Colluders should be weeded out: Lawyer.
15.05.2010
By: TONY KOCH, JARED OWENS
QUEENSLAND Police should ``hang their heads in shame'' over the Coroner's open finding in the death of Mulrunji Doomadgee, his family said yesterday.
The Doomadgee family's spokesman and barrister Andrew Boe said decent police officers would be aghast at the conduct of Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley.
``(The Coroner) found that Hurley lied about those assaults and that Hurley colluded with other police in what evidence they gave to investigators,'' Mr Boe said. ``This amounted to a corruption of the evidence to such an extent that the coroner was not able to make a definite finding regarding Mulrunji's death.
``Any police officers wishing to associate with Hurley's conduct and his position, and the funding of his defence by the police union, should read this report and hang their heads in shame about what has been revealed. The police involved here are the miscreants who the service should weed out.''
Palm Island Mayor Alf Lacey said it was time for his community to move on. ``We can never take away what happened, but the thing is now that we find the time to heal and help the Doomadgee family heal as well,'' he said.
Mr Lacey urged Queensland's Crime and Misconduct Commission to release its long-awaited report into the police conduct, which has again been delayed due to matters of ``procedural fairness''. ``I don't know how many more excuses the CMC can put up,'' he said.
Mr Lacey said the open finding was understandable, given the case's long and muddled history. ``I'm honestly certain the Coroner in his open finding has tried as much as he can to give a good and balanced opinion on the whole six years of this case,'' he said.
Doomadgee's partner, Tracy Twaddle, said rather than closing the book on the case, the open finding was ``just another chapter''.
Although Sergeant Hurley did not attend the inquest yesterday, he was reportedly glad it was over. ``I just spoke with Chris and he is relieved that this part of the saga is over,'' said Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers.
``Some of the findings I agree with. I am surprised by some of the others. It is now time to move on.''
Queensland Police said: ``We note the Coroner's findings, and we are considering the recommendations.''
