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‘Is it an instance of a husband being driven too far?’: Anger over comment from police in Brisbane

A Queensland detective whose comment on the murder of Hannah Clarke and her children sparked outrage has been removed from the investigation.

Staff writer
5 min read
February 21, 2020 - 12:24PM
Brisbane car fire: Detective's 'open mind' comment sparks outrage (7 News)

An embattled Queensland detective whose comment on the murder of Brisbane mother Hannah Clarke and her children sparked outrage among domestic violence campaigners has been removed from the investigation.

Detective Inspector Mark Thompson was widely condemned over his choice of words at a press conference yesterday, as police updated the public on their investigation into the horrific car fire that killed Ms Clarke, 31, Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4, and Trey, 3.

“Our job as investigators is to keep a completely open mind,” he said.

“We need to look at every piece of information and, to put it bluntly, there are probably people out there in the community that are deciding which side, so to speak, to take in this investigation.

“Is this an issue of a woman suffering significant domestic violence, and her and her children perishing at the hands of the husband?

“Or is it an instance of a husband being driven too far by issues that he’s suffered by certain circumstances into committing acts of this form?”

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Speaking this morning, Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll apologised for the comment.

“He is distraught and he is gutted about the way he said it, and what was said,” Commissioner Carroll told the ABC.

“He is a man who has protected the Queensland community all his life and has worked endless hours, and when he looks back he cannot believe the way he has phrased that.”

In a statement released later this morning, she said she had asked Insp Thompson to step aside from the investigation “to ensure public confidence” in its findings.

“I have spoken to Detective Inspector Mark Thompson, who was very upset about the situation,” the Commissioner said.

“To ensure public confidence I have asked Detective Inspector Thompson to step aside from the investigation.”

Detective Inspector Mark Thompson. Picture: 7 News
Detective Inspector Mark Thompson. Picture: 7 News
Hannah Clarke with one of her daughters. She had been a victim of domestic violence and the family had already engaged with police.
Hannah Clarke with one of her daughters. She had been a victim of domestic violence and the family had already engaged with police.

The reactions to Insp Thompson’s comment came thick and fast on Twitter on Thursday afternoon and into the evening.

Federal Labor MP Brian Mitchell, for Lyons in Tasmania, responded: “Jesus Christ Almighty”.

“We don’t fumble about like this when terrorists kill – why does family violence bring out the hand-wringers for killers of women and kids?” he said.

Brisbane-based writer Dr Anna Whateley said: “I am genuinely shocked. You cannot drive someone to do what he did.”

The Guardian reported chief executive of the Women’s Legal Service Queensland, Angela Lynch, responded that “for police to be buying into that kind of rhetoric is very concerning.”

“It’s giving legitimacy to what has occurred, it’s victim blaming,” Ms Lynch said.

“It’s saying that she might have caused this through her own actions. It plays into very dangerous ideas in the community around victim blaming and a whole range of myths about the family law system.”

RELATED: Mum’s life with ‘perpetrator of violence’

Victims’ advocate Renee Eaves told the publication the narrative was “the most dangerous thing that exists for victims who doubt themselves” after violence and question responsibility.

The administrator for the Doctors Against Violence Towards Women public page on Facebook said “women who are accused of restricting access, ‘driving’ their men to the brink, who seek orders against the father of their children, are actually just fiercely protective”.

One Twitter user said the comment implied it was “open season on women and kids”.

“Just tell the cops you were ‘pushed too far’,” the horrified man said.

Others said “good grief” and called the comment “disgusting”, audacious and victim blaming.

Here are just some of the responses.

Ms Clarke and her children all died from burns sustained when Rowan Baxter, 42, set the family car alight on a Camp Hill street on Wednesday morning. Ms Clarke was taken to hospital but succumbed to her injuries around 9pm.

Police said the 42-year-old man was also found dead after the fire with a self-inflicted injury.

Hannah Clarke with her three children.
Hannah Clarke with her three children.
Hannah Clarke with her three children.
Hannah Clarke with her three children.

Insp Thompson had been asked if “murder-suicide” was the one line of inquiry being pursued.

He was also questioned as to what he meant by the suggestion police were looking “at whether he (Baxter) was driven too far to have done this”.

“Is there something you’re looking at recently that’s occurred between them that may have sparked it?” one reporter asked.

Insp Thompson replied: “Absolutely not. I’m not leaning towards that at all.

“What I was trying to illustrate by my comments were that you do see both in public commentary and in general responses from the community that people will make those allegations.

“Maybe they are scorned members of the community themselves that have had dealings with domestic violence in the past and that’s the sort of things that they say in response to an incident like this.

“I am certainly not saying that the Queensland Police Service are taking any view in relation to that at all. We are not doing that. We are keeping an open mind and doing an open investigation which is exactly what we are to do and we are under the direction from the state coroner to do that.”

RELATED: Real reason dad killed his kids in car fire

Rowan Baxter, Hannah Clarke and their three children outside the family gym. Picture: Facebook
Rowan Baxter, Hannah Clarke and their three children outside the family gym. Picture: Facebook
Flowers and tributes have been left for the mother and her three children. Picture: Photographer: Liam Kidston
Flowers and tributes have been left for the mother and her three children. Picture: Photographer: Liam Kidston

He asked people to come forward and “build a complete and clear picture” for the coroner.

“What I was trying to illustrate is if there are people out there making the comments such as what I’ve just described, then, please, come forward and substantiate these claims,” he said.

“Help us with the information we need to build that picture for the coroner.

“Coronial issues like this have the ability to drive reform amongst issues like domestic and family violence. It is extremely critical people come forward.”

Insp Thompson said police had “engaged” with Ms Clarke and Baxter “in relation to domestic violence issues” and both adults had been referred to support services.

He said domestic and family violence “paperwork and applications” put to court were granted.

“The dynamics of a family that are broken and estranged are particularly poignant to this investigation … and very hard to decipher without us being able to put some sort of clarification around what’s happened,” he said.

“Unfortunately, some of the people that were involved in that are no longer with us and we’re unable to speak to them.”

Baxter’s Facebook profile had been taken down by Thursday after it became a memorial page and was then flooded with comments labelling him “evil” and “putrid scum”.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/news/is-it-an-instance-of-a-husband-being-driven-too-far-anger-over-comment-from-police-in-brisbane/news-story/84c497606511b13dee815e2d354960d5