Findings handed down in inquest for William George Grimes

A coroner has handed down his findings after an inquest examining the horrific moment a father of two was tasered after dousing himself with fuel outside a Queensland school.

An inquest is being held into the death of Maryborough's William George Grimes.

A Queensland coroner has handed down his findings after an inquest examined the death of a man who was tasered outside a Maryborough school after dousing himself in fuel.

William George Grimes died on March 10, 2020, aged 31, a week after he suffered burns resulting from the incident at the school.

The inquest heard on March 3, Mr Grimes, referred to as George during the inquest at the request of his family, ran from the police into Granville State School while holding a jerry can and a lighter and threatening to self-harm.

The officers were responding to a triple-0 call made by Mr Grimes’ brother, David, after he left a suicide note and took the jerry can of fuel from the family’s Granville home.

Footage from the officers’ body-worn cameras showed on the night of the incident, Constable Lars Gartrell had taken the lead in trying to speak to Mr Grimes, whose behaviour was erratic.

In the footage, Mr Grimes was seen to pour fuel from the jerry can over himself.

He had already doused the ground in front of him with fuel, which Const Gartrell said limited his “close range options” in dealing with the situation.

Const Gartrell told the inquest he had deployed his taser on Mr Grimes in order to “save his life”.

He said it was an attempt to disable Mr Grimes, who he believed had a “fully formed intention of setting himself on fire”.

When the fire ignited, the officers rushed to Mr Grimes’ aid, using dirt and rolling him on the ground to extinguish the flames.

During the inquest, experts testified that it could not be determined whether Mr Grimes had used the lighter to self-immolate or if the taser had caused the fire.

Coroner Terry Ryan said it had been submitted by a lawyer representing the family that there was sufficient evidence that it was the taser and not the lighter that had ignited the fire.

But Mr Ryan said experts who had testified had found that after viewing the body worn footage from each of the officers, either the lighter or taser were equally capable of having ignited the flames and he was not able to find that it was the taser that had caused the fire.

Mr Ryan said Const Gartrell presented as a reliable and honest witness during the inquest.

“His explanation at the inquest in relation to why he deployed his taser was consistent with what he told investigators soon after the incident,” he said.

“Constable Gartrell explained that George appeared to have formed the intention to complete the act of igniting himself after he had created a barrier around himself of fuel and disengaged with police.”

He said Const Gartrell had considered all options open to him, including the use of his baton and capsicum spray.

But he was concerned about employing spray because it was only effective within 2m.

He formed the view it left him with his firearm or his taser.

“Const Gartrell described finding a good line of sight in order to ensure there was a lock as he believed this would complete the circuit and there would be no spark created in deploying his taser.”

Mr Ryan said the operational procedures manual stipulated the circumstances in which a taser should not be used, including around flammable liquids.

But that provision was not prescriptive and taser training had evolved to ensure Queensland officers were aware of the possible risks in the case of a similar scenario.

When attempts to speak to Mr Grimes broke down and he poured petrol over himself, essentially the options left to Mr Gartrell were to intervene and try to control him or stand by and hope he would not complete the act, Mr Ryan said.

William George Grimes died on March 10, 2020, aged 31, a week after he suffered burns resulting from the incident at the school.

“Const Gartrell’s choice was to either let George set himself on fire or to do something to try to save his life,” Mr Ryan said.

“I accept that decision was very difficult to make in exceptionally challenging circumstances and that Constable Gartrell’s intention in deploying the taser was to render George incapable of carrying out his plan.”

Mr Ryan said he was satisfied the other three officers at the scene complied with the relevant operational policies and did their best to preserve his life.

He said submissions made by Mr Grimes’ family were not critical of the actions of the involved police officers in any way and they agreed the involved officers were both compassionate and professional in their approach to him.

“I agree with that submission,” Mr Ryan said.

Mr Grimes’ mental health care and treatment was also considered by Mr Ryan.

He was being treated for schizophrenia prior to his death and had on another occasion poured fuel on himself while he was intoxicated.

Excessive alcohol consumption was something he’d struggled with previously, Mr Ryan said.

Wide Bay Mental Health Specialised Services had conducted a review after Mr Grimes’ death and had made two recommendations as a result, Mr Ryan said.

The review team felt the plan to discharge Mr Grimes was due to him being assessed as low risk at the time and his longitudinal risk was not considered.

He did not have a face-to-face assessment or see a psychiatrist during his time with the acute care team.

That practice had now change and clients were reviewed during their assessment or follow up process.

It was also noted that no family member was included in the discharge safety process for Mr Grimes.

It was considered that he should have remained under the care of the acute care team until he had linked in with Bridges or his doctor, or had a safety plan that included his community support surrounding his use of alcohol and access to petrol.

The review recommendation was that a client’s family or significant other be involved in planning a discharge from the mental health service.

Mr Ryan also recommended that a district duty officer be allocated to the Wide Bay region in the wake of Mr Grimes’ death.