Coroners Act, 1996 [Section 26(1)]

Transcription

1 Coroners Act, 1996 [Section 26(1)] Western Australia RECORD OF INVESTIGATION INTO DEATH Ref No: 27/07 I, Alastair Neil Hope, State Coroner, having investigated the death of William John WATKINS, with an Inquest held at Karratha Court House on September 2007 and Perth Coroners Court on 26 September 2007 find that the identity of the deceased person was William John WATKINS and that death occurred on 31 January 2006 at North West Coastal Highway, Karratha as a result of a Gunshot Wound to the Chest in the following circumstances - Counsel Appearing : Mrs Felicity Zempilas assisting the State Coroner Ms D Scadden for the Commissioner of Police and Sergeant Shane Russell Gray Table of Contents Record Of Investigation Into Death...1 Introduction...2 Events Prior To 31 January The Stealing Of Fuel At The Fortescue Roadhouse...5 The Police Response...6 The Attack On Sergeant Gray And The Shooting Of The Deceased...9 Injuries Sustained By Sergeant Gray...11 Objective Ballistic Evidence...12 Post Mortem Examination...13 Conclusions Based On The Objective Evidence...14 Conclusion...15 Comments On Matters Relating To Safety And Administration Of Justice...15 Single Officer Patrols...16 Police Records...18 Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 1.

2 INTRODUCTION William John Watkins (the deceased) was a 38 year old male who died on the North West Coastal Highway, Karratha in Western Australia on 31 January 2006 as a result of a gunshot wound to the chest. The deceased was shot by a police officer, Sergeant Shane Gray (then Acting Sergeant), and as the death was caused by the action of a member of the police force it was necessary for an inquest to be held into the circumstances of the death pursuant to section 22 of the Coroners Act EVENTS PRIOR TO 31 JANUARY 2006 At the time when the deceased was shot by Sergeant Gray, it appears that he was attempting to avoid arrest in relation to the deaths of two sisters, Colleen Marie Irwin and Laura Jane Irwin. At approximately 9pm on Saturday 28 January 2006 the bodies of Colleen Marie Irwin and Laura Jane Irwin were located in an upstairs bedroom of their home at Unit 1, 215 Millers Road, Altona North, Victoria. Following the deaths of Colleen Irwin and Laura Irwin an inquest was held into the circumstances of their deaths by Coroner, Dyson Hore-Lacy, who completed a Record of Investigation into Death document in respect of each person dated 1 June The Coroner concluded I find that on 28 January 2006, in the early hours of the evening, Colleen Maree Irwin and Laura Jane Irwin were killed by William John Watkins at Unit 1, 215 Millers Road, Altona North. Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 2.

3 Apart from concluding that the deaths occurred on the morning of 28 January 2006, I accept the above finding of the Coroner, Mr Hore-Lacy. The reasons of Mr Hore-Lacey reveal that both of the young women died as a result of stab wounds and medical examinations revealed that both had been sexually assaulted. There were two telephone calls made from the telephone of Laura Irwin on the early morning of 28 January 2006, the second was a call to the emergency number 000 which was made at 1:44am. On this occasion the operator only heard a short indecipherable sound following which the call ended. At the time of making that call Laura Irwin was at her home at Unit 1, 215 Millers Road, Altona North. It appears that Colleen Irwin, who had been at a birthday party, drove home alone arriving at about 12:47am on 28 January and parked her car in the garage at the rear of her home. Investigators believed that Colleen Irwin was attacked by the deceased while entering her house and that he took her into the house after which he raped and fatally stabbed both sisters. The deceased was reported as missing from his place of work at 3:45pm on Monday 30 January At the time he was living at Unit 2, 217 Millers Road, Altona North, directly next door to the residence of the Irwin sisters. Investigations revealed that the deceased had a long criminal history dating back to 1985 which included serious assaults, dishonesty and burglary offences. Of particular relevance is the fact that on 11 May 2000 he was sentenced to a total of four years and three months imprisonment for rape, aggravated burglary and theft. When police investigating the deaths of the sisters discovered the nature of the deceased s prior convictions, he became a person of interest and efforts were made to establish his whereabouts. Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 3.

