Queensland Coroners Court to probe Toowoomba death in custody of Steven Lee Nixon-McKeller

The police use of a lateral vascular neck restraint will loom large as the Queensland Coroner lays out the terms of reference in its inquest into the death in custody of Steven Nixon-McKellar.

The use of a lateral vascular neck restraint will likely come under fire as a factor in the 2021 death in custody of Mitchell man Steven Lee Nixon-McKellar, with the Queensland Coroner laying out the terms of reference for inquest into the matter.

WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS IMAGES OF A DECEASED INDIGENOUS MAN, WITH HIS FAMILY’S PERMISSION

On Tuesday, counsel assisting the coroner Julie Pietzner-Hagan told the pre-inquest hearing that Mr Nixon-McKellar was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2018 which required regular medication to treat.

When Mr Nixon-McKellar was released on parole from the Borallon Training and Correctional Centre July 21, 2021, his discharge health report noted a diagnosis of schizophrenia, asthma, nerve pain, anxiety, and psychosis and that he was due to have monthly injections to treat the condition.

The Queensland Coroner will probe the 2021 death in custody of Steven Lee Nixon-McKellar.

However, Mr Nixon-McKellar is alleged to have engaged in criminal offending shortly after his release, namely stealing and fraud, and that he was wanted by police.

Ms Pietzner-Hagan told the hearing that this might have led to Mr Nixon-McKellar avoiding treatments as to not alert authorities to his whereabouts.

As evidence of this, Ms Pietzner-Hagan told the hearing that Mr Nixon-McKellar was admitted to the Logan Hospital emergency room during an asthma attack on October 4, 2021, just three days before his death, using a fake name.

Ms Pietzner-Hagan told the hearing that Mr Nixon-McKellar refused to stay in hospital and discharged himself against medical advice, after he was informed of the risks of death. At 2pm that day, a “discharge at your own risk” form was signed by Mr Nixon-McKellar using a false name and signature.

Alan Martin, Gungarri spiritual healer performs the smoking ceremony for Steven Nixon-McKellar in Stone St. Thursday, October 14, 2021. Picture: Nev Madsen.

About 12.30pm on October 7 police identified Mr Nixon-McKellar as the driver of a stolen grey Subaru Forester in Stone St, Wilsonton.

Two officers approached the vehicle and forced Mr Nixon-McKellar out by attempting to smash the driver’s side window with a police baton.

Ms Pietzner-Hagan told the hearing that an officer allegedly struck Mr Nixon-McKellar on the leg several times with his baton during a physical confrontation that lasted about 10 minutes.

The police called for urgent assistance, and when backup arrived one of the officers is alleged to have requested that another officer “choke this c--- out, choke him out”.

Ms Pietzner-Hagan told the hearing that an officer placed Mr Nixon-McKellar in a lateral vascular neck restraint.

Forensic police and detectives investigate the scene of an alleged death in custody in Stone St Wilsonton. Thursday, October 7, 2021. Picture: Nev Madsen.

After a short period of time one of the officers is heard to say, “he’s asleep, he’s asleep let him go”.

Dashcam footage of the incident is alleged to show the officer lower Mr Nixon-McKellar to the ground before he is handcuffed. An officer then checks his pulse and calls out “start CPR, start CPR”.

Queensland Ambulance Service paramedics were called to the scene, but their efforts to revive him were complicated by “copious amounts of vomit in his airway, requiring suction, prior to intubation”.

The hearing was told Mr Nixon-McKellar’s heart gave out and he was declared dead at 1.03pm.

Following an autopsy, the forensic pathologist, opined that the cause of death was, “not determined”, but found it was likely caused by a number of factors.

“This death represents a sudden cardiac death during restraint. In the setting of a prolonged altercation in which the deceased was physically exerting himself, in my opinion, death has most likely resulted from a combination of all the above factors, being physical and psychological exertion related to the restraint, brief pressure applied to the neck, stimulant drug intoxication, asthma, bronchopneumonia and coronary atherosclerosis,” they said. 

“Methylamphetamine was detected at a significant level, which is independently sufficient to cause death.”

The proposed inquest will probe what efforts were made to transition Mr Nixon-McKellar’s mental health plan from custody to the community.

It will also look at whether the police officers involved, on October 7 2021, complied with the Queensland Police Service policies and procedures then in force, whether their training was appropriate in respect to the LVNR.

The full inquest is expected to be held in Toowoomba between September 11 and 15, 2023 and will hear from the police present on the day of Mr Nixon-McKellar’s death, along with two doctors and an expert witness in respect to the LVNR.