Two Queensland Police officers have charges relating to death of Bond student Charlie Robertson dropped in Southport court

A Gold Coast father feels “massively aggrieved” after finding out charges against two cops accused of lying about his son Charlie Robertson’s death have been dropped.

A Gold Coast dad says he is “sick to the guts” after finding out at the last minute that charges against two police officers accused of lying about the circumstances of his son’s death have been dropped.

Charlie Robertson, a promising university student, died after police raided his Nobby Beach apartment on the morning of June 13, 2015.

Bond University student Charlie Robertson died at aged 19. Picture: Supplied

Not one of the seven police officers at the home told paramedics to check on the 19-year-old who was unconscious on his mattress, a coroner found in March 2017.

The court heard police left without calling paramedics for the university student.

Police officers told the Southport Coroners Court in 2017 they believed the teenager was drunk.

He was found dead hours later and it was ruled he died of a drug overdose.

In June 2020, Senior Constable Blake William Joseph Sullivan and Senior Constable Grant Thomas Watkins were charged with perjury and common assault. It was alleged they gave false testimony at a coronial hearing in March 2017. Both men denied the claims.

This month, Crown prosecutors told the Southport District Court the charges against Sullivan and Watkins would be discontinued.

One officer has left the QPS while the other is still subject to internal disciplinary proceedings.

Police officer Grant Watkins 57 outside Brisbane court in March 2020.

Charlie’s father Graham Robertson says he was “abruptly” told last week that the charges were going to be dropped. It happened about an hour before the police officers were discharged of the charges in the Southport District Court.

“(It made me feel) sick in the guts,” he said.

“Just outraged and massively aggrieved.

“Just that feeling of being wrong done by.”

Mr Robertson said he felt like everything that happened to Charlie had been “swept under the carpet”.

Police officer Blake Sullivan outside court in Brisbane in March 2020.

No reason for why the charges were dropped needs to be given to the court.

Mr Robertson said a Department of Public Prosecutions officer told him the charges were dropped because they were not confident of a conviction after it was ruled pieces of evidence were inadmissable.

The family have written to the Director of Public Prosecutions demanding answers and are yet to receive a reply.

A spokesman for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions told the Bulletin: “The quality and persuasive strength of the available evidence was such that there were no reasonable prospects of success.”

Mr Robertson said they were also planning to write to Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman and Police Minister Mark Ryan.

“We are not going to give up,” Mr Robertson said.

“We have no justice and we deserve justice.”

A QPS spokesman acknowledged the decision of the DPP to drop the charges.

“While one of the officers has since separated from the QPS, the other officer remains the subject of ongoing disciplinary proceedings and is stood down from duty,” he said.

“First-aid response training for QPS officers has been enhanced since the incident in 2015.

“The QPS expresses its sincerest condolences to Charlie Robertson’s family and loved ones.”

In three weeks it will be seven years since Charlie died during the police search.

Since his death the Robertson family have been demanding answers.

At the five-day hearing in March 2017 Coroner Terry Ryan referred the matter to the Department of Public Prosecution to consider criminal charges.

The hearing found Charlie had returned home and gone to sleep after his flatmates were partaking in drugs.

The next morning seven officers raided the apartment and found Charlie asleep.

“Over the next 90 minutes several attempts were made by police officers to wake Charlie up, as the search of his home progressed,” the coroner said.

“These included shining a torch on him, attempts to elicit a pain response with a sternum rub and chest pinch, shaking him, pouring water on him, and tipping up the bed where he was apparently sleeping.” Paramedics were there but not a single officer asked them to check on him.

Police left Charlie in the care of three women at the apartment and he was found dead just after 12.30pm that day.

The night before he had been awarded a Dean’s Award at Bond University.

The clothes he wore that night were found in the washing machine and he was dressed in his usual pyjamas.

Police officers told the inquest they believed Robertson was “drunk” and left without alerting paramedics, who were already at the premises treating another man – who had jumped from a balcony – for broken ankles.

The inquest was also told officers lifted the mattress as Charlie lay unconscious.

“The attending police officers acted inadequately … with respect to his (Robertson’s) presentation that morning,” Coroner Ryan said.

“Lifting the mattress was inappropriate and showed no respect for Charlie.

“The sound of laughing when he fell to the ground ­reflects very poorly.”

When charges were laid against the two officers, the court process was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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