Newsletter date: 21 September 2012
Contents:
* ANTaR & National Police Accountability Network: Coronial report highlights systemic flaws
* CAAMA: "Death in custody of Kwementyaye Briscoe"
* "Community members call for the resignation of Constable Gareth Evans"
* "Lay charges for Briscoe death"
* ABC 7.30 Video: Coroner delivers scathing report on death in custody
* SMH Editorial: Death in custody damns our indifference
* A Personal Response: Rest in Peace Kwementyaye Briscoe
* Living Black: Young People Walk For Country
* ANTaR & NATIONAL POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY NETWORK: CORONIAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS SYSTEMIC FLAWS
- Media Release
Joint Media Release: Coronial report highlights systemic flaws
ANTaR: http://www.antar.org.au/joint_media_release_coronial_report_highlights_s...
"Responding to the release of the coronial report into the death of Kwementyaye Briscoe, ANTaR and the National Police Accountability Network highlight the need for major changes to prevent future deaths in custody.
"The coronial report highlights the fact that, 20 years after the Royal Commission’s report, its key recommendation that arrest should be a measure of last resort is still being ignored. Too many people are being taken into protective custody too often, with tragic consequences."
"Far from providing protection, Kwementyaye Briscoe died in custody hours after his arrest after "multiple failings" by police, who showed extraordinary neglect and callousness towards a very sick and vulnerable man," said Jacqueline Phillips.
The Coroner found the number of Aboriginal people taken into protective custody in the NT to be a "national shame". At 235,000 people in the last five years, the number exceeds the NT population. ... "
* CAAMA: "DEATH IN CUSTODY OF KWEMENTYAYE BRISCOE"
- Audio
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
http://caama.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/am-20.09-update1.mp3
http://caama.com.au/radio#tabs-6
20 Sep 12: "Growing condemnation of a culture within the Northern Territory Police which has allowed aggressive behaviour displayed by some officers against Aboriginal people to go virtually unchecked sometimes with disastrous consequences."
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
http://caama.com.au/radio#tabs-6
19 Sep 12: "* Australian Lawyers for Human rights have called on the Commonwealth state and Territory governments to put structures in place which would allow independent investigators monitor protocols where people are being detained to stop any future deaths in custody.
* Alice Springs community members have also voiced their concerns following the death in custody of Kwementyaye Briscoe in the Alice springs police watch house."
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
http://caama.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/am-18-09.mp3
http://caama.com.au/radio#tabs-6
18 Sep 12: "* Emotional and angry scenes outside the Alice Springs Courthouse on Monday when the Northernt Territory Coroner announced that the death of an Aboriginal man in custody was due to a catalogue of errors by police and could have been prevented.
* Coroner Greg Cavanagh said police errors were "extensive.and that the care, supervision and treatment of the deceased while being held in custody was completely inadequate and unsatisfactory and not sufficient to meet his medical needs.""
- Related Audio
The Wire: Stopping Aboriginal deaths in custody
Produced by Wade Stephens
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=9626
19 Sep 12: "This month marks 25 years since the announcement of a Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody; their 1991 report becoming all the more prevelant this week now that a Coroner's report on the death of Kwementyaye Briscoe was released. The 29 year old is the latest Aboriginal man to die in custody, after losing his life to a combination of asphyxiation, drunkenness and police error in January this year. But do the unutilized recommendations in the 1991 report stand the test of time?
Featured in story: Ralph Bonig - President of the SA Law Society"
* "COMMUNITY MEMBERS CALL FOR THE RESIGNATION OF CONSTABLE GARETH EVANS":
- Media Release
Community members call for the resignation of Constable Gareth Evans
Rollback the Intervention: http://rollbacktheintervention.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/mr-briscoe-17...
17 Sep 12: "The coroner released his findings into the death in custody of ... [Kwementyaye] Briscoe today, stating that "I find that the care, supervision and treatment of the deceased while being held in custody by the NT Police was completely inadequate and unsatisfactory and not sufficient to meet his medical needs. This lack of care resulted in his death, that is to say, his death was preventable, and it should not have occurred."
However community members believe that the recommendations of this inquiry are inadequate, and are calling for Constable Evans’ resignation. ... "
- Related News
newsTracker: NT govt defends top cop over custody death
http://tracker.org.au/2012/09/nt-govt-defends-top-cop-over-custody-death/
19 Sep 12: "NORTHERN TERRITORY: The Northern Territory government has ruled out sacking its top cop after damning findings over police treatment of a man who died in custody. ... The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) called on Mr McRoberts to fully implement the coroner’s recommendations. "Acting on these recommendations to address systemic problems is essential if there is to be lasting change to police culture and a restoration of public confidence in our police," said Jonathon Hunyor, the agency’s principal legal officer."
Koori Mail: NAAJA: Police must be transparent
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
19 Sep 12: "NT Police should report publicly every six months on their progress in implementing coronial recommendations made in relation to an Alice Springs death in custody, the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) says. Coroner Greg Cavanagh found on Monday that Kwementyaye Briscoe’s death in January - most likely from a combination of being very drunk, positional asphyxia and aspiration - was preventable and followed an extensive 'catalogue' of police errors. Mr Briscoe, who had committed no crime, was found dead in a cell five hours after police took him into custody for drunkenness. ... NAAJA Principal Legal Officer Jonathon Hunyor says a restoration of public confidence in the NT police rests on openness."
