The sister of a Yamatji woman who was fatally shot by police on a Geraldton street five years ago has told the coronial inquiry into her sibling’s death that she wants to ensure what happened to JC never happens to anyone else.
In an emotional and powerful statement that was read out in court after the inquest, Bernadette Clarke expressed how the loss of the 29-year-old in such controversial circumstances had been devastating for her and the rest of their family.
She explained that the bond the pair had shared when they were younger continued into adulthood and described the mother-of-one as a strong, kind artist and healer who had experienced a traumatic life.
Ms Clarke said the past few years had been challenging, adding that she could not bear to lose another brother or sister again and wanted to make sure what happened to JC never happens to anyone else.
“No family show go through what we went through,” she added.
But Ms Clarke also said she has since found strength to keep moving forward, thanks to her sister’s spirit.
“She used to come to me for healing,” she wrote. “I feel guided by her now. I am healing the way she wanted me to.”
Outside court, Ms Clarke said she found the inquest process had also helped her to heal and wanted to thank State Coroner Ros Fogliani for how she conducted the inquiry.
She also said she appreciated Deputy Commissioner Allan Adams apologising and shaking her hand at the end of his evidence on Wednesday, saying she felt respected.
JC was fatally shot by First Class Constable Brent Wyndham after she refused to put down a serrated bread knife and a pair of scissors she was carrying while roaming the streets of Geraldton in September 2019.
The inquest is examining the actions of Constable Wyndham and the seven other officers who had surrounded her that day and whether they could have de-escalated the situation.
It also looks at the adequacy of police policies and training concerning Indigenous people and the mental health care JC received in the lead-up to her death.
JC was known to have complex mental health and substance abuse issues and was taken to hospital by one of the officers at the scene around 10 days before the incident following a suicide attempt. She was released from the hospital just days before her death; however, police were not aware of this.
During the final day of the inquiry, Charmaine Green from the WA Centre for Rural Health in Geraldton testified that she felt the online Aboriginal cultural awareness training that junior-ranked officers have to complete before they get a promotion was unsatisfactory, describing it as a “tick-in-the-box” exercise.
She said the 90-minute module failed to recognise Aboriginal culture’s diversity and appeared to have a “one glove fits all” approach.
She also said she felt any training should be conducted face-to-face and that they involved local Aboriginal trainers from the community officers were serving in.
WA Police Superintendent Michael Dalla-Costa, who is in charge of training recruits, said that since 2022, the academy has run a two-day cultural awareness package, during which 1.5 days were spent with an Indigenous trainer and Aboriginal officer.
However, he said the 90-minute module offered to junior-ranked officers was only carried out online and was designed by the force’s Aboriginal Affairs Division.
When asked by Anthony Crocker, the lawyer representing JC’s foster mother and her son, if he thought Ms Green’s tick-in-the-box description was fair and that some officers might think it was “perfunctory”, Supt Dalla-Costa said he would prefer the Aboriginal Affairs division to answer that question.
Source Agencies
