Justice for Roberto Laudisio Curti

the above media release outlines the action that isja and other groups and organisations will be holding next tuesday 3rd april outside the brazilian consulate at 12.30. further details in the attachment.

as has been explained earlier isja is now part of a national group that, whilst still focussing on aboriginal deaths in custody, we have extended our concern to now include non-aboriginal deaths in custody. we have also accepted the deaths of asylum seekers who die in the federal government's detention camps as being worthy of inclusion.

21 year old roberto laudisio curti was studying here and living with his sister. on sunday morning, 18 march 2012 roberto became involved in an altercation with 6 nsw police officers who firstly were close enough to spray him with capsicum spray, at least once, to chase him further and then ram his head into the wooden window frame of the convenience store as can be seen in the video of the event. he then breaks away again, we are told, and he is then tasered 3 times by the officers involved. roberto then collapses on the footpath and dies.

this is the bare facts as reported by the media but there is much speculation on the peripheral issues and some of those include the question of roberto's state of mind at the time of the confrontation. some reports suggest that perhaps roberto was having some form of psychotic event, other reports talk of roberto having a 'bad trip' after using drugs, still others find it very hard to understand how 6 police officers could not easily have overpowered roberto without the use of capsicum spray or tasers.

whatever the real truth of the circumstances we are left with the unprofessionalism of police investigating police. such powers that this places upon the investigating police to mutate the investigation so that the 6 officers will be protected is just further abuse and no real justice for the curti family and roberto's girlfriend. this warped ethic of police investigating police has been clearly highlighted by the showing of the documentary 'the tall man', the chris hurley/mulrunji doomadgee killing on palm island, and the 4 corners expose of the corruption by the police acting in unison to protect the police sergeant who shot adam salter in the back. these criminal actions of investigating police must be stopped and a truly independent body to be formed to do the investigation without police involvement. it has been suggested that such investigations could quite competently be entered into by the independent commission against corruption (icac) or even the police integrity commission (pic). it is probable that either body would require extra funding and/or legislative changes to be made to do so. or a new team of investigators and forensic experts be formed and properly funded to allow truly independent investigations to be done.

it is up to premier barry o'farrell, attorney-general greg smith and to police minister, mike gallacher, to seriously contemplate the required changes and bring them to fruition as soon as possible.

on the sunday that roberto was killed premier barry o'farrell came out publically and stated that any investigation by the police would be open and honest (an impossibility in my opinion) and that any police investigation will be overseen by the nsw ombudsman's office. well, with all due respect to the current ombudsman, bruce barbour and deputy ombudsman, ms. linda waugh of the police complaints unit, i just do not see that overview power to be adequate. it is my understanding that when the investigating police have done their job, whatever that entails, the evidence is then given to bruce and his team to consider the veracity of the investigation. this is too little and too late.

ample opportunity has been given to the investigating police to come up with the evidence that is best suited to their interests. that brief of evidence is then given to the coroner who generally considers it to be the facts, the full facts and only the facts. this, of course, is not always true as can be shown by many many examples, egg. the killing of tj hickey by redfern police, the killing of terrance briscoe by police in alice springs, among too many others to mention. it is up to the legal team for the family, if they have one, to negate these so-called facts and introduce their own.

what bruce and his team of investigators need is to have the power to second one or more of his team, including himself if he wishes, to the police investigation from day one. he and his officers must have all the required powers to attach themselves to the police team whilst investigations are ongoing. at the conclusion of the investigation then an independent report from his office is to be supplied to the coroner for his knowledge and consideration. the present system, to my view, needs to be strengthened up to make sure that the police corruption of police investigating police is discontinued.

isja will be writing letters to both the brazilian consul and the curti family, including roberto's girlfriend,offering our sincerest condolences at their tragic loss and explaining to them the more than possible corruption that will be involved in the police investigating police event.

if you can, please do join us and make your contribution to justice and not leave it to just us.

fkj

ray jackson
president
indigenous social justice association

isja01@internode.on.net
(m) 0450 651 063
(p) 02 9318 0947
address 1303/200 pitt street waterloo 2017

www.isja.org.au

we live and work on the stolen lands of the gadigal people.

sovereignty treaty social justice

there will always be victims but must they be over biscuits?