4 A search warrant was obtained to search the deceased s home address on Monday 30 January 2006 and on that evening police conducted a search of his flat and seized blood stained clothing and bedding items. It is believed that the deceased left his flat at about 6:30am on Saturday 28 January At approximately 6:44am he made a withdrawal from his bank account at an ATM machine in Altona North. The deceased s vehicle was fitted with an alcohol breath testing interlock device. That device requires the driver to undergo a breath test before the vehicle s engine can be started. The device records the operating times of the vehicle along with the results of the breath test. Data retrieved from the interlock device in the deceased s vehicle indicate that shortly after he went to the bank, his vehicle was driven continuously for over six hours. After a short break the deceased continued driving for several more hours, and that pattern continued through until Tuesday 31 January Police investigators believe that the deceased drove his car almost straight through from Melbourne to Western Australia with only a few brief stops. On 31 January 2006 the deceased was observed to steal petrol from the Fortescue Roadhouse at Mardi, Western Australia. Following that incident a description of the deceased and his vehicle was circulated among police at Karratha, which resulted in efforts being made by Sergeant Gray to intercept him. Unfortunately at that stage Victorian Police had not advised Western Australia Police of the then suspected involvement of the deceased in the two deaths and at the stage when Sergeant Gray became involved, he had no knowledge of the circumstances in which the deceased was travelling through Western Australia. Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 4.

5 THE STEALING OF FUEL AT THE FORTESCUE ROADHOUSE At approximately 9:30am on Tuesday 31 January 2006 the deceased filled his vehicle with fuel to the value of $80.06 at the Fortescue Roadhouse. Having placed the fuel in the vehicle, the deceased made no attempt to pay for the fuel and drove off in the direction of Karratha. At the time the deceased was driving his own vehicle which was a white Toyota Lexcen stationwagon. It appears that vehicles sold by Toyota under the name Toyota Lexcen were in fact manufactured by Holden and had the identical chassis, body and engine of the Holden Commodore. For that reason most witnesses who described the vehicle at the inquest referred to it as a white coloured Holden Commodore stationwagon. After the deceased drove away from the roadhouse without paying, the attendant, Margaret Syauqi, advised her employer, Barry Clements, who told her that she should call for the police. Ms Syauqi then used the telephone to call the Karratha Police Station and explained what had happened. It appears that the deceased had very little money and had taken petrol without paying for it on other occasions during his journey. Subsequent police investigations revealed that he took fuel valued at $75.61 without paying for it at the Wooramel Roadhouse near Carnarvon at about 5:20pm on 30 January 2006 and that he had very little money left in his bank account. At the time of the post mortem examination the property of the deceased was examined and it was found that there was no money in his wallet and he had a total of $12.30 in coins. Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 5.

6 At the time when he was intercepted by Sergeant Gray, therefore, the deceased was clearly desperate having killed the two young women and was attempting to escape detection without any significant amount of money. THE POLICE RESPONSE After the call came through from the Fortescue Roadhouse, Kylie Rendell, a Customer Relations Officer stationed at the Karratha Police Station, used the police radio to advise Sergeant Gray and Senior Constable Cowcill of what had occurred. At the time they were conducting a mobile patrol. Sergeant Gray and Senior Constable Cowcill subsequently returned to the Karratha Police Station where Senior Constable Cowcill attended to office duties while Sergeant Gray left from the Karratha Police Station on his own to deal with the complaint of stealing fuel. At the time there was no particular urgency in the response as it was expected that the vehicle would take some time to travel the approximately 107 kms from the roadhouse to Karratha. In evidence Sergeant Gray stated that one of the reasons he dropped Constable Cowcill off was the fact that Constable Cowcill did not have his acoutraments belt on and obtaining it would have taken some time. At approximately 10:25am Sergeant Gray, who was then driving a traffic patrol vehicle, observed the white coloured stationwagon being driven by the deceased travelling on the North West Coastal Highway. At the time Sergeant Gray was travelling in a southerly direction while the deceased was travelling in a northerly direction. After the vehicle went past him Sergeant Gray activated the emergency lights on the police vehicle, and performed a U- turn. Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 6.

