Inquest investigates death of William George Grimes

The moment a man was tasered outside a Queensland school after he had doused himself in fuel has come under scrutiny during an inquest into his death. *Distressing content

William George Grimes died on March 10, 2020, aged 31, a week after he suffered burns resulting from the incident at the school.

The moment a man was tasered after he doused himself with fuel outside a Fraser Coast school has come under scrutiny at an inquest in Hervey Bay on Tuesday.

William George Grimes died on March 10, 2020, aged 31, a week after he suffered burns resulting from the incident at the school.

The inquest heard on March 3, Mr Grimes ran from the police into Granville State School while holding a jerry can and a lighter and threatening to self-harm.

The officers were responding to a triple-0 call made by Mr Grimes’ brother, David, after he left a suicide note and took the jerry can of fuel from the family’s Granville home.

The inquest, currently underway at Hervey Bay Courthouse, heard testimony from the four police officers who were at the scene that night.

Testimony was also given by Detective Sergeant Dave Perry, who investigated the incident.

He said the investigation had not been able to determine whether the ignition source was the lighter or the taser.

One of the guidelines around the use of tasers, the inquest heard, was that they should not be deployed when accelerants were involved.

It was also policy that a taser should not be used if it could cause secondary harm, the inquest heard.

Footage from the officers’ body-worn cameras showed that on the night of the incident, Constable Lars Gartrell had taken the lead in trying to speak to Mr Grimes, whose behaviour was erratic.

In the footage, Const Gartrell tried to give reassurance to Mr Grimes, encouraging him to put the jerry can down and talk to him.

Mr Grimes became agitated when he was repeatedly called “Dave” by Const Gartrell due to a miscommunication, at one point asking “who the f---’s Dave?”

Const Gartrell was then told the man’s name was William by another officer.

An inquest is being held into the death of Maryborough's William George Grimes.

In the footage, Mr Grimes was seen to pour fuel from the jerry can over himself.

He had already doused the ground in front of him with fuel, which Const Gartrell said limited his “close range options” in dealing with the situation.

Const Gartrell told the inquest he had deployed his taser on Mr Grimes in order to “save his life”.

He said it was an attempt to disable Mr Grimes, who he believed had a “fully formed intention of setting himself on fire”.

When the fire ignited, the officers rushed to Mr Grimes’ aid, using dirt and rolling him on the ground to extinguish the flames.

The officers had not brought a fire extinguisher from their vehicles, the inquest heard, with the four officers saying they were unsure of where the equipment was stored in the cars or how to use them.

In the aftermath of the fire, the footage showed one of the officers roll Mr Grimes into the recovery position, while Const Gartrell tried to calm and reassure him.

Mr Grimes was flown to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a critical condition where he later died.

Mr Grimes’ mental health care plan and treatment prior to his death will be examined.
The inquest heard Mr Grimes was schizophrenic and had been suicidal in the past, including a previous attempt.

Coroner Terry Ryan will also consider whether the training and equipment provided to the officers in responding to a similar incident was sufficient.

The inquest will continue on Wednesday.

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Originally published as Inquest investigates death of William George Grimes