Aboriginal man who died in custody received appropriate treatment, NT coroner finds

THE NT coroner has handed down his findings after investigating a 2020 death in custody

• Judge ‘regrets’ having to jail man for one-punch assault on taxi driver

THE Northern Territory coroner has found that an Aboriginal man who died in custody in Alice Springs last year received appropriate care, treatment and supervision prior to his death.

Edgar Forrester died on 21 March 2020 at Alice Spring Hospital. The cause of death, as determined by forensic pathologist Dr John Rutherford, was aspiration pneumonitis secondary to his airways being obstructed due to cancer of the oesophagus, which had metastasised.

The coroner Judge Greg Cavanagh found Mr Forrester suffered from a range of health issues prior to his death, including osteoarthritis, heart disease, stage 2 chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes. He had also previously suffered a kind of brain haemorrhage known as a subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Forrester took oral medication to treat some of these ailments.

“While in prison he had increasing difficulty swallowing medication and then food,” Judge Cavanagh said.

“On 12 December 2019 he underwent a CT scan that showed a large oesophageal lesion in his throat along with metastases.”

MORE CENTRALIAN NEWS

Following his passions to build an extraordinary life: The Dave Ives story

Gang of six young males charged over string of property offences

Car thieves on the run after police stop stolen vehicle with tyre deflation spikes

Mr Forrester received treatment at Alice Springs Hospital and Royal Adelaide Hospital, where he received palliative radiotherapy.

Judge Cavanagh noted that while Mr Forrester was in hospital, Corrections staff granted him “the same visiting privileges of any other patient at the hospital. His family were able to provide support and companionship to him each day.”

The coroner noted that when Mr Forrester eventually died, he was surrounded by his family.

“In my view, on all of the evidence, the care, treatment and supervision of the deceased was appropriate,” Judge Cavanagh concluded.

In 2015, Forrester pleaded guilty to manslaughter following a 2013 incident in which he stabbed a woman to death.

NT NEWS sizzling new deal: Get all your news for just $5 a month

Forrester’s relationship with the woman had been “plagued by alcoholism and violence”, according to Judge Cavanagh.