Sister of Indigenous woman shot by WA Police welcomes coroner's findings
WARNING: The following story contains references to suicidal ideation and contains the image of an Indigenous person who has died.
The woman, known as JC for cultural reasons, was shot by then-First Class Constable Brent Wyndham in Geraldton in September 2019.
Coroner Ros Fogliani found the death of the 29-year-old Yamatji woman could have been prevented.
JC's sister, Bernadette Clarke, thanked the coroner and said the inquest had provided some comfort to the family.
"The coroner was our only voice when we could no longer use our voices," Ms Clarke said.
But the findings come as the family mourns the death of JC's foster mother, who passed away in May.
LJ was buried two weeks ago and Ms Clarke wished she been able to witness the findings.
"That's what hurts," Ms Clarke said.
"Knowing that you got all this information and old girl's not here to see it herself, you know — it played a big impact on me knowing that old girl was gone and she can't have her say too."
Ms Clarke said the family welcomed the adverse findings against Mr Wyndham, who has resigned from WA Police.
He was charged with JC's murder but acquitted after a landmark trial in 2021.
"I find that the coroner has acknowledged [Mr Wyndham's] wrongs," Ms Clarke said.
She also backed calls for police to undergo improved cultural awareness training.
"You've got to be trained up in a way where you've got to recognise that you're living in an Aboriginal community or country," Ms Clarke said.
Gerry Georgatos from the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project said Ms Fogliani's findings focused too heavily on JC's background.
"There should have been a greater focus on the officer and this officer's actions," he said.
He said WA Police needed to institute better screening to ensure officers are fit for duty.
"Cultural training is a given — it must happen," Mr Georgatos said.
"All the cultural training wouldn't have actually stopped this police officer doing what he did in my view."
The coroner made a total of nine recommendations, including collaboratively designed cultural awareness training that should be delivered by Indigenous people on a regular basis.
Police declined to be interviewed in response to the findings, but said in a statement that "a number of the recommendations" made by the coroner had already been implemented.
"The Western Australia Police Force is always striving to better serve our community and we will carefully consider the coroner's findings," the statement said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
28 minutes ago
- ABC News
Man who used Snapchat to try and meet up with 13yo boy jailed for 'vile' and 'calculated' offending
A Queensland ferry driver nabbed in a police sting while trying to meet a 13-year-old boy has been jailed for his "vile" and "calculated" offending. Luke Edward Reynolds will serve six months behind bars after pleading guilty in the Brisbane District Court to using electronic communication to procure a child under 16, indecent treatment of a child, and possessing child exploitation material. Reynolds was 28 years old when he sent a photograph of his genitals to a 13-year-old boy he had started grooming through an online chatroom in April 2024. The court heard the sexualised conversation moved to Snapchat, with Reynolds later organising to meet the boy in Brisbane. In sentencing Reynolds to two years' imprisonment, with the actual time served to be six months, Judge Brad Farr described the offending as "horrid" and "calculated". He said it had persisted even after the boy became "nervous" and left on his pushbike. The court heard the boy's parents had become suspicious of where he had been when they discovered explicit messages from Reynolds on his phone. Reynolds continued messaging the boy, including sending him a photo of his genitals — not realising he was actually communicating with police officers who the boy's father had contacted to report what occurred. He was arrested on April 10 when he went to meet who he thought was the boy. He was found with a cooler bag containing a towel, condoms, lubricant and anal cream. The court heard Reynolds admitted to police that he knew the child was under the age of 16 and that he intended to have sex with him. An examination of his phone found images of naked teenage children had been saved, the court heard. Defence barrister Patrick Wilson said Reynolds was "sexually naive" and had never had sex before. He said his client was "remorseful", had been a bit of a "loner" through life, and suffered from depression and anxiety. Mr Wilson said the proceedings and their publicity had "a substantial impact" on Reynolds, pointing to the "number of journalists" in the courtroom covering the case. He said Reynolds had lost his job as a ferry driver but was "driven out of that industry by virtue of the publicity associated with his arrest". Reynolds was described by his defence lawyer as "someone who has good prospects of rehabilitation long-term". Judge Farr accepted Reynolds' remorse but said the offending showed "little thought" to the potential harm posed to the victim. "Even after the child exhibited … concern at following through … and perhaps even fear, you persisted to try and encourage him. "A sentence which reflects public denunciation of such vile conduct is relevant."
