tammy Shipley died in prison while being held on remand at Silverwater women’s correctional centre in December 2022.
Continue reading...Philip Urquhart tells the inquest into the 16-year-old’s fatal self-harming that the state justice department failed in its duty of care
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Everything must be done to ensure no more children die in youth detention, a coroner has told an inquest into the death of an Indigenous teenager, including closing down the controversial prison unit where he fatally self-harmed.
Cleveland Dodd was found unresponsive inside a cell in Unit 18, a youth wing of the high-security adult facility Casuarina prison in Perth, in the early hours of 12 October 2023.
Continue reading...The 16-year-old was subject to ‘institutional abuse’ by WA justice department staff, coroner in Perth hears
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An Indigenous teenager who fatally self-harmed in detention was subjected to “cruel and inhumane” treatment, a lawyer for his family said after the inquest into his death resumed.
Cleveland Dodd was found unresponsive inside a cell in Unit 18, a youth wing of the high-security Casuarina prison facility for adults in Perth, in the early hours of 12 October 2023.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Lawyer for 24-year-old’s family ask NT police to ‘appoint independent body from another state or territory to undertake investigation’ after Alice Springs death
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An independent investigator must be appointed to examine the death of a Warlpiri man in police custody, family members say, while also demanding video footage be released.
The 24-year-old man with disabilities from Yuendemu died on Tuesday afternoon after police restrained him in an Alice Springs supermarket.
Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
Continue reading...Two Met officers denied hearing Clarke say ‘I can’t breathe’ before he died under restraint in 2018
The family of a black man who died after being restrained by police officers who denied having heard him say “I can’t breathe” have condemned the police discipline system after two officers were cleared of gross misconduct.
Kevin Clarke, 35, died while in police custody in 2018, with the restraint having lasted more than 30 minutes.
Continue reading...Justice campaigners say 580 Aboriginal deaths since 1991 royal commission point to ‘gross overrepresentation’ in system
Twenty-two Indigenous people have died in custody in just 11 months, according to national data collated by the Australian Institute of Criminology, with justice advocates saying deaths that should spark a “national outcry” are being met with silence.
That means at least 580 Aboriginal people have died in police or prison custody since 1991 – when the royal commission into the matter handed down its final report – according to the AIC’s National Deaths in Custody database, which tracks Indigenous deaths in prison, police custody and youth detention.
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Continue reading...Mother of Dwayne Johnstone urges government ministers to ‘take note’ of coroner’s recommendation ‘so no one else has to go through it’
The death of an unarmed Indigenous man who was shot while fleeing custody has prompted a coroner to recommend an urgent review of laws governing the use of firearms by correctional officers.
Dwayne Johnstone, a 43-year-old Wiradjuri man, was shot dead outside Lismore Base hospital as he ran in leg shackles and handcuffs from a prison van after receiving medical treatment on 15 March 2019.
Continue reading...Ms Dhu died two days after being locked up at police station after arrest for unpaid fines of $3,622
Western Australia’s police chief has formally apologised to the family and community of a 22-year-old Aboriginal woman who died in custody a decade ago.
Yamatji woman Ms Dhu, whose first name has not been used for cultural reasons, died two days after being locked up at South Hedland police station on 4 August 2014.
Continue reading...Police at Gablecross police station declared detainee dead early on Sunday and have referred incident to police watchdog
A man in his 30s has died while in custody at a police station in Swindon, Wiltshire police said. He had been in custody at Gablecross police station since Saturday morning, and became unwell on Sunday morning.
He was declared dead at about 9am on Sunday, the force added. The incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Continue reading...Exclusive: Victorian senator criticises lack of monitoring of royal commission recommendations and demands ‘tangible and achievable action’
An alliance of parliamentary crossbenchers has backed a call from senator Lidia Thorpe for the federal government to urgently address long called for reforms in landmark reports on Indigenous deaths in custody and child removals.
Thorpe, the Victorian independent, said the Australian Human Rights Commission should be empowered to oversee progress on the key Closing the Gap measures.
Continue reading...After 11-year wait for inquest into his death in custody, relatives say Devon and Cornwall police still need to admit mistakes
One of the most poignant moments for Alison Orchard came when she was sorting out her son Thomas’s room after his fatal collapse while in police custody.
