Latest news with #Yamatji
SBS Australia
03-07-2025
- SBS Australia
Unit 18 'soul-destroying' for children imprisoned, says coroner
WARNING: This article discusses self-harm and suicide and contains distressing content and the name of an Aboriginal person who has died. Everything must be done to ensure another child doesn't die in youth detention, a coroner has told an inquest for an Indigenous teenager who fatally self-harmed while in custody. Yamatji boy Cleveland Dodd, 16, was found unresponsive inside a cell in Unit 18, a youth wing of the high-security adult facility Casuarina Prison in Perth, in the early hours of October 12, 2023. Cleveland was taken to hospital in a critical condition and died a week later, causing outrage and grief in the community. It led to a long-running inquest that started in April 2024, with coroner Philip Urquhart saying he might recommend for Unit 18 to be closed, as he delivered his preliminary findings on Tuesday. "There can be no doubt the evidence from the inquest revealed that youth justice had been a crisis at the time of Cleveland's death and had been for some time," he told the coroner's court. The coroner indicated he might recommend the justice department no longer oversee the youth justice estate. He is considering calling for a special inquiry under the Public Sector Management Act into how Unit 18 came to be established in mid-2022. "Everything must be done to minimise the risk of another death of a child in youth detention," Mr Urquhart said. The coroner said evidence supported findings the justice department had failed to properly supervise Cleveland before he fatally harmed himself. He found staff failed to wear radios as per department policy, Cleveland was confined to his cell for excessive amounts of time and the teen's cell was in a condition that enabled him to self-harm. The department had accepted many failings, including staff not following policies and procedures and Cleveland's lack of access to running water in his cell, Mr Urquhart said. He pointed to extensive evidence Cleveland was not receiving adequate mental health and therapeutic support, education, recreation and "access to fresh air". "There is much evidence to suggest that these needs of Cleveland were not adequately met," he said. Staff described the "appalling conditions in which the young people were being detained" and the "chaotic operating environment" at Unit 18, with some saying it was a "war zone", Mr Urquhart said as he recapped some of the evidence. "They described the soul-destroying daily confinement orders which kept detainees in their cells, sometimes for 24 hours a day," he said. "They described the lack of support and training given to them to do their jobs and they described the chronic shortage of staff." The coroner revisited evidence heard about the establishment of Unit 18, as he made a case for a special inquiry after the department and some other counsel made submissions it was beyond the jurisdiction of the court. He said further adverse findings against the department and individuals would be confined to actions taken or not taken in Unit 18 and matters connected to Cleveland's death. He said examples of these would be what staff did after Cleveland covered his in-cell observation camera and the damage in his unit that enabled him to harm himself. The inquest previously heard Cleveland self-harmed about 1.35am. At 1.51am, an officer opened his cell door and at 1.54am a red alert was issued as staff tried to revive the teen. Paramedics arrived at 2.06am but did not get access to Cleveland, who was found to be in cardiac arrest, for nine minutes. The teen was partially revived and taken to hospital but suffered a brain injury becauise of a lack of oxygen. Cleveland died, surrounded by his family, on October 19, 2023. Lifeline 13 11 14
Sydney Morning Herald
03-07-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
WA cop who shot and killed Indigenous woman ‘acted too hastily': coroner
Warning: this report contains the name and image of a deceased Indigenous person, with her family's permission. Western Australia's chief coroner has found a police officer who shot and killed an Indigenous woman on a Geraldton street in 2019 'acted too hastily' and escalated a situation which was preventable. Yamatji woman JC, 29, died after she was shot in the stomach at close range by Brent Wyndham after her family had called police to report concerns she was wandering around, dazed and carrying a large knife and a pair of scissors. Wyndham, a first class constable at the time, was one of the most junior officers who attended the scene and the only one who drew his gun towards the mentally unwell woman. He was charged with murder, but was acquitted after going to trial in 2021. He told the jury in his trial that JC had turned and 'squared off' to him in a 'fighting stance' while she was around four metres away. 'She was going to attack me ... she raised the knife up and her body has come forward like she was going to lunge at me and I just shot her.' A coronial inquest into the death, heard in both Geraldton and Perth, found JC did not lunge at Wyndham, nor step towards him, but there was likely movement of her arm that the officer interpreted as forward momentum and a perceived threat. Handing down her findings on Wednesday, Coroner Ros Fogliani said the eight police officers who attended the scene could have considered de-escalation options. 'The police officer who shot JC, within 17 seconds of getting out of his vehicle, did not know, when he exited the car, if the person holding the knife was a male or a female,' she said.