7 Sergeant Gray followed the deceased who at first did not pull over his vehicle, flashing the headlights on the police vehicle, but then the deceased pulled his vehicle off the road and stopped it. Sergeant Gray stopped the police vehicle approximately two car lengths behind the stationwagon, on the shoulder of the highway. He parked the vehicle so that it was half on the bitumen and half on the verge so that the vehicle s location would provide a safer approach to the other vehicle by partially shielding him from traffic. The above photograph (Exhibit 17(2) ) shows the two vehicles at the scene of the incident The vehicles were stopped on a straight stretch of road with good visibility. Before the vehicles had stopped at about 10:25am Sergeant Gray had contacted Constable Lockwood, who was at the Karratha Police Station, using the police radio. Sergeant Gray provided Constable Lockwood with the registration details of the vehicle he was following after which Constable Lockwood conducted a registration check using the police computer, which returned a no result, after which he advised Sergeant Gray that there was no result. After the two vehicles had come to a stop, Sergeant Gray and the deceased left their vehicles and met in the middle of the road. Sergeant Gray s first assessment of the deceased was that he was a big bloke and that he looked like a rugby player. Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 7.

8 In fact the post mortem examination revealed that the deceased was 182cm tall and weighed 99kg and had well developed musculature. He was certainly a large and powerful man. Sergeant Gray introduced himself and engaged in a short conversation relating to the theft of the fuel from the Fortescue Roadhouse. The deceased accepted that he had stolen the fuel, he said that he did not have any money and said that he had been stealing fuel throughout his journey from Victoria. Sergeant Gray asked the deceased for his licence, after which the deceased pulled his license out of his wallet and gave it to Sergeant Gray. Sergeant Gray then returned to the police vehicle and contacted Constable Lockwood using the police radio and asked him to check on the name of William Watkins with a date of birth of 24 April Constable Lockwood then gave the name and date of birth to First Class Constable Hardwicke who did a check using the Name Inquiry System on the police computer. There was no listing for the deceased on the Western Australia police data base and this information was conveyed to Constable Lockwood who advised Sergeant Gray of the situation. Sergeant Gray subsequently told Constable Lockwood words to the effect of, I m going to try and arrest this bloke, he is a big guy and so can you get a secure vehicle out to me. I will try and get him to sit in the rear of the police car. Constable Lockwood advised Sergeant Gray that a police van was on its way as First Class Constable Hardwicke, who had overheard the conversation, had advised him that he and First Class Constable Rinaudo would go. In the context of the events which then took place, it is most unfortunate that the police computer system did not contain information relating to the deceased. The deceased had provided his own driver s licence and the name used for the check was his actual name and correct date of birth. Had Sergeant Gray been alerted to the fact that the deceased had multiple prior convictions, particularly convictions involving Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 8.

9 offences of violence, it is clear that he would have proceeded to deal with him with far greater caution from that point. Regrettably it appears that the Western Australia Police computer system does not record the criminal records of offenders whose offences have been committed elsewhere in Australia. In evidence Sergeant Gray stated that if he had been alerted to the fact that the deceased had a criminal record involving offences of violence he would have probably given the deceased some excuse and remained in his vehicle to await the arrival of the other police vehicle prior to attempting to arrest him. The above photograph (Exhibit 17(1) ) taken on 31 January 2006 shows the police vehicle and the vehicle driven by the deceased in the foreground THE ATTACK ON SERGEANT GRAY AND THE SHOOTING OF THE DECEASED After Sergeant Gray spoke with Constable Lockwood on the radio he approached the deceased and told him that he would have to go to the police station. The deceased appeared calm and co-operative at this stage and locked his vehicle after which he walked in the direction of the police vehicle. Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 9.

