Cameron Doomadgee died at the age of 36. [16] They appeared to have jumped to a conclusion given their description of the death as "cold blooded murder". The memorial is now surrounded by tinsel, fairy lights, flowers and a turtle ornament, which represents Mr Doomadgee's hunting skills. This year, hundreds of Palm Islanders affected by the events received compensation as part of a $30 million State Government class action settlement. (Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth). A 36 year old Aboriginal man, Cameron Doomadgee, is arrested for swearing at a police officer. ), Cameron Doomadgee (commonly called Mulrunji), a 36-year-old Aboriginal man, died in police custody on Palm Island on November 19, 2004. [64], After the Attorney General's decision to prosecute was made public members of the Union held rallies in every major city in Queensland protesting against the political intervention, and in support of Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley. ), The Queensland government and QPS said they would carefully consider the judgment before commenting further. (Id.). [22], Police actions were later found to breach the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, with the raids being "unnecessary, disproportionate" and police having "acted in these ways because they were dealing with an Aboriginal community". [62] As a result he was charged with contempt of court by the Attorney General. Aboriginal man Cameron 'Mulrunji' Doomadgee died in police custody on Palm Island in 2004 His memorial rock has been moved from the Palm Island police station to his sister's front yard The relocation has brought a sense of healing for the family Yanner said that Hurley was no racist, that he was loved by the Indigenous communities he had previously worked in, and that he identified with Hurley in that "he was a thug and a mug. Dozens of police officers are flown into Palm Island. Residents accused Senior Sergeant Hurley of murder, but he was acquitted of manslaughter in 2007 by an all-white jury. Accused rioter Lex Wotton succeeds in Brisbane District Court application to be released from custody on bail with strict conditions, formally entering a plea of not guilty to rioting with destruction on Palm Island. She awarded AU$220,000 (about US$164,000) in damages to the applicants. [28], Lex Wotton was warned by a Brisbane court in 2006 to comply with the original conditions of bail, to discontinue his public appearances at rallies and marches. Cameron Doomadgee's funeral on Palm Island in 2004. [93], In a general atmosphere where there was high levels of local animosity towards the police in the months following the riot, the Queensland Government coincidentally had completed construction of a new multi-million dollar community centre which would be primarily under the control of the Police Youth Club Association. Mr Wotton said many people still lacked trust in the police, but he acknowledged the effort was being made. Justice Kerry Cullinane sets down a two-week trial to start on 12 June in the Townsville Supreme Court for Snr Sgt Hurley. Officers preferred confrontation to engagement and operated very much with an us and them, Its the first time an entire community has been represented in a class action against a state of Australia alleging racial discrimination and being vindicated in that cause. Mulrunji's death was repeatedly branded "cold-blooded murder". [47][48], On 17 December 2008 District Court Judge Bob Pack, in Townsville, ruled that Clements' finding "..was against the weight of the evidence..",[47][48] so upholding Hurley's appeal, requiring a new coronial inquiry and outraging local Aboriginal people who feared this would "..only dig up buried bones..". The main suspect was Senior Sergeant Christopher Hurley, a charismatic cop with long . [34], After Coroner Clements made her findings but before they were overturned by the District and Supreme Courts as being inconsistent with the evidence QPU President Gary Wilkinson was highly critical. For further information, refer to Office of the State Coroner, Finding of Inquest: Inquest into the Death of Cameron Doomadgee, Townsville, COR 2857/04 (9), 27 September 2006; Office of the State Coroner, Finding of Inquest: Inquest into the Death of Cameron Doomadgee, Townsville, COR COR 2857/04(9), 14 May 2010. Officers tried to barricade themselves as they were attacked with sticks and rocks, and told to leave the island. "We wanted to make certain there was law and order to protect the community.". (Jan. 2, 2020) On December 18, 2019, the New Zealand Parliament passed historic legislation that pardons Rua Knana, a pacifist religious prophet from theTuhoe iwi (tribe) who was convicted inAugust 1916 of (July 30, 2015) On July 23, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the appeal of a Pakistani Canadian pilot in a discrimination case filed against Bombardier, an aerospace company. I have found they conducted themselves, including Senior Sergeant Hurley while he was there, with a sense of impunity, impervious to the reactions and perceptions of Palm Islanders who were, in large numbers, distressed and agitated about the death of Mulrunji. ), The president of the Queensland Police Union disagreed with the ruling, saying that the police response was appropriate in the circumstances and [p]olice who serve in Indigenous communities are not racist, and purely because of someones Aboriginality do