I've just finished reading Chloe Hooper's The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island (Penguin, 2009) an account of a true event. Cameron Doomadgee (Mulrunji), an aboriginal man from Palm Island, who had never been in trouble was arrested by Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley on 19 November, 2004. Mulrunji died forty minutes after he was placed in police custody.
The autopsy carried out by Dr. Guy Lampe from Cairns Base Hospital on 23 November 2004, found that Mulrunji died of a fall, possibly by his body hitting the concrete steps of the watch house.
Due to public outrage a second autopsy was carried out by Associate Professor David Ranson. Professor Anthony Ansford and Dr Byron Collins were also in attendance, together with Dr Lampe in November 2004. Ranson said:
'A complicated fall where the two individuals fall together from a standing position would not usually cause the liver laceration seen in this man unless during the process of the fall a small area of direct crushing pressure was applied to the front of the upper abdomen with the back or posterior lateral aspect of the body fixed against a hard surface'.
At a later coronal enquiry in 2006, the Officer of the State Coroner found that Mulrunji had the following injuries:
"The right sided rib cage showed lateral to anterolateral fractures of four ribs, from the sixth to the ninth inclusively. There was no associated contusion of the muscle area above the fractured ribs, but there was some internal hemorrhage of the muscles above and adjacent to the eighth and ninth rib fractures.The most significant finding was in the peritoneal cavity. There was at least one and a half litres of blood and clot. The liver was virtually completely ruptured- “… cleaved in two” in Dr Lampe’swords. The two halves of the liver were only connected by some blood vessels. The portal vein had an oval hole along its posterior surface measuring 1.5 by 0.7 centimetres which was along the line of the contusion extending through the soft tissue. There was localised haemorrhage to the pancreas adjacent to the peri-duodenal hemorrhage".
http://www.courts.qld.gov.au/mulrunji270906.pdf
The Queensland Coroner Christine Clements '...found Snr Sgt Hurley...caused the fatal injuries by punching Mr Doomadgee numerous times'.
In 2007 Chris Hurley was acquitted of the manslaughter of Mulrinji, even though Hurley did say in court that he must have been responsible for Doomadgee's injuries.
In 2008 the Townsville District Court Judge, Bob Pack set aside the findings of Christine Clements and ordered a new inquest.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/judge-sets-aside-palm-is-findings/story-e6frg6oo-1111118355409
In March 2010 a third inquest has been opened into the 'death in custody' of Cameron Doomagee to include new evidence.
A lot has been said about how drunk the witnesses for the prosecution were at the time of them giving their account. The grey areas in which the other officers on duty have perceptual differences about what occurred when Mulrinji was arrested and Chris Hurley's own account that Mulrinji was injured when Hurley accidentally fell on him (he originally said that they fell beside each other after a struggle). But the facts remain that Mulrinji was walking around, drunk, singing and happy prior to his arrest. He could not have sustained the injuries described prior to his arrest, because injury to the liver of that magnitude usually ensures a quick death. His injuries killed him and they were caused by someone, the prime suspect being Chris Hurley. Police officers have a duty of care for prisoners and in this case, officers were shown to be negligent, particularly since that were aware that Mulrinji had been drinking and was more vulnerable to choking on his own sputum.
I will watch with interest the outcomes of this highly controversial case. For more information see:
http://www.treatyrepublic.net/content/police-racism-dock-new-inquest-opens-aboriginal-mans-death
Also, here is an interesting article on why males are violent:
http://www.psychohistory.com/originsofwar/02_whymalesaremoreviolent.html
The autopsy carried out by Dr. Guy Lampe from Cairns Base Hospital on 23 November 2004, found that Mulrunji died of a fall, possibly by his body hitting the concrete steps of the watch house.
Due to public outrage a second autopsy was carried out by Associate Professor David Ranson. Professor Anthony Ansford and Dr Byron Collins were also in attendance, together with Dr Lampe in November 2004. Ranson said:
'A complicated fall where the two individuals fall together from a standing position would not usually cause the liver laceration seen in this man unless during the process of the fall a small area of direct crushing pressure was applied to the front of the upper abdomen with the back or posterior lateral aspect of the body fixed against a hard surface'.
At a later coronal enquiry in 2006, the Officer of the State Coroner found that Mulrunji had the following injuries:
"The right sided rib cage showed lateral to anterolateral fractures of four ribs, from the sixth to the ninth inclusively. There was no associated contusion of the muscle area above the fractured ribs, but there was some internal hemorrhage of the muscles above and adjacent to the eighth and ninth rib fractures.The most significant finding was in the peritoneal cavity. There was at least one and a half litres of blood and clot. The liver was virtually completely ruptured- “… cleaved in two” in Dr Lampe’swords. The two halves of the liver were only connected by some blood vessels. The portal vein had an oval hole along its posterior surface measuring 1.5 by 0.7 centimetres which was along the line of the contusion extending through the soft tissue. There was localised haemorrhage to the pancreas adjacent to the peri-duodenal hemorrhage".
http://www.courts.qld.gov.au/mulrunji270906.pdf
The Queensland Coroner Christine Clements '...found Snr Sgt Hurley...caused the fatal injuries by punching Mr Doomadgee numerous times'.
In 2007 Chris Hurley was acquitted of the manslaughter of Mulrinji, even though Hurley did say in court that he must have been responsible for Doomadgee's injuries.
In 2008 the Townsville District Court Judge, Bob Pack set aside the findings of Christine Clements and ordered a new inquest.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/judge-sets-aside-palm-is-findings/story-e6frg6oo-1111118355409
In March 2010 a third inquest has been opened into the 'death in custody' of Cameron Doomagee to include new evidence.
A lot has been said about how drunk the witnesses for the prosecution were at the time of them giving their account. The grey areas in which the other officers on duty have perceptual differences about what occurred when Mulrinji was arrested and Chris Hurley's own account that Mulrinji was injured when Hurley accidentally fell on him (he originally said that they fell beside each other after a struggle). But the facts remain that Mulrinji was walking around, drunk, singing and happy prior to his arrest. He could not have sustained the injuries described prior to his arrest, because injury to the liver of that magnitude usually ensures a quick death. His injuries killed him and they were caused by someone, the prime suspect being Chris Hurley. Police officers have a duty of care for prisoners and in this case, officers were shown to be negligent, particularly since that were aware that Mulrinji had been drinking and was more vulnerable to choking on his own sputum.
I will watch with interest the outcomes of this highly controversial case. For more information see:
http://www.treatyrepublic.net/content/police-racism-dock-new-inquest-opens-aboriginal-mans-death
Also, here is an interesting article on why males are violent:
http://www.psychohistory.com/originsofwar/02_whymalesaremoreviolent.html
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