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Palm Island death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee

Palm Island photo courtesy Jose Calarco

20 June 2007 - Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley was found not guilty of either assaulting or unlawfully killing Mulrunji Doomadgee.

"The unanswerable question was asked again yesterday following the acquittal: would this have been the result if the "tussle" had ended with the black man getting up, dusting himself off and walking away, and the police officer lying on the concrete floor with four broken ribs, bleeding to death from a liver held together by only a couple of blood vessels?" By Tony Koch, published in The Australian

"An Aboriginal man dies in custody of internal injuries. His son and cellmate commit suicide. The arresting officer walks free. Also by Tony Koch, The Australian

6 October 2006 - Queensland's acting coroner Christine Clements last week published findings concerning the death of Mulrunji Doomadgee in Palm Island. He was found dead in a police cell in November 2004, less than an hour after being arrested for swearing as he was walking home. Clements found that Chris Hurley, a senior sergeant, angrily punched him several times while he was on the floor and that these actions "caused the fatal injuries".
Source: Andrew Boe - Shame of palming off report; The political response to a judicial inquiry is out of order

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Related links

• Queensland Coroner Report; Finding of Inquest into the Death of Mulrunji Doomadgee (PDF) 27 September 2006
• Boe Lawyers Brisbane: Reports on legal aspects of Case
• Human Rights and Equal Oppurtunity Commission Interventions

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