Koori Mail: Mills to act on Briscoe inquiry
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
18 Sep 12: "NORTHERN Territory chief minister Terry Mills has promised to work with police to bring about a 'cultural change' in the way prisoners are dealt with while in police custody. Mr Mills was commenting following the coronial inquiry into the death in custody of Kwementyaye Briscoe in the Alice Springs watch house last year. He said the government accepted the findings regarding the need for a nursing presence and improved medical rooms in Territory watch houses, and would work to improve protocols between the watch house and the hospital."
* "LAY CHARGES FOR BRISCOE DEATH":
- Media Release
Lay charges for Briscoe death
Rollback the Intervention: http://rollbacktheintervention.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/lay-charges-for-...
20 Sep 12: "Prominent human rights lawyer George Newhouse is calling for charges to be laid against NT police for the death of Kwenentyaye Briscoe in an Alice Springs watch house.
In his findings delivered on Monday, NT Coroner Greg Cavenagh found that police negligence was responsible for Mr Briscoe’s death, but did not recommend charges.
Mr Newhouse is acting for the Briscoe family in the aftermath of the coronial inquest. He says that charges are essential, both for ensuring basic justice and to send a message that this conduct is unacceptable and will be punished.
He has briefed a QC in Sydney on the case, seeking an opinion on appropriate criminal charges and potential civil action. ... "
* ABC 7.30 VIDEO: CORONER DELIVERS SCATHING REPORT ON DEATH IN CUSTODY
- Video
ABC 7.30: Coroner delivers scathing report on death in custody
http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2012/s3592099.htm
17 Sep 12: "An Aboriginal man who died in custody in Alice Springs earlier this year was the victim of police errors and mismanagement according to the coroner, who also labelled Central Australia's alcohol abuse as a national disgrace. ... The Northern Territory Coroner has handed down a damning report on the death of an Aboriginal man in custody in Alice Springs this year."
* SMH EDITORIAL: DEATH IN CUSTODY DAMNS OUR INDIFFERENCE
- Analysis / Opinion
SMH: Death in custody damns our indifference
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/editorial/death-in-custody-damns-our-indif...
19 Sep 12: "The Northern Territory coroner rightly condemns the failure to end this tragedy. ... THE findings of Northern Territory Coroner Greg Cavanagh into the death earlier this year of 27-year-old Kwementyaye Briscoe are a devastating indictment on us all. While Mr Cavanagh rightly castigates police for a litany of abject failures that led to Mr Briscoe's death, a death he says ''should never have happened'', it is our whole community that needs to take notice. Australia has failed, and continues to fail, to look after some of the most vulnerable among us."
* A PERSONAL RESPONSE: REST IN PEACE KWEMENTYAYE BRISCOE
- A Personal Resonse
Fieldnotes & Footnotes: Rest in Peace Kwementyaye Briscoe
http://fieldnotesandfootnotes.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/rest-in-peace-kwe...
20 Sep 12: "This is an especially long post. It details the circumstances surrounding, and leading up to the death in custody of Kwementyaye Briscoe. Kwementyaye Daniel Briscoe was only 27 years of age when he died on 4 January 2012, alone in a cell in the Alice Springs Watch House. At the time of his death, Kwementyaye was being detained in the Alice Springs Watch House. He had committed no crime. I have chosen to reproduce large sections of the Coroner’s report in the text that follows, because I think much of the detail speaks for itself. ... "
* LIVING BLACK: YOUNG PEOPLE WALK FOR COUNTRY
- Audio Interview
Living Black: Young People Walk For Country
By Michelle Lovegrove
http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/aboriginal/highlight/page/id/232869/t...
14 Sep 12: "The pride of The Walkatjurra Junior Rangers, and the people who love them. ... The Walkatjurra Walkabout has arrived in Leonora, after a 270 kilometre trek across Wangkatja country. They've been led by elders and the Walkatjurra Rangers, who are a group of people committed to sustainable living through actively managing culture, heritage and natural resources. One of its members is Vicky Abdullah who says her 17-year-old son Nathan and large groups of young Aboriginal and non-indigenous people, have kept the walk positive with their energy and ideas. She's speaking with Michelle Lovegrove."
See:
Living Black: Walkatjurra Walkabout
http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/aboriginal/highlight/page/id/232867/t...
Living Black: Walkatjurra Walkabout In Leonora!
http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/aboriginal/highlight/page/id/232865/t...
- Past Event
Event: 20 August to 14 September 2012: Yeelirrie-Leonora, WA
Walkatjurra Walkabout – Walking for Country
A one month walk from Yeelirrie to Leonora
" ... is a celebration of Wangkatja country, a testament to
the strength of the community who have fought to stop
uranium mining at Yeelirrie for over forty years, and a
chance to come together to continue share our commitment to
a sustainable future without nuclear. It is a chance to
reconnect with the land, and to revive the tradition of
walking for country."
"This walk will be lead by the Walkatjurra Rangers,
in partnership with Footprints for Peace,
Western Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (WANFA),
the Anti Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia (ANAWA)
and the Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA)."
Event details: http://walkingforcountry.com/
Event details: http://www.nuclearfreefuture.com/
Event details: http://nffcampaign2011.footprintsforpeace.net/?p=69
News: http://www.nit.com.au/news/1703-walkatjurra-walkabout-a-journey-to-stop-...
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