Over the years, Thomas Orchard had experienced mental health problems and had not been allowed to fulfil one of his ambitions: to drive.
Continue reading...Thomas Orchard died a week after a mental health crisis in which police put an ‘emergency response belt’ over his face
Prolonged use of a heavy webbing belt by police over the face of a vulnerable man during a mental health crisis may have contributed to his death, an inquest jury has concluded.
The way officers used the belt on church caretaker Thomas Orchard would have hampered his ability to breathe and increased his stress levels, the jury said.
Continue reading...Sobering-up facility not completed, emergency workers unclear about their role in new scheme – and it begins on Melbourne Cup Day
It’s been almost six years since Tanya Day hopped on a train to Melbourne but never made it to the city.
The 55-year-old Yorta Yorta woman was arrested for being drunk in public on 5 December 2017 after she fell asleep. She was placed in a police cell to sober up, suffered a head injury and later died.
Continue reading...There is ‘a lot of anxiety’ in the Western Downs where at least 16 houses have been destroyed, the mayor says. Follow the day’s news live
Civilians in the blockaded Gaza Strip will receive an extra $15m in humanitarian aid from the Australian government.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese made the announcement at a joint press conference with US president Joe Biden.
The plaintiff served years in prison that he otherwise would not have. At no stage did Victoria Police take positive steps to remedy its wrongdoing by expeditiously informing the plaintiff of Gobbo’s conduct in order to quash his conviction. Victoria Police has not apologised to the plaintiff.
Starting this court case is a significant moment for me. I am anxious about the future but also cautiously optimistic about finally holding police to account for what they did to me.
In the pursuit of justice, vindication came first, and now I see compensation as a measure of accountability.
Continue reading...Selesa Tafaifa, 45, died in November 2021 after being restrained by staff at Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre
Selesa Tafaifa told Queensland prison guards four times that she couldn’t breathe and pleaded for her asthma medication six times before dying in custody, a coronial inquest has heard.
Tafaifa, a 45-year-old Samoan woman, died in November 2021 after being restrained by staff at the Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre and placed in a spit hood.
Continue reading...Inquests flag up gaps in the care of prisoners in relation to at least nine deaths in custody since 2021
Prison understaffing and workload issues have been flagged in at least nine inquests into deaths in custody since the start of 2021, according to an Observer analysis of coroners’ reports.
Issues raised include gaps in monitoring of prisoners due to understaffing, a lack of prison-based clinical staff and shortcomings in the keyworker programme. Coroners have also repeatedly identified problems with staff training and the assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) process for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm.
Continue reading...IOPC apologises ‘unreservedly’ to Marcia Rigg, whose brother Sean died after being restrained in Brixton
The police watchdog has apologised “unreservedly” to the sister of a black man who died in police custody in London 15 years ago.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct apologised to Marcia Rigg, whose brother Sean died after losing consciousness at Brixton police station, for delays and police failings. She said she hoped that no other family would have to endure her family’s “never-ending trauma”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: MPs urged to implement Poccum’s law, named in honour of First Nations woman who died in a cell while on remand
The family of First Nations woman Veronica Nelson has urged the Victorian government to “listen to [her] cries for help” and go further with its proposed changes to bail laws, which will be debated in parliament this week.
Nelson died alone in a Melbourne prison cell while on remand in January 2020 after her calls for help went unanswered. The 37-year-old Gunditjmara, Dja Dja Wurrung, Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta woman had been arrested for shoplifting and refused bail before her death.
Continue reading...‘I want to see the day when deaths in custody stop,’ says nephew of David Dungay Jr, who died in police custody in 2015
Indigenous deaths in custody must stop rather than just be counted, families and advocates say as the government announced a real-time database to collect all custodial deaths as they happen.
The federal government revealed the new deaths in custody reporting system on Wednesday, with states and territories agreeing to provide more up-to-date figures on people dying in state and territory watch-houses, police stations, prisons and detention centres.
Continue reading...New data dashboard to provide up-to-date information supplied by states and territories
Governments will be held more accountable for their criminal justice systems with the launch of a new source of information on Indigenous deaths in custody.
Since the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody released its report in 1991 there have been more than 540 First Nations deaths in custody.
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