NSW Coroner Harriet Grahame shuts down top cop’s “bias” claim after her elderly mother was handcuffed

A NSW coroner has refused to excuse herself from an inquest into the death of a man who was shot by a cop, after senior police wrote a letter to her superiors raising concerns over potential bias.

A state coroner has refused to excuse herself from an inquest into the death of a man who was shot by a cop, after senior police wrote a letter to her superiors raising concerns over potential “bias” due to the fact her elderly mum had been restrained by police in recent years.

NSW Deputy State Coroner Magistrate Harriet Grahame’s late mother Rachel was restrained by police in 2020, with body worn footage of the incident attracting scrutiny following the tasering of 95-year-old dementia patient Clare Nowland.

Rachel Grahame was handcuffed by six police officers at her Sydney nursing home in 2020, after shaking a lanyard toward police.

She was 81-years-old at the time, and suffered from dementia, with police body cam footage showing her screaming out in pain as she was cuffed. Harriet Grahame’s sister Emma spoke out to media outlets about the police treatment of her mother, and also took her frustrations to social media.

Coroner Harriet Grahame’s mother Rachel, shown in handcuffs.

Emma sued NSW Police following the incident, and a settlement involved a compensation payment by the State of NSW in 2021.

Harriet Grahame never spoke about it, nor did her sister mention her in any way.

In August, however, the office of NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb wrote to State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan regarding Ms Grahame’s “perception of bias”.

“The Commissioner’s view is what occurred with Ms Grahame might give rise to a perception of bias on DSC Grahame’s part, especially when she is presiding over matters in relation to the use of police powers, vulnerable persons or use of force,” the letter read.

The letter concluded with a request that Ms O’Sullivan consider “the appropriateness” of Ms Grahame “continuing to preside over matters involving the Commissioner and NSWPF officers.”

Magistrate Harriet Grahame. Picture: Tracey Nearmy

Three days later, Ms Grahame was due to begin an inquest into the death of Andrew Chee Quee, who was shot by police after threatening to kill them in 2020. Due to the letter sent to her superiors just days earlier, she disclosed the incident involving her mother to the court.

While counsel for the Commissioner said she would not be making an application against Ms Grahame’s presiding over the inquest, another officer made an application for her to excuse herself, which the Commissioner supported.

However, last week, Ms Grahame published a lengthy document outlining that she would not be excusing herself from the case, and criticised the application asking her to do so.

“Almost all matters in the coronial jurisdiction have some involvement by the NSWPF in one way or another and that a large proportion of the work of a deputy state coroner involves presiding over matters where the operation of police powers may be an issue,” she wrote.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

Ms Grahame said she had investigated hundreds of deaths, and had been both critical and complimentary of police. She also noted that judges, coroners, police and magistrates all had to “compartmentalise” their lived ­experience while carrying out their duties.

“We would have no judges in our criminal courts if it were required that judges have no wider family experience of crime, no family court judges if they were to have no experience of separation or divorce, and no coroners to conduct proceedings if they were required to have no experience of any of the circumstances pertaining to the very wide range of deaths reported to this Court,” she said.

She concluded her judgement by labelling the police argument to remove her from Mr Chee Quee’s inquest as “not reasonable … In my view, it is entirely fanciful”.

“It is based on extending my adult sister’s stated views on police in nursing homes and in relation to dementia patients to include any operation of police powers on vulnerable people or what the application described as the possibility of ‘police misconduct’.”

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