Police officers quizzed over arrest that left builder clinging to life

The family of a 35-year-old builder who is clinging to life in hospital are demanding a “thorough and fair investigation” by Victoria Police after an arrest left him in a coma.

Two police officers have been interviewed, but no charges have been laid, after the tragic incident outside a Hoppers Crossing convenience store on July 15 put Luke Briggs in a critical condition in the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

Luke Briggs has been in a coma for more than a week following his interaction with police.

Briggs’ family said they did not expect him to survive.

“The pain and suffering we are experiencing as a family are indescribable. Seeing Luke in such a fragile state is soul-crushing, and our thoughts are solely focused on spending our last few precious days with him,” the family said in a statement.

Briggs sustained a catastrophic brain injury during the arrest for traffic-related offences outside a 7-Eleven store on the corner of Heaths and Tarneit roads last week.

Doctors told the family that Briggs went without oxygen for about 17 minutes following the arrest, while images provided to this masthead also reveal extensive bruising to his arms, legs and torso.

Some of the bruising covering Briggs’ body as he lays in hospital.

The family said: “At this stage, our priority is Luke’s wellbeing. We are co-operating with authorities, who are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident. We trust that a thorough and fair investigation will reveal the truth of what happened.”

Both officers involved in the arrest were fitted with body-worn cameras and were interviewed by a detective from the homicide squad on Friday afternoon.

Briggs also suffered a catastrophic brain injury.

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said a male constable and a male sergeant from the north-west metro region had been suspended on Monday.

“The investigation by the homicide squad into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of a man in Hoppers Crossing on July 15 remains ongoing,” the spokeswoman said.

“The investigation is being oversighted by Professional Standards Command, as per standard practice when someone is seriously injured in police custody.”

Robinson Gill principal solicitor Jeremy King, who has been appointed by Briggs’ family, said the case reinforced the need for independent oversight of any police conduct that resulted in serious injury or death.

“There are a lot of unanswered questions in Luke’s case and about the investigation. When did the investigation start? Were the officers separated and questioned immediately? Has any of the evidence been tainted? And have police treated this case the same as any other?” King said.

He also asked why it had taken Victoria Police more than a week to suspend the officers involved.

“Something has gone terribly wrong here. A young man should not end up in the intensive care unit, clinging to life after an interaction with police,” King said.

A recent report by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission identified a significant spike in complaints and notifications regarding police conduct.

In April, IBAC deputy commissioner Stephen Farrow said police oversight continued to be the most significant proportion of IBAC’s work, and accounted for almost 60 per cent of complaints received by the corruption watchdog.

IBAC assessed a total of 4317 allegations about Victoria Police and 1914 complaints in 2023.

The watchdog also received more than 1700 mandatory notifications from Victoria Police last year, along with 316 serious incident notifications, which included any police contact resulting in death or serious injury.

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