We don't want to take terrorism home with us.
We don't want anger in our backyard
-- Lionel Fogarty, poet & author
It became clear yesterday that the killing of Shaun Coolwell by police on Brisbane’s southside on 2 October 2015 was preventable. Police came to the house and over-reacted. Shaun had cut his foot on a cracked tile and was bleeding. We do not hold police responsible for that. They are to be held responsible for Shaun’s death because as soon as they took the young man into custody they owed a duty of care to Shaun. People on the march on police HQ raised these important changes that will reduce the possibility that such terrible events are not repeated.
As Lionel Fogarty said: “Their deaths-in-custody is terrorism, to dehumanise us, to take away land rights, is (not) about health rights. When they murdered Daniel Yock, and Lou Wyville (CJC) made his report (to the Goss government), my family said ‘flame it up‘ and throw it back in their building.'” … I said: ‘but I got a book comin’ out‘ No they said ‘Flame it up and throw it back‘ So I did.
“We don’t want to take terrorism home with us … We don’t want anger in our backyard” Mr Fogarty said.
1. No police investigating police! No fake tribunals like the CJC, CMC and CCC.* Aboriginal involvement from day one in investigation (Sam Watson – Jagera, Mununjali, Birrigubba).
2. Aboriginal Police Liaison Officers (PLOs) to intervene and negotiate between the police and community as a right (eg PLOs to go into house before police) (Fred Coolwell – Mununjali).
3. Aboriginal elders to be called into any crisis situation involving police (Watson & Coolwell).
4. Aboriginal medics to be trained and to provide emergency health care to aboriginal people (Fogarty – Wakka Wakka).
5. Emergency medical centre to be funded and set up with Health Service and <em>Murri Watch</em> in the community.
6. No tasers, handcuffs, or guns on police who deal with aboriginal people.
7. Stop killing our people! We want our Land! (Watson, Coolwell, Fogarty)
Ian Curr
24 October 2015
* CJC — Crime and Corruption Commission
CMC – Crime and Misconduct Commission
CCC — Crime and Corruption Commission