The Age
03-07-2025
- The Age
WA cop who shot and killed Indigenous woman ‘acted too hastily': coroner
Warning: this report contains the name and image of a deceased Indigenous person, with her family's permission. Western Australia's chief coroner has found a police officer who shot and killed an Indigenous woman on a Geraldton street in 2019 'acted too hastily' and escalated a situation which was preventable. Yamatji woman JC, 29, died after she was shot in the stomach at close range by Brent Wyndham after her family had called police to report concerns she was wandering around, dazed and carrying a large knife and a pair of scissors. Wyndham, a first class constable at the time, was one of the most junior officers who attended the scene and the only one who drew his gun towards the mentally unwell woman. He was charged with murder, but was acquitted after going to trial in 2021. He told the jury in his trial that JC had turned and 'squared off' to him in a 'fighting stance' while she was around four metres away. 'She was going to attack me ... she raised the knife up and her body has come forward like she was going to lunge at me and I just shot her.' A coronial inquest into the death, heard in both Geraldton and Perth, found JC did not lunge at Wyndham, nor step towards him, but there was likely movement of her arm that the officer interpreted as forward momentum and a perceived threat. Handing down her findings on Wednesday, Coroner Ros Fogliani said the eight police officers who attended the scene could have considered de-escalation options. 'The police officer who shot JC, within 17 seconds of getting out of his vehicle, did not know, when he exited the car, if the person holding the knife was a male or a female,' she said.
ABC News
08-05-2025
- ABC News
Cassius Turvey left behind a legacy of leadership for all who knew him
Cassius Turvey was tall for a 15-year-old — 181 centimetres to be exact — but those who knew him say his heart was even bigger. WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains an image of a person who has died, used with the permission of their family. A three-month-long trial into the teenager's death has culminated in three men being found guilty: two of murder, and one of manslaughter. The verdict has turned the page on what has been a tortuous chapter for Cassius's family and friends. A memorial plaque for the teenager in his community of Midland, east of Perth, sits as an enduring reminder of the legacy he left behind: a "gentle giant", "huggable teddy bear", and a "young leader". Cheryl Kickett-Tucker remembers the quiet 10-year-old Noongar Yamatji boy who walked into a community program she was running. "He was a shy boy, but he was very humorous," she said. As he grew, Ms Kickett-Tucker says a leader emerged. "He was a very tall boy, people had to look up to him. But it was his heart that was larger than his height," she said. The teenager started his own lawn mowing business with two of his friends and reportedly told his customers — their neighbours — to pay what they wanted. "The spirit of Cassius is still among us … we've got to continue living our lives and working together, and helping each other, and seeing the best in each other, because that's what Cassius was all about," Ms Kickett-Tucker said. Cassius's death in 2022 sparked rallies across the nation. First Nations communities recoiled at the news of yet another young Indigenous death. Noongar traditional custodian Jim Morrison said the intergenerational trauma experienced by Aboriginal people made it difficult not to raise questions at the time about whether race was a factor in Cassius's death; something the court has since ruled out. "The poor little man buried his father — six weeks prior to his death — who was a Stolen Generations person," Mr Morrison said. "These sorts of things, our young people experience every day. The amount of racial profiling that exists, and still exists." While the trial into Cassius's murder heard racial slurs were used on the day the teenager was beaten, there was no mention of any racial motivation behind the attack. Instead, it was likely a case of vigilantism gone horribly wrong — men enacting misdirected vengeance against children after one of their car's windows had been smashed the day before. The court heard Cassius was walking with friends after school when he was savagely beaten with a metal handle ripped off a trolley. He died 10 days later in hospital. Both men convicted of the murder, Jack Brearley and Brodie Palmer, have accused each other of beating Cassius. A sentencing hearing is set for June 26. Speaking after the verdict, the lead detective on Cassius's case, Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Cleal, made absolutely clear: "Cassius was completely innocent of all the events that led up to this terrible tragedy." What had happened to Cassius was senseless — something those close to the teenager instinctively knew back in 2022, even without a trial. But that only fuelled concerns at the time among Aboriginal communities, many of which had become afraid to let their children walk the streets as Cassius had. Racial and police tensions brewed in the immediate aftermath of the boy's death. But, through all the grief and anger, one voice remained calm. "Kids matter," Cassius's mother Mechelle Turvey said at a candlelit vigil for her son. "All our kids. Black, white, brown, pink, yellow, it doesn't matter." Her message was clear. It was about unity and moving forward, not division and vengeance. Addressing another rally of thousands in Perth, on a national day of action that saw dozens of similar rallies around the country, Ms Turvey carried on delivering that message, reading from one of Cassius's school reports. "[Cassius] always enjoys being challenged … this demonstrates his willingness and self motivation to succeed," the report read. Building each other up, and leading by example — that's the legacy Mechelle Turvey believes her son has left behind.
SBS Australia
08-05-2025
- SBS Australia
Two men found guilty of murdering Perth boy Cassius Turvey
Two men found guilty of murdering Perth boy Cassius Turvey Published 8 May 2025, 8:31 am Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned this story contains the name and image of someone who has died. A Western Australian Supreme Court jury has handed down its verdict in the high-profile trial over the death of 15-year-old Noongar Yamatji boy Cassius Turvey. His killing sparked national grief and global calls for justice. SBS Western Australia Correspondent Christopher Tan filed this report.
