Gerry Georgatos
Three and half years have passed since a police-four-wheel-drive struck down 15 year old Rex Bellotti Jr, dragging him underneath the undercarriage of the vehicle, nearly amputing his right leg at the knee which hung on by torn tendons.
The WA Police have languished in their duty to settle the insurance pay out to the Bellotti family who are now bitterly in debt to meet the costs of convalescence for their eldest child, and as they watch the trauma of being blind-sided by the WA Police impact upon their five other children.
“We have gone everywhere, to everyone, we have done the government inside out, all of them have let us down – ministers and departments don’t find the time to help with the settlement between ourselves and the WA Police, we can’t get an apology from the police for what they did to Rex Jr and which would have meant so much for my boy and all my children. No minister or government bureaucrat will help us with finding Rex Jr accommodation and with his convalescence,” said Mr Rex Bellotti Sr.
“The anger and torment they have built in us is torture, and it explains why our people are devastated and do not trust police and government.”
Eight rallies later, a 450 kilometre Justice Walk through South West WA, a submission to a government Standing Committee, submissions to the WA Police Commissioner, to the Minister for Police have all failed to mitigate any positive outcome for the Bellotti family.
Mr Bellotti said that the family’s pain was compounded by a recent letter from Police Commissioner Rob Johnson who responded with a number of factual inaccuracies. Minister for Police, Road and Safety, Rob Johnson wrote, “The CCC subsequently reported that they were satisfied of the adequacy of the WA Police investigation and closed the file accordingly.” The Corruption and Crimes Commission of WA in fact criticised the handling the of the police investigation and slammed a number of investigative deficiences which included not interviewing third-party witnesses – there are contrary reports to what actually occurred on the night in question as to how Rex Jr was struck down and what followed.
“Our hearts hurt,” said Mr Bellotti Sr.
“It is not just institutions like the police and government and many high profile advocates for what is right who have let us down, it is our own people too. We hurt at the seams as we watch those of our people who we supported in trust to achieve status and capacity now tear away from all of us.”
“I won’t name names or organisations however they have deserted us with their own personal and political agendas.”
“We see them in the news media putting down our people by speaking like those who have put us down for far too long. Instead of fighting for families and communities that grieve for the loss of loved ones, and who now watch the meltdown of many of their own, they say nothing when once they promised so much.”
“They should be fighting in the news media, in the corridors and halls of parliaments and in the courts for the family Doomadgee, for the family Hickey, for the family Ward, for the family Bellotti. Instead of leaving us all to flounder, there should be one court case after another and no matter how many were lost in the courts of the day we would have a say, some things would change, and when the courts finally were strained by the log of cases before them from families like ours, then they will start to remedy the many wrongs they have done to us, hold police and prison officers culpable, settle compensation and some justice, things would change, however at this time no one speaks for us but the few, and sadly we have many Aboriginal folk who we long supported into the corridors and halls of power, and instead like those who treated us like second class citizens now they do so likewise.”
“In the meantime we have to try and live out our lives and alongside experiences which were no fault of ours,” said Mr Bellotti Sr.
LINKS:
This brief clip explains why there has never been any successful prosecutorial outcome against any police or prison officer for any unnatural hand in a custodial death in custody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3_VZ-T5mZI
The Real Facts of Deaths in Custody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVof4bQg1X8
The Albany Rally for Justice for Rex Bellotti Jr
"Why was Rex run over by a police vehicle on the wrong side of the road?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72YXP5XCL9A
Hear from one of the many on the spot rallies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KTMAD9IG_w
Hear from the Bellotti Support Group
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20-_Onp1HFM
Hear from Rex's mother Elizabeth
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20-_Onp1HFM
Deaths in Custody and Rex Bellotti Jr raised during Aboriginal Tent Embassy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRMAMRdfNmg
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/newshome/9900903/supporters-rally-f...
"In lieu of the conflicting versions given by witnesses and police, what we need is to have an end to police investigating police," Mr Georgatos said
http://www.indymedia.org.au/2011/12/02/justice-for-rex-bellotti-jr-bello...
"Christmas is coming but for us..."
http://www.nit.com.au/opinion/482-bellottis-call-for-justice-and-stand-a...
The WA police are yet to accept 100% liability and culpability despite Corruption and Crimes Commission findings slamming the handling of the police investigation
http://www.nit.com.au/news/736-bellotti-campaign-continues.html
On March 6, 2008 in the heart of darkness and just shy of midnight, 15 year old Rex Bellotti Jnr was struck down by a police four wheel drive vehicle as he was walking home from a wake
http://www.nit.com.au/opinion/212-bellotti-support-group-walk-for-justic...
http://www.indymedia.org.au/2011/10/01/i-said-%E2%80%9Cyou-lying-dog-i-s...
"I said, 'You lying dog, I seen what you did with my own eyes'..."
http://indymedia.org.au/2011/09/01/justice-for-rex-bellotti-jnr-an-inch-...
There is no question that the police vehicle hit him however the acceptance of responsibility has not occurred – and within this journey various acts and stressors upon the family, are clear acts of various racisms and discriminations and some of these with their origin-of-thinking from within the many inter-generational stereotypes and other premises
http://indymedia.org.au/2011/08/03/justice-for-rex-bellotti-jnr
Nyungar-Yamatji Maaman Rex Bellotti Sr and Nyungar Yorga Liz Bellotti, 42 and 40 years old, have spent their lives working very hard to ensure the likelihood of the personal advancement of their children, in the belief that Aboriginal advancement should be achieved by Aboriginal peoples
http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/aboriginal/highlight/page/id/198867/t...
The Walk for Justice
and the silences and injustices continue...
it only takes human decency and a moral compass to end vacuums of inhumnanity...