10 Sergeant Gray backed away towards the middle of the road so as to keep a distance between them. At the time Sergeant Gray had a clip board in his hands and was wearing glasses and sunglasses. Suddenly, according to Sergeant Gray, he saw a white flash and a blow struck him on the left side of the head. The blow impacted in the area of his left eye and was struck with great force. He said that it was the most vicious hit that he had ever experienced. According to Sergeant Gray after the initial assault he went to the ground on all fours after which he remembered being struck with fists to the back of the head and knees to his jaw and ribs. He said that the deceased said, You re a dead cunt. When asked how the deceased spoke those words, Sergeant Gray s evidence was, Very calm. It was very eerie how calm it was. Just dead calm. According to Sergeant Gray he managed to get back on his feet although he was only half standing, half crouching, after which he was punched again and staggered backwards towards the left front corner of the police vehicle. Sergeant Gray then heard the deceased say, Now you re a dead cunt. On this occasion the deceased s voice was lowered. Sergeant Gray was asked about how he perceived the intent of the deceased at that time and the following exchange took place He was going to kill me. Simple as that. He had every he had the ability, and the means and everything to take me out. So you felt at that time that with his fists alone? Yes. I was gone. I was going back to the ground. As soon as I was on that ground I was gone. He could have punched me one more time to the head and I would have no doubt he would have taken my firearm, finished me off, and then driven off into the sunset. I ve got no doubt. Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 10.

11 Sergeant Gray said that he drew his pistol with his right hand and fired from the hip area. He believed that he had shot the deceased as he heard him go Ooh, but said that the deceased kept coming towards him. He said that he fired again and heard the cartridge case bounce off the bonnet of the police car. He said that the deceased kept walking past him, after which he collapsed some metres away. Sergeant Gray was very experienced with his Glock firearm and gave evidence that he had probably fired approximately 30,000 rounds with it. He was able to draw the pistol from its holster and fire extremely quickly. If he had not been able to respond as quickly he believed that he would have been killed as he was then physically unable to resist the attacks of the deceased. In my view Sergeant Gray s evidence was truthful and I accept as reliable his description of the events. INJURIES SUSTAINED BY SERGEANT GRAY It is clear from the objective evidence subsequently obtained at the scene and from medical evidence of doctors who treated Sergeant Gray that he was the subject of a violent assault by the deceased. After the incident Sergeant Gray saw Dr Alistair Frame at the Nickol Bay Hospital, Karratha, who examined him and noted Marked peri orbital haematomas; Swelling over the bridge of the nose with obvious nasal deformity and active bleeding; Small spilt of the skin over the patent s cheek bone 1cm in length; Bruising over the ribs; and Cracked front tooth. Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 11.

12 After Sergeant Gray was examined by Dr Frame, he was transferred to Perth for specialist management and was seen by Surgeon Mr Philip Grey. In a report dated 27 March 2006 Mr Grey advised that Sergeant Gray had suffered a fractured nose and that the nasal bones had been concertinaed inwards. Mr Grey advised in his report that the injuries sustained by Sergeant Gray were such as to cause permanent injury to his health had they not been surgically corrected. OBJECTIVE BALLISTIC EVIDENCE A comprehensive forensic ballistics report was provided by co-authors Senior Constable Steven Pavlovich and Sergeant David Burnham of the Forensic Division, Western Australia Police. Senior Constable Pavlovich gave evidence at the inquest. The ballastic evidence revealed that the pistol used was a Glock brand, Model 22,.40 Smith & Wesson calibre, self loading constant double action pistol with a 15 cartridge capacity magazine and one spare 15 cartridge capacity magazine. The pistol was in a serviceable condition at the time. The ammunition used was Winchester brand, 40 Smith and Wesson calibre, 165 grain, SXT, hollow point, nickel cased ammunition. The ammunition was in good condition. The ballistics officers were able to conclude that two fired cartridge cases which were located at the scene were fired using the exhibit Glock pistol. They found that the remaining unfired cartridges in the barrel and magazine of the pistol indicated that two shots had been fired at the scene. They noted that only one bullet had struck the deceased, who was shot in the upper right chest position. That bullet Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 12.

