There was a fair discussion on this a while back.

Now the outcome, quite unbelievable

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...42-952,00.html

Although people would love to have the blame put on someones shoulders there are times when accidents do happen. The verdict as I understand it was based on factual evidence rather than appeasing the baying for blood.

I'm not suggesting that racism doesnt exist but justice should be blind to the need to blame someone and overide the evidence of a case. However hard a pill that may be to swallow for the family of the deceased.

I would suggest that anyone who is worried about this outcome reads the full coroners report. From reading that I think that the DPP is right, the injuries were inflicted as a result of the officer and the victim falling together. The officer was a huge man and most likely impacted the victim during the fall causing the injuries. I don't think anyone could hit someone hard enough to cause those injuries.
Even the evidence of the Dr's at the inquest suggested that this was the most likely cause of the injuries.
Its a shame the whole incident wasn't on CCTV. Our cell blocks are riddled with CCTV and it records audio too. It takes seconds to disprove the vast majority of the complaints that are made.

Would all be slightly more convincing if there hadn't been quite so many of these type of erm 'accidents'.

I was very concerned about this outcome and did read the full coroner's report (see http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/courts...unji270906.pdf ) and what I read made me furious with the DPP's decision.

An expert medical opinion did indeed say that the most likely cause of the fatal injuries was the officer impacting the victim during the fall but he qualified this by saying the victim would have to be on his back and be hit by the officers elbow or knee (so the force was applied over a small area) as he fell on the victim "in an accelerated or uncontrolled fashion" (see page 8).

Yet the officer, in three interviews with police investigators and one with the Crime and Misconduct Commission, said he did not fall on the victim but alongside him (see pp.25, 19, 15).

He also says (p.19) that he fell alongside the victim and that he fell with the victim as he was holding him i.e. he didn't fall on the victim from a height ("an accelerated or uncontrolled fashion"). This doesn't seem the type of fall that the medical witnesses describe and capable of cleaving a man's liver nearly in two.

I'm not a lawyer but on this evidence alone (there is other evidence in the report too) I believe the officer should be brought before a court.

As for the DPP's decision that it was "a terrible accident" and that no charges will be brought with no real explanation for their decision leaves me with very little confidence in the Queensland DPP and justice system

Surely an independent review of the DPP's decision by someone out of state is warranted.

Mr. Owleywoodcat

What ever the outcome, no-one, either the Police, the officer & his family or the victims family or the Indigenous community, would be happy. If the officer was charged, it would be construed as political interferance or, as in the current furore, not charging him is construed as political interferance. Unfortunately I believe that the enormous amount of publicity would make it near impossible to find an unbiased jury anywhere in Queensland. As for having an outside DPP making reviewing the case, I doubt whether there is anything in any State or Federal Constitutions, that would allow criminal charges to be laid by an outside reviewer.