Terry Briscoe died in custody in Alice Springs early in 2012. Police say he fell and hit his head, soon after dying of cardiac arrest. People arrested with him allege police officers bashed him. CLA doesn’t know which is correct, but we do know that both police and the NT justice system are on trial in this case. CLA believes interstate police should be called in to assist the coroner’s investigation, rather than NT police investigating their own. Here is an open letter from the dead man’s uncle to the Chief Minister of the NT.
…and NT Police Association chief Vince Kelly has penned an impassioned letter about Aborigines in the NT, in which he defends his police officers and asserts there was no bashing.
To: Chief.Minister@nt.gov.au
Hon Paul Raymond Henderson MLA
Dear Chief Minister
Re: The death in protective custody in Alice Springs of Terrance Daniel
Briscoe, 5/1/2012
It was not an easy death for Terrance Daniel Briscoe, aged 28, early
on the morning of Thursday 5th January 2012 in protective custody at the
Alice Springs police lockup.
But for the people of Alice Springs, Terry’s death is as unremarkable
as so much of the road kill on the Stuart Highway, which cuts through town
on its way from Adelaide to Darwin. All the respectable folk in town
could get pissed to their hearts content at the local pub, and perhaps
catch a taxi home, blissfully unaware of the events in the lockup down
the road. For Aboriginal people, and for Mr Briscoe in particular, it’s
the usual story of a casual drink with friends, then being taken into
protective custody by police, conflicting reports of a bashing or a
fall in custody, no medical care, and a one-way trip to the cemetery.
The police say Terry injured his head by falling while in custody and
later died of cardiac arrest. He was only 28. Terry’s friends who were
arrested with him say they saw five officers bash him.
Wonder we all do how Terry was healthy when arrested, and zipped into
a body bag when released.
How and why? How Terry died will no doubt be the matter of much
dispute. Will the police be able to (convince people about) their (version)? Or
if the investigation is to be worth its salt are they to be separated
and put off duty while the investigation proceeds?
Why didn’t Terry receive any medical attention for his injuries?
And why was Terry arrested at all? Is the Northern Territory zero
tolerance policy on public drinking, just a policy for locking up
Aboriginal people? If the intervention is forcing Aboriginal people to
migrate off their homelands and come to Alice Springs, that’s not a
reason to lock them up in protective custody. And how protective is
protective custody?
Since the Northern Territory Intervention did away
with the Community Development Employment Program, it has reduced the
capacity of local Aboriginal communities to support their members in
all of their situations and difficulties, including support and help
for those who are drunk.
Most of us have been drunk at some stage in our lives, but for Terry
it meant being taken into protective custody. I’ve met many indigenous
people who literally don’t touch a drop over the last several decades.
The indigenous community has the highest rate of non-drinkers of all
the community groups in Australia. Many leave drinking later in life
and there is no reason Terry could not have done the same.
If the information that Terry Briscoe was subjected to a bashing is
proven, then there is every reason to believe that it has something to
do with his subsequent death.
If Terry had been alive 50 years ago men like him would have been the
backbone of the Northern Territory economy, and one hundred years ago
men like him would have been warriors of their tribes, knowledgable,
fit and capable men.
Now Terry has been reduced to another death in protective custody.
Australia is diminished for it.
I ask that your government ensure that Terry’s death is not in vain. A
thorough and impartial investigation must be carried out to ensure
that the whole truth of the circumstances of his death are
investigated and the truth achieved.
Any death in custody, especially
given the circumstances here, is to be treated as a homicide unless it
is shown to be otherwise. That means that the investigation must
proceed with serious intent to get to the truth at all costs.
Terrance was my nephew by marriage.
Daniel Taylor