13 was subsequently located in his body, the other bullet was never located. Senior Constable Pavlovich stated that it was not unusual for a fired bullet which did not strike its target to not be found. As a result of distance determination reconstruction, they were able to conclude that the shot had been fired at a distance of between 400mm and 700mm, but most likely at a distance of about 500mm (muzzle to target). At the scene droplets of blood were found on the ground which made a blood trail of 11 to 13 metres from near the left side of the front of the police vehicle to the location where the body of the deceased was found. POST MORTEM EXAMINATION A post mortem examination was conducted on the deceased on 2 February 2006 by forensic pathologists, Dr C T Cooke and Dr J White. At the conclusion of the examination the doctors formed the opinion that the cause of death was gunshot wound to the chest. In a brief explanation of their findings they noted that the examination showed a gunshot wound to the right side of the top of the chest/front of the shoulder, of apparently intermediate range of fire. The wound track extended through the right lung, in a downwards, rearwards direction towards the left, with a bullet fragment being retrieved from the right side of the back. There were minor abrasions to the back of the hands, with a small bruise and superficial abrasion on the top of the left knee. There was a raised flap of skin between the right fourth and fifth hand knuckles which could have resulted from the first blow which the deceased struck to the face of Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 13.

14 Sergeant Gray at the time when he was wearing glasses. The small bruise and abrasion to the left knee of the deceased could have been caused by his using his knee to strike Sergeant Gray in the face (Sergeant Gray suffered damage to his teeth). In addition Dr Cooke in his evidence indicated that an injury to the penis and scrotum of the deceased seen at the examination was about three days old and could have occurred at the time of his attack on the deceased girls. CONCLUSIONS BASED ON THE OBJECTIVE EVIDENCE On the basis of the objective ballistic and pathology evidence it appears clear that Sergeant Gray fired two shots, one of which missed the deceased. The shot which hit the deceased was fired at close range with a distance from the muzzle of the pistol to the wound being only about 500mm. At the time when the deceased was struck by the bullet, it would appear from the wound track that he must have been angled forwards relative to the direction of the pistol and so it is likely that his upper body and head were closer to Sergeant Gray than was the point of his body where the bullet struck. It would appear that based on the medical evidence relating to his injuries suffered by Sergeant Gray together with the ballistic and post mortem evidence, the following facts have been clearly established Sergeant Gray was subjected to a severe assault by the deceased; Sergeant Gray fired his Glock brand self loading pistol twice, only one shot struck the deceased; and At the time when he was shot the deceased was in very close proximity to Sergeant Gray and leaning towards him; Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 14.

15 CONCLUSION On 31 January 2006 Sergeant Gray, a police officer on duty at the time, intercepted the deceased who at the time was driving his Toyota Lexcen stationwagon in a northerly direction on the North West Coastal Highway, approximately 20 kilometres south of Karratha, in Western Australia. At the time when the deceased was intercepted, he was stopped because he had taken fuel without paying for it from the Fortescue Roadhouse. At the time when Sergeant Gray approached the deceased, he was not aware of the fact that the deceased had killed and raped two sisters only three days earlier in Victoria. The deceased suddenly attacked Sergeant Gray, taking him by surprise. The attack was extremely violent and the deceased made it clear to Sergeant Gray that he intended to kill him. Sergeant Gray fired two shots at the deceased, one of which struck the deceased to the right side of the top of his chest. That shot caused his death. At the time when the shot was fired the deceased was within about half a metre of Sergeant Gray and was in the process of attacking him. In my view it is clear that Sergeant Gray fired the fatal shot in self defence. In these circumstances I find that the death arose by way of self-defence. COMMENTS ON MATTERS RELATING TO SAFETY AND ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE The deceased in this case had already killed two innocent victims when he attacked Sergeant Gray. At the time when he Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 15.

16 was attacked Sergeant Gray was vulnerable as he was alone and had no information available to him about his attacker. From the statements made by the deceased and the violence of his attack on Sergeant Gray I have no doubt that the deceased intended to cause his death and would have done so if he had not been shot. Single Officer Patrols At the time of this incident Sergeant Gray was conducting a single officer patrol, attempting to intercept the deceased for stealing petrol. Although the officer with whom Sergeant Gray had been paired for the shift was involved with other duties at the time, there were other police officers at the Karratha Police Station who could have accompanied Sergeant Gray on this patrol. While the offence of stealing petrol is not in itself one of the most serious of offences, this case has highlighted the fact that even investigation of such relatively minor offences can be extremely hazardous for officers. A police officer called to act in relation to such an offence will often have had no knowledge as to whether or not the offender is affected by drugs or alcohol, has previously been involved in a domestic dispute or for a range of other reasons may react violently to police intervention. Officers at the inquest gave evidence to the effect that with increasing availability of amphetamines within the community police officers are subject to violent attacks more frequently than before. At the time Commissioner s Guidelines to Police provided that Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 16.

