Police to consider coroner’s recommendation after tragic death of William Grimes

A coroner’s recommendation to employ a district duty officer in the Wide Bay will be “considered” after a man who had schizophrenia died after he was tasered by police.

Queensland Police Service. Generic image.

A recommendation made by a coroner to bring a district duty officer to the Wide Bay region will be considered by police in the wake of an inquest into a Maryborough man’s tragic death.

Coroner Terry Ryan handed down his findings in the death of William George Grimes last week.

The inquest, held in the Hervey Bay Courthouse last year, examined the moment Mr Grimes, 31, was tasered after he doused himself with fuel on March 3, 2020, at Granville State School.

On that night, Mr Grimes, who had schizophrenia, ran from the police while holding a jerry can and a lighter and threatening to self-harm.

The inquest heard from experts who were unable to determine if it was the lighter in Mr Grimes’ hand or the taser used by police that ignited the flames that caused burns to 70 per cent of Mr Grimes’ body.

Mr Grimes died from his injuries a week later in hospital in Brisbane.

Coroner recommends district duty officer for Wide Bay after inquest

During the inquest, the role of District Duty Officers was raised repeatedly, both by Detective Sergeant Dave Perry, who investigated the incident, and the four officers who were at the scene that night.

All agreed a DDO would have been a valuable resource for the officers responding that night.

But it was revealed Queensland police Commissioner Katrina Carroll had made submissions against the addition of DDOs to the Wide Bay when Mr Ryan handed down his findings last week.

It was submitted that there was senior support offered to the officers throughout the incident by the shift supervisor Sergeant Christopher Elder, who had more than 20 years of experience.

He supported the officers by deploying a third crew to bring extinguishers to the scene and requested the attendance of ambulance and fire crews.

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

“The Commissioner submitted there was no evidence before the court to suggest the level of supervision or incident oversight provided to the involved officers was inadequate,” Mr Ryan said.

But Mr Ryan said each of the officers involved that night had indicated in their evidence that DDO at the level of senior sergeant in the Wide Bay region would be beneficial in “providing senior level support in high risk jobs to officers on the ground”.

“I recommend that the Queensland Police Service establish a District Duty Officer at the level of senior sergeant in the Wide Bay District.”

The Commissioner submitted that a recommendation for a DDO “in the vacuum of such evidence” was inappropriate.

A police spokesman said the Queensland Police Service acknowledged Mr Ryan’s findings.

“Recommendations raised as part of the findings will be carefully considered in due course,” he said.