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Former Scots College rugby player admits to role in large drug supply
A former rugby player from a high profile eastern suburbs private school has pleaded guilty to his 'risky role' in a commercial supply of more than 10kg of cocaine. Jake Michael Prindiville, 28. a former young gun for the 1st XV at the exclusive Scots College in Bellevue Hill, attended the Downing Centre District Court on Friday for a sentencing hearing, flanked by his family. He pleaded guilty to taking part in supplying a prohibited drug in a large commercial quantity, over his involvement in a substantial cocaine supply in Ashfield, in Sydney's inner west in October 2023. The charge carries a maximum potential term of life imprisonment. Defence barrister Phillip Boulten SC told the court his client was offered money to play 'a risky role in someone else's supply of a large commercial quantity of cocaine to someone else'. 'His job was to take possession of the sports bag in which the drugs were located and to be the mechanism by which the intended purchaser would take possession of the drugs,' he said. Mr Boulten said Prindiville only became 'much more aware of the significance of what he was doing' when he 'picked up the bag and could feel that it was a heavy bag'. 'His participation and his knowledge of taking part in supply can be measured in minutes not hours or days,' he said. The court was told Prindiville was in communications with a contact that went by the name of 'Mickey Mouse' in the hours prior to the supply. Following a stint at Connect Global, a rehabilitation centre north of Newcastle, his bail was varied in August 2024 to allow him to reside at home, under a strict curfew. These conditions were suspended in April 2025, to allow him to travel to employment. The court was told the young man has struggled with childhood dysfunction, ongoing drug use, and post traumatic stress disorder, making him 'vulnerable'. 'It's made it very difficult for him to lead a stable life,' Mr Boulten said. 'Jail will be quite hard … he's still vulnerable.' While struggling through high school, Prindiville experienced 'vile, disgusting abuse' for which he would eventually receive compensation in early adulthood. 'There is little wonder … hardly any wonder that the offender was an early starter in consuming alcohol and illegal drugs when he was still at school. Like his father, he was smoking cannabis … and as a teenager became much more aware of his mother's family and, therefore, his Aboriginality,' Mr Boulten said. 'Any attempts that he made to make significant inroads into his community from Brewarina were not really assisted by his mother who was his only contact in that community.' Mr Boulten added Prindiville had 'achieved a lot' since his arrest and has 'reasonable prospects' for rehabilitation. The Crown Prosecution conceded the 'exceptional' nature of Prindiville's case. 'There's not much I can say against what Mr Boulten has already said.'
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson apologises to customers for data breach
The Qantas chief executive says the airline takes cybersecurity breaches "incredibly seriously" and has apologised to more than 6 million customers who received a personalised email on Wednesday, informing them that cybercriminals had broken through the company's defences. "What I would first like to say is acknowledge the impact to all our customers and, first and foremost, I'd like to apologise to them," Vanessa Hudson said in an interview with Channel Seven in Athens overnight. "And so, right up front, I want to say we take this seriously and we are going to do everything that we can to communicate transparently." Ms Hudson said the breach occurred when a cybercriminal infiltrated one of the airline's call centres and accessed a service platform that enabled them to get access to customer data. She said the criminals accessed "principally customer names, also phone numbers and frequent flyer numbers as well". "That is something that we are very concerned about and we are absolutely doing everything that we can to rectify this situation," she said. "What I can also say, though, is that that the threat has been contained and the systems are now secure, and our number-one focus is to support customers through this process." Ms Hudson said the airline communicated with its customers "as quickly as possible" and it was being transparent. "Part of the steps that we're taking [involves being] … really transparent with customers, but then also obviously next week we'll be following up and giving our customers the information that they need to understand how the specific data pertaining to them has potentially been breached in this." Ms Hudson said the company had invested "tens of millions" of dollars in cyber security and "that's been increasing year on year" but criminals were getting more sophisticated. "We take cybersecurity incredibly seriously, and we have got absolute focus right across our organisation, from training to system controls to system alerts in this instance," she said. Ms Hudson said Qantas was now working with the federal government to "investigate this right through to the end". "These are criminal cybercriminals and we have involved the AFP and we've involved the government cybersecurity team," she said. She noted the cybercriminals did not get access to customers' passport information, credit card information or password information. "We have not had passport information breached. We have not had credit card information breached and we have not had password information breached." Ms Hudson said Qantas had provided "significant training" to employees but cybercriminals were getting more apt at breaching security measures. Ms Hudson said the airline had now "strengthened and increased controls" and would continue to build its defences against future breaches. But she said the reality for all organisations was "we live in a world where our cybercriminals are global". "They [cyber criminals] are good at what they do. They are constantly innovating in terms of what we do. And so that is why we are constantly going to be improving our systems as we go forward as well." The company's reputation has been battered in recent years. That has included coping penalties for misleading customers by selling tickets on flights that had already been cancelled. Former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce also faced heat in parliamentary hearings over rising profits and airfares despite growing customer dissatisfaction. Asked whether the cyber breach would further dent the airline's standing with customers, Ms Hudson said "trust is something that is earned" and "comes from being up-front and transparent and that is what we are doing". "In this event, we have communicated to customers as soon as we knew."
