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Thread: Deaths in custody | |
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pomo
Famous Hero
The lone peasant
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posted June 22, 2007 03:48 AM |
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Deaths in custody
I know perhaps I'm overly optimistic, but I occasionally like to think (fantasise maybe) Queensland has moved on from the 'banana-curtain' era under Joh.
Unfortunately however, our justice system manages to not only kill Aboriginal people in police custody, but also acquit the (police) killer, not to mention the police union now running a campaign against the premier (analogous to state governor for US people) for ever allowing the guy to come to trial.
The incident I'm refering to is the death of Mulrunji Doomadgee on Palm Island in 2004. He was taken into police custody for being drunk and a nuisance. Fair enough. The guy died an hour later with his internal organs crushed ('liver split in two'). According to the police line this was caused by HIM FALLING OVER?!?! The story goes that the Mulrunji fell over and the police officer (Chris Hurley) fell on top of him. In my view, such an explanation is nothing short of a fairy tale. Livers do not get split in two by people stumbling and falling on top of one another.
Initially an inquiry found there was insufficient evidence to charge the officer. Unfortunately, the guy running the investigation was a personal friend of the officer, so that was tossed out. The next inquiry did find that there was sufficient evidence to charge him.
This is what the police union is upset about - the fact that a second inquiry was allowed to take place. Personally I find it very disconcerting that the police apparently regard themselves as deserving of some special treatment by the legal system not warranted by the evidence.
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william
Responsible
Undefeatable Hero
LummoxLewis
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posted June 22, 2007 09:36 AM |
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That is pathetic, seriously.
And the whole falling over business?
That would never happen, I mean, your liver would not get split in two, from just falling over.
I bet that the policeman used some sort of weapon, perhaps the batons they sometimes have and kept hitting him, or maybe kept on punching the man until the liver split in two.
Just because they are higher in authority, does not mean they should get different treatments from the law system.
They are Australian Citizens as well as everyone else here, so they should have the same treatment as me for example, although maybe when I am 18 next year, but yeah.
This whole thing is a mess, and I hope that justice is served, and that the policeman is found guilty.
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~Ticking away the moments that
make up a dull day, Fritter and
waste the hours in an off-hand
way~
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Garbax
Hired Hero
Struggling with RL
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posted June 22, 2007 01:57 PM |
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Sadly, that's whay usually happens with the law enforcements organisms, since there is nobody who watches them but themselves, an issue that sociology tends to put like "If the warcher is watching us, who is watching the watcher?"
They think they have the legal administration in their hands and that they can twist it in any way they want. In my country it's way too common that a policeman it's just as bad as the criminal scum they are, supposedly, fighting.
An example of this is what they did to a friend of mine: They hung him up by his wrists to the ceiling, wrapped his torso in pillows and then they started hitting him with bats! the pillows were there so that he didn't show any external injury, they just wanted to bust his ribs and his internal organs.
You may ask: Why didn't he sued the policeman who did that? Well, the policeman here are known to kill people, then make up a story for why they killed him, just more believable ones than the falling over stuff, not even a kid would buy that, it's plain dumb. Here, they would shoot him down and then put a gun in his hands and say that he started shooting!
Here we have learned to distrust our police forces, for they are exactly the same criminals they supposedly want to protect us from...
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Love is not blind, is retarded
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Trogdor
Legendary Hero
Words in a custom title
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posted June 22, 2007 02:20 PM |
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Quote: I know perhaps I'm overly optimistic, but I occasionally like to think (fantasise maybe) Queensland has moved on from the 'banana-curtain' era under Joh.
Unfortunately however, our justice system manages to not only kill Aboriginal people in police custody, but also acquit the (police) killer, not to mention the police union now running a campaign against the premier (analogous to state governor for US people) for ever allowing the guy to come to trial.
