Battle to include names of officers who have suicided on police honour roll gains traction

A long legal battle by a former police officer to obtain recognition for officers who have committed suicide has gained traction, but a government response has not been as positive.

A years-long battle by the son of a missing senior sergeant to have police officers who have died by suicide included on a state honour roll has finally taken a step forward.

In a letter to Townsville resident Steven Isles, Deputy Commissioner Regional Queensland, Paul Taylor, states a draft review of the Queensland Police Service (QPS) Honours and Awards Policy has been underway and has now been supported by their legal branch.

“I am pleased to advise that the draft policy has now been reviewed and supported by Legal Branch (sic),” he wrote.

“As a result, feedback from key stakeholders, including the Queensland Ombudsman, is being sought.”

FAMILY CONTINUES FIGHT FOR JUSTICE FOR MISSING POLICE VETERAN

REQUEST TO RECOGNISE OFFICERS WHO SUICIDE

The review follows a July finding by the Queensland Ombudsman that deemed the exclusion of officers who had died from suicide from the Queensland Police Service (QPS) honour roll as being discriminatory.

Mr Isles, 40, and his family have been fighting for years to have his missing father, Senior Sergeant Michael Isles – and other police officers who have died through post-traumatic stress-related suicide – included on the Queensland and the national police memorials.

Though state and territory memorials were left up to the discretion of individual jurisdictions Queensland Police have previously told the Courier Mail they follow the National Police Memorial guidelines to maintain consistency.

Criteria for inclusion on the National Police Memorial, which was established in Canberra 2006, declares cases of suicide were not eligible.

A police spokeswoman said following the ombudsman’s findings, it was now the intention of the QPS to “remove the blanket exclusion of suicide wording from the Honours Policy and consider each case on its own individual merits.”

“The QPS is also in the process of drafting a more inclusive policy which will better delineate between a member who was killed or died in the execution of duty and a member who died while in service,” she said.

On September 23, 2009, Snr Sgt Isles, then Officer-in-Charge of the Ayr police station, headed to Townsville for training but never arrived.

Queensland Police Senior Sergeant Michael Isles, 58, was Officer-in-Charge of the Ayr Police Station when he disappeared while on duty on September 23, 2009. His family are still fighting to have his name placed on a police memorial. Picture: Facebook

An abandoned police car was found five days later near Ravenswood, 80km from Ayr.

The 58-year-old married father of three has not been seen since and no body has ever been found.

Coroner Michael Barnes “reluctantly” ruled the police officer’s suspected death a suicide during a 2012 inquest in Brisbane.

But the Isles family, and many others, have not ruled out the possibility of foul play.

A justice of the peace and former Northern Territory police officer, Mr Isles said his father suffered from PTSD as a result of his 35-years in law enforcement, including being wrongfully targeted in a 2008 corruption investigation.

Snr Sgt Isles was cleared of the alleged misconduct on September 18, 2009 and had only returned to work on the Monday after being exonerated of any wrongdoing by then-Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson.

Both Mr Isles and Katter’s Australian Party member for Hinchinbrook, Nick Dametto, have also expressed frustration after not receiving a response to a parliamentary electronic petition that was tabled in parliament on September 8.

The petition, titled Queensland Police Honour Roll should recognise mental and physical injury, was tabled with 787 signatures, with a response anticipated within 30 days.

The petition called on the House to accept the recommendation of the Queensland Ombudsman and enable consideration on msderit of serving police officers who had suicided.

Steven Isles and his family continue to call for the names of police officers who have lost their life to suicide to be included in the police honour roll. Mr Isles lost his father, Senior Sergeant Michael Isles, more than 10 years ago. There are at least 13 other Queensland families who have also lost a police officer family member to suicide. Picture: Supplied

Mr Dametto, 36, who sponsored the petition, had also urged Police Minister Mark Ryan to provide a response before the parliament went into caretaker mode on October 6, prior to the upcoming election, in order to give families of fallen officers a definitive answer.

But in an October 16 letter to the Clerk of Parliament, Mr Ryan said as the due date for tabling a response fell within the caretaker period, he would be unable to respond.

“I am advised that the due date for tabling a response to this petition falls within the caretaker period,” Mr Ryan wrote.

“I am further advised that due to caretaker convention, I am unable to provide a substantive response to the petition.

“Accordingly, under Standing Order 125(6)(a), please accept this letter as an interim response as a courtesy to the Parliament.

“I request that this interim response be tabled during the period that the Legislative Assembly is dissolved.”

In September, Mr Ryan told the Courier Mail he would defer the decision to Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll.

Queensland Police Senior Sergeant Michael Isles, pictured with his wife Fiona, has been missing from Ayr since September 23, 2009. Picture: Facebook

Mr Dametto expressed disappointment the petition was not acted upon in a timely manner.

“Police Minister Mark Ryan has failed to provide certainty to families of police officers who have died by suicide after he did not respond to a parliamentary e-petition in time before parliament dissolved,” he said in a statement.

“With the government now in caretaker mode, a response will not be given until after the upcoming State election when a new government is sworn in.

“Why there continues to be such a lack of action on this request is beyond me. The families of fallen officers deserve better,” he said.

Mr Isles said the lack of response from the Minister was “predictable but nonetheless disappointing”.

Mr Isles told the Courier Mail said he was not surprised the response had been delayed, but pointed out the matter had previously been presented to Mr Ryan in 2017 and 2018.

Mr Isles had then taken the issue to the Ombudsman in late 2018, which led to the July findings this year.

“There is no reason why this matter shouldn’t be addressed by the Minister or the Commissioner as a priority,” he said.