Mission & Justice

Padraic Murphy; 8/11/08; (2 Items)

Palm Island riot leader Lex Wotton looked skyward and said “thank you” yesterday when told he could be free in less than two years for a crime that can attract a life sentence. Amid chaotic scenes in Townsville District Court, Wotton - dressed in the indigenous colours with a black suit, yellow shirt and red tie - was allowed to hug supporters and family for almost 10 minutes before being taken into custody to begin his unexpectedly light sentence. District Court judge Michael Shanahan ordered Wotton, 41, be eligible for parole in July 2010. Many observers expected the plumber would spend at least 10 years in jail for his role in the riot that caused $4 million in damage. The sentence surprised some because Wotton has a string of previous convictions for violent assault.

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Padraic Murphy; 7/11/08

Queensland parliament’s Speaker Mike Reynolds will provide a character reference in a Townsville court today for convicted Palm Island rioter Lex Wotton, who is due to be sentenced for his role in riots on Palm Island a week after Mulrunji Doomadgee died. Mr Reynolds, whose electorate includes Palm Island, last week called his Government “culturally incompetent” for allowing the presentation of bravery awards to policemen in the Palm Island riots to go ahead in the same week that Wotton is to be sentenced. Mr Reynolds would not return calls yesterday, but he is one of several high-profile people to provide support for Wotton, a 40-year-old plumber who was convicted last month of rioting with destruction.

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Michael McKenna; 4/11/08

The veteran policeman acquitted of manslaughter over the 2004 death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee is facing conflict resolution counselling following a series of complaints over his use of excessive force. Queensland’s Crime and Misconduct Commission made the recommendation last December in relation to Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley, after finding that conflicting evidence meant it could not charge him over allegations he deliberately drove over a Palm Island woman’s foot, leaving her in agony.  Sergeant Hurley, who is now serving on the Gold Coast, has yet to undergo the counselling. Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson said last night he was awaiting the outcome of other internal investigations over the death in custody.

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3/11/08

An indigenous leader is calling for calm from Aboriginal communities on the eve of a Queensland police bravery awards ceremony in Townsville. Twenty-two police who feared for their lives during Palm Island riots in 2004 are set to receive medals on Monday, just days ahead of the riot ringleader’s sentencing - also in Townsville - on November 7. Palm Island Mayor Alf Lacey said although the timing of the awards was inappropriate, he would not support protests. Mr Lacey said rallying against the ceremony would only draw more attention to it, instead, the community should be pulling together to support Lex Wotton’s family before his sentencing.

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1/11/08; http://www.smh.com.au/letters/index.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2

Escaping a dangerous situation is not so extraordinarily brave that you should be given a medal. In November 2004, 19 police officers found themselves barricaded in the Palm Island police barracks in North Queensland. They were surrounded by rioters, trapped in their barracks and feared for their lives. On being confronted with such extraordinary circumstances, it is completely understandable that they were afraid, acted to protect themselves and did their best to get away. We are all grateful that they managed to escape what must have been a terrifying situation. But while we would all be glad that no one was injured or killed, the police did not act so extraordinarily that they should be given special bravery awards. An innocent man died in police custody when a police officer accidentally fell on him, almost splitting his liver in two. The officer at the centre of the events which led to the riot, Christopher Hurley (the first police officer to face court over a black death in custody), has walked free. An Aboriginal man, Lex Wotton, has been convicted of riot and faces years in jail. The community may well find it difficult to accept that an award ceremony is how this tale is meant to end. John Thompson; North Maleny; (Qld)

Michael McKenna; 28/10/08

It was a chilling encounter, an ominous sign for police sergeant Darren Randall that the calm was about to break in the Aboriginal community of Palm Island. Just after dawn on Friday, November 26, 2004, Randall came face to face with a seething hatred he had never thought possible despite decades of policing in regional Queensland, including a seven-month stint on Palm Island four years earlier. As he cut down a still-breathing teenage girl, who had tried hanging herself from a tree, locals let fly with a volley of rocks at police and ambulance officers. The 4000-strong indigenous community was raw following the death in custody of a popular local, Mulrunji Doomadgee. A week earlier, Randall was one of the 22 police sent to keep the peace on the deceptively idyllic island 70km off Townsville. As he dodged the well-aimed projectiles, Randall knew that one of the most divisive chapters in Queensland police history was about to reach a flashpoint. What followed was to change Randall’s life and the lives of the 21 other officers, as well as hundreds of locals in the community, which was established in 1918 as a penal settlement for indigenous people and evolved into a social experiment bringing together clans from 57 language groups across Australia.

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Michael McKenna; 27/9/08

Police forced to run for their lives as a mob - enraged by the 2004 death in custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee - burnt down the Palm Island watchhouse, barracks and court will receive bravery awards. The 22 officers sent to the island to keep the peace after the death of Doomadgee will be honoured in the biggest ever police awards ceremony in Queensland for their actions while under siege from several hundred rioters on November 26, 2004. The Australian can reveal for the first time the story of the 21 policemen and a policewoman, uninvolved in the death of the 36-year-old indigenous man or subsequent investigation, but who have silently paid a heavy price.

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25/10/08

Palm Island man Lex Wotton has been found guilty of inciting a riot that resulted in the destruction of the island’s police station, the courthouse and an officer’s residence. A Brisbane District Court jury took almost two days to find Wotton guilty of one count of rioting with destruction on November 26, 2004. He will be sentenced on November 7 in Townsville District Court. During the 14-day trial, the court was told Wotton led an angry mob of residents on a rampage around the island, destroying property and threatening police.

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8/10/08

The spark was an autopsy report read to a crowd outside Palm Island council chambers. The result was a full-blown riot inspired by one man’s words: “Things are going to burn.” With those words, prosecuters allege, Lex Patrick Wotton helped incite a riot that left the island’s police station, courthouse, a police vehicle and a police residence gutted by fire.Mr Wotton denies the charge and has pleaded not guilty to one count of rioting with destruction. In his opening address, prosecutor Michael Cowen yesterday told Brisbane District Court that Mr Wotton also armed himself with weapons and threatened to kill police following the death in police custody of Mulrunji Doomadgee in November 2004. Doomadgee, 36, died in the island’s watchhouse after being arrested by Sergeant Chris Hurley.

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Padraic Murphy; 11/9/08

Lawyers for the Palm Island community fighting to stop a bid by policeman Chris Hurley to overturn a decision blaming him for the death of Mulrunji Doomadgee yesterday accused the officer’s legal team of not showing even-handedness and unfairly attacking the coroner. Senior Sergeant Hurley is attempting to have a 2006 Coroners Court decision, blaming him for the 2004 death, overturned by the District Court in Cairns. He claims Deputy State Coroner Christine Clements selectively used witnesses and did not discharge her duty by dealing with the evidence. Bret Walker SC, for Palm Island Council, yesterday accused Sergeant Hurley’s lawyers, led by Philip Morrison QC, of themselves ignoring inconsistent and confusing evidence from police officers.

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