not treat anyone differently . Buchanan, K. (2016) Australia: Police Response to Aboriginal Death in Custody and Ensuing Riot Ruled Discriminatory. [42] This was the first time since the public prosecutor's office was established in Queensland that anyone other than the DPP made a decision concerning whether or not to indict an individual. It was lifted two days later, just before the Premier's arrival. During the directions hearing the Doomadgee family requested that the deceased be referred to by his tribal name "Mulrunji" in line with Aboriginal custom, which was not opposed. [citation needed], After several days of media and public pressure, Queensland Attorney-General, Kerry Shine, appointed retired Justice Pat Shanahan to review the DPP's decision not to lay charges against the police officer. The applicants also claimed that the QPS had contravened the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) (Federal Register of Legislation website)in its handling of the investigation of the death in custody. [90], On 1 March 2005 the CMC released its draft report, finding that the office of the Minister for Indigenous Affairs had lied over the airfare affair to avoid short-term political embarrassment, sending a deliberately misleading statement to The Australian. Mulrunji was found dead in his cell hours after. [5], The raids resulted in a record A$30 million class action settlement and a formal apology to be made by the State Government. He was appointed to a duty officer position at the Broadbeach police station on the Gold Coast[60], The Queensland Government agreed to provide a confidential payout of A$370,000 to Mulrunji's family in May 2011. [11] a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate. ", "[I] come out every night, just sitting down [beside the memorial]. Hurley medically retired from the Gold Coast station of the Queensland Police in 2017[2] following a string of charges while serving as a police officer including assault and dangerous driving. You see terrible things happening to people without any remedies and theres so much disillusionment in the Indigenous community because they just dont get a fair go under our legal system. Tall Man, the Death of Doomadgee Hardcover - January 1, 2009 by Chloe Hooper (Author) 79 ratings Hardcover $14.91 7 Used from $7.13 Paperback $4.72 8 Used from $4.72 6 New from $21.40 Mass Market Paperback $24.02 1 Used from $5.98 2 New from $24.02 Chloe Harper Language English Publisher Scribner Publication date January 1, 2009 Dimensions Police officers seek refuge at the island's hospital and are airlifted to safety. The inquest resumes on Palm Island for two days, and then for the following three days in Townsville. "Without a doubt we learnt very many things from our response at Palm Island way back 10 years ago," he said. [92], The adverse finding was based on a media statement to The Australian which made the positive statement; "we agreed to assist with the airline bookings on the understanding that they would pick up the cost" when it was known at the time by the Minister that the possibility of the airfares being repaid was only mooted after the tickets had been booked. Cameron Doomadgee, 36, died in a police cell on November 19, 2004. The only people who deserve an apology are the police officers who were in the police station whilst it was being burnt down. (Id. Forty-two minutes later a second police officer observed that Mulrunji was a strange colour and was cold to the touch. Forty minutes later he was dead in the jailhouse. Source: AAP November 2004 "I think it taught everyone to do a real audit on themselves, particularly the Queensland Police Service (QPS) to do an audit on its own self," he said. During this time no attempts were made to resuscitate the prisoner, although the autopsy found that there would have been no chance of saving him. They delayed Mulrunji's funeral and insisted that the Coroner order a second "independent autopsy" to be observed by a pathologist on behalf of the Doomadgee family. The officer, Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley, who was charged for a death in custody, was acquitted by the jury in June 2007. After a long battle Agnes' discovery is finally published, but this does not put an end to the twins' travels. As he had no visible injuries at the time of his arrest, there was an autopsy that revealed massive internal injuries. He is drunk, and as they arrive at the station he strikes Senior Sergeant Christopher Hurley in the face. [53] Prosecutor Peter Davis suggested that this (the fact of giving a shorter estimate in court not the out of court attempt to get a more accurate estimate) was an attempt to sabotage prosecutors. Yanner and Foster refused to cooperate with the investigation. Mulrunji was placed in the two-cell lockup which was the back section of the Palm Island Police Station. When alerted to this, Hurley came into the cell and thought he could detect a pulse. Almost 10 years ago Cameron Doomadgee died in police custody on Palm Island. [52] During the course of the coronial enquiry it was revealed that a police witness Senior Sergeant Michael Leafe originally estimated that Hurley was alone with Mulrunji for 10 seconds but changed it to 6 or 7 seconds after reenacting his actions during that time and timing it on the request of Hurley's lawyer. (Bramwell was an exclusive witness for only 6 to 10 seconds, and volunteered incriminating evidence