The incident I'm refering to is the death of Mulrunji Doomadgee on Palm Island in 2004. He was taken into police custody for being drunk and a nuisance. Fair enough. The guy died an hour later with his internal organs crushed ('liver split in two'). According to the police line this was caused by HIM FALLING OVER?!?! The story goes that the Mulrunji fell over and the police officer (Chris Hurley) fell on top of him. In my view, such an explanation is nothing short of a fairy tale. Livers do not get split in two by people stumbling and falling on top of one another.
Initially an inquiry found there was insufficient evidence to charge the officer. Unfortunately, the guy running the investigation was a personal friend of the officer, so that was tossed out. The next inquiry did find that there was sufficient evidence to charge him.
This is what the police union is upset about - the fact that a second inquiry was allowed to take place. Personally I find it very disconcerting that the police apparently regard themselves as deserving of some special treatment by the legal system not warranted by the evidence.
There could be conspiracy theories surrounding this, but still it proves how backwards-thinking some governments are. Whoever's in charge is a power monger at least.
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"Through the power of the dollar you can communicate with the dead." - Artu
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baklava
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Mostly harmless
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posted June 23, 2007 12:14 AM |
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A.C.A.B.
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"Let me tell you what the blues
is. When you ain't got no
money,
you got the blues."
Howlin Wolf
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QuPurple
Tavern Dweller
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posted July 23, 2007 02:13 PM |
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I was following the case and thought that the policeman had to be found guilty as surely they dont really think that we (the public) could beleive that someone can get that badly injured just from falling over. There has to be more to it than that.
I think that the whole situation was handled very badly as it seems happens regularly when aboriginals are involved. Part of the problem is the preconceived ideas that the general public have of our indigenous population, that generally they want everything given to them on a plate and that the majority of them are some kind of welfare bludgers.
Sure there is a problem with drugs and alchohol in these communities but how did these people get onto the drugs and alchohol in the first place. There werent any drugs and alchohol in their culture till the foreigners came and settled here. There are many problems to be solved to help the indigenous Australian population but it is not an easy task and look at all the trouble that has been caused by the solutions in the past (the stolen generation, totally impractical housing that is destroyed in no time and many millions of dollars wasted or in some cases embezzled by the few who are supposed to be using it to help the many).
These people have to be shown basic human rights and the justice system has to respect the rights of the family of Mulrunji Doomadgi to know what really happened and to see justice for him and prevent it from happening to others. Its just not good enough and it reflects badly on Australia as a nation.
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setitetart
Known Hero
Reality check....
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posted July 24, 2007 08:47 AM |
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Quote: Sadly, that's whay usually happens with the law enforcements organisms, since there is nobody who watches them but themselves, an issue that sociology tends to put like "If the warcher is watching us, who is watching the watcher?"
They think they have the legal administration in their hands and that they can twist it in any way they want. In my country it's way too common that a policeman it's just as bad as the criminal scum they are, supposedly, fighting.
An example of this is what they did to a friend of mine: They hung him up by his wrists to the ceiling, wrapped his torso in pillows and then they started hitting him with bats! the pillows were there so that he didn't show any external injury, they just wanted to bust his ribs and his internal organs.
You may ask: Why didn't he sued the policeman who did that? Well, the policeman here are known to kill people, then make up a story for why they killed him, just more believable ones than the falling over stuff, not even a kid would buy that, it's plain dumb. Here, they would shoot him down and then put a gun in his hands and say that he started shooting!
Here we have learned to distrust our police forces, for they are exactly the same criminals they supposedly want to protect us from...
You live in Caracas, Venezuela? Wowsers, I wouldn't trust the law enforcement either if thats what goes on normally.
Absolutely beyond appalling.
I hear things like this and it makes me happy that incidents like that dont generally happen here.
While there IS corruption here in areas...it isn't exactly what i would call rampant.
Sad that people can't trust the people who are meant to protect them.
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"Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart, just in case?"
~ Peter Lorre to Vincent Price at Bela Lugosi's funeral
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