Death in custody inquest to probe adequacy of watch house checks
An upcoming coronial inquest into a death in custody that sparked days of Black Lives Matter protests in the Brisbane CBD will investigate procedures at the watch house and the adequacy of medical treatment there.
Police & Courts
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An upcoming coronial inquest into the death in custody of Shiralee Deanne Tilberoo will investigate the adequacy of checks conducted by watch house staff and whether current police policies are appropriate.
A pre-inquest hearing into the death of Ms Tilberoo, known in the Indigenous community as “Aunty Sherry”, in the Brisbane watch house in September is scheduled to be heard in the coroner’s court later this week before Coroner Jane Bentley.
The inquest will investigate a number of issues including the cause of Ms Tilberoo’s death, the adequacy of checks conducted by watch house staff and the adequacy of the provision of medical treatment in the watch house.
The inquest will also look at the appropriateness of current Queensland Police Service policies and procedures relating to the supervision of prisoners in watch houses and of the communication and liaison with next of kin and family following a death in custody.
Ms Tilberoo is understood to have died from natural causes and her death sparked days of Black Lives Matter protests in the Brisbane CBD.
An assistant watch-house officer was also suspended from duty following the death of the 49-year-old woman.
“This suspension relates to allegations of failure of duty in relation to the performance of regular physical checks on prisoners in the watch-house, and related record keeping,” Assistant Commissioner Brian Codd said at the time.
“We have protocols in the watch-house that various levels of physical checking is done in various cells depending on the risk profile of the individual.”
He said Ms Tilberoo was classed at a “normal” level of risk.
As a result of the incident, Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll also directed for an immediate overview of the watch-house processes to be conducted by a senior superintendent of police.
It’s understood the inquest into Ms Tilberoo’s death may be heard alongside the inquest into the death of Vlasta Wylucki who died in the Southport watch house in 2018.
The pre-inquest hearings are both listed to begin on Thursday.
No evidence will be heard but a date and place for the hearing is expected to be set.