at the Coronial hearing that Hurley punched Mulrunji. The media and the Beattie government ignored Doomadgee's death when it happened on November 19. In 2004 on Palm Island, an Aboriginal settlement in the "Deep North" of Australia, a thirty-six-year-old man named Cameron Doomadgee was arrested for swearing at a white police officer. The Queensland government has reached a $30 million settlement with Palm Island residents in a class action in the Federal Court over the 2004 Palm Island riots that followed the death in police custody of Aboriginal man Cameron Doomadgee. This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. Patrick Bramwell, a cell-mate of Mulrunji, repeatedly attempted to set himself on fire after giving evidence before the first coronial inquest. He said that due to the unreliability of police and Aboriginal witnesses he could not make a definitive finding. Ms Aplin said she was grateful the council helped moved the rock just in time for this year's anniversary of Mr Doomadgee's death. One of the sisters needed to be airlifted to Townsville Hospital due to her condition as a result of Bramwell's assault. "The kids that roam the streets at night, they would have wrecked it. Fellow Palm Islander Patrick Bramwell was placed in the adjoining cell. Chris Hurley received a confidential payout of A$100,000 from the Queensland Government in February 2005. The letter even hinted at a desire among members to defect to the Liberal Party, stating that under Labor living conditions have not improved on the island, and life expectancy had fallen. [9], This was the 147th death of an Aboriginal person in custody since the handing down of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. It is not an easy one to tell. Show / We also acknowledge all those who lost their lives in custody across Australia. [23] The Palm Islanders faced charges of riot, arson and assault. He found that the injuries could have been caused by Hurley accidentally falling on top of Mulrunji, or by the officer "dropping a knee into his torso". They appeared before the Townsville Magistrates Court on Monday 29 November 2004, the first business day after the riot. [84], Then Queensland Indigenous Policy Minister Liddy Clark offered for activist Murandoo Yanner and Carpentaria Land Council chief executive Brad Foster to accompany her to Palm Island in the weeks after the riot. In mid-February 2005 Chris Hurley resumed duties after three months on paid leave. Cameron's brother Lloyd Doomadgee. (Quebec (Commission (Mar. A CMC report leaked to the media reportedly recommends that 7 officers will face charges. "There'll always be distrust, regardless of what police authority is in town. Doomadgee funeral, Palm Island elders call for justice rather than division. A damning 2016 Federal Court ruling found the Queensland Police breached the Racial Discrimination Act with its investigation into his death and subsequent unrest on the island. [18] (By comparison, even in 2012 a journalist publicly maintained the view that the medical consensus regarding the possibility the injury could have been caused during the fall was incorrect. Hurley case begins in Townsville Supreme Court. [50], The Court noted that because Bramwell did not have a clear view of the incident, the Coroner concluded that the punches described by Bramwell hit the abdomen or torso of the deceased rather than the head, and this caused the death. [15] They converted the Bwgcolman Community School into a headquarters and sleeping barracks, and the St Michael's school bus was commandeered. a knee drop. Residents report officers pointing guns at children's heads and being tasered. [29], Mulrunji's Family had suspicions about the results of the first autopsy by the Queensland government pathologist. Additionally the Palm Island Council moved a resolution asking that the Centre not be opened until its use and occupancy could be agreed upon between the State and Local Governments. According to statements an ambulance was then called taking fifteen minutes to arrive. The injury may have been caused by Hurley falling on the deceased. While Gladys retrieved her medication, Patrick Bramwell was outside. Says he has come to terms with the fact he caused the death, but strongly denies any intention to cause harm. (Palm Island Riots: Federal Court Finds Police Acted with Impunity in Racial Discrimination Lawsuit,supra. [3][4][2], Police raids and behaviour following the community riot were found to have breached the Racial Discrimination Act 1975,[5] with a record class action settlement of A$30 million awarded to victims in May 2018.[6][7]. In response an angry mob burned down the police . This page was last edited on 18 February 2023, at 19:37. This was accepted as a possible means by which the injury could have occurred". Island residents marched from the town square and burnt down the police station, court house and police houses. The strong police presence was not welcome on the island. [23] Former Premier Wayne Goss dismissed as "cheap politics" the union's demand for attempted murder charges to be laid, he said their comments since the death in custody had been consistently unhelpful. Aboriginal activist Murrandoo Yanner and relative of the Doomadgee family was at the centre of controversy over his calls for Aboriginal people to bash all "racist cops" and for all police stations to be burnt.
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