17 In regional Western Australia members are not encouraged or expected to patrol alone when they are travelling more than 10 kilometres from a town or townsite either during the day or at night. The guideline goes on to note that flexibility is important and that an officer who makes a decision to act alone will receive the full support of the organisation. The guideline goes on to state that at all times officer safety is to be considered paramount. The inquest was provided with correspondence between the Commissioner of Police and the WA Police Union of Workers in which proposed changes to the policy had been discussed in a constructive and co-operative way with a view to emphasising the importance of officers not conducting patrols alone in other than exceptional circumstances. The concept of patrols was also discussed in the correspondence so as to distinguish between circumstances where use of force may be required from those where the need for use of force is considered extremely unlikely. In my view there is a very high risk associated with police officers acting on their own attempting to apprehend unknown offenders in respect of any offences. While it is clear that there will be occasions when officers will have to work alone and times when it would not be practicable for officers to do otherwise, this case has highlighted the fact that when it can be avoided officers should not attempt to apprehend offenders or conduct investigations alone. I recommend that Western Australia Police and the WA Police Union of Workers continue to work together with a view to limiting the number of single officer patrols which occur to cases where exceptional circumstances require officers to act alone and cases where the need for use of force is extremely unlikely. Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 17.

18 Police Records It is most unfortunate in this case that although a computer check was conducted on both the deceased and his vehicle prior to Sergeant Gray attempting to apprehend him in respect of the offence of stealing petrol, no information was available either as to the recently committed offences or even in respect of the prior criminal record of the deceased. That lack of information could have resulted in Sergeant Gray s death. It is obvious that Sergeant Gray would have approached the deceased with far greater caution had he been aware of the deceased s criminal record which included imprisonment for crimes of violence. In my view police computer systems throughout Australia should contain immediately accessible information relating to violent offenders irrespective of the State in which their offences have been committed. Evidence at the inquest was to the effect that a criminal record relating to offences committed in other states would not be identified by a name check conducted in Western Australia by police using the standard Name Inquiry System (NIS). It was possible to conduct a further search using the National Names Index (NNI) System, but that search would have only revealed the fact that the deceased had prior convictions without providing any information as to their nature or severity (in fact First Class Constable Hardwicke was in the process of making such a search when he heard on the police radio that Sergeant Gray wanted a van to assist with conveying the deceased back to Karratha and left with Constable Rinaudo for that purpose). Evidence at the inquest revealed that for Western Australia police to access interstate records a formal request was required and it could take hours or even days before the records would be available. The request would have to go through the Western Australia Police Office of Information Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 18.

19 which would contact the other jurisdiction, usually by facsimile and await a response, again usually by facsimile, before providing the required information to front line police involved. It is hard to believe that in 2007 an offender can put police at a disadvantage simply by crossing state boundaries. It appears that interstate criminal records can be accessed, but only after a time consuming and cumbersome process is undergone. This situation significantly disadvantages police officers involved in front line policing and in this case nearly cost an officer his life. At the inquest evidence was provided by Mr Anthony O Donohue on behalf of Western Australia police that in October this year it is anticipated that Western Australia will be a party to a new nationwide system known as the Minimum Nationwide Person Profile (MNPP) System which will provide access to vital interstate information relating to prior convictions of offenders etc initially only from New South Wales, Victoria and Australian Federal Police, but hopefully by the end of 2008 from all Australian jurisdictions. Eventually it is anticipated that the system, which initially will be a standalone application not integrated with the WA Police System, will be immediately accessible as part of the normal search process which in future may be accessible directly from police vehicles. The circumstances of this case have highlighted the need for urgent progress in this regard. Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 19.

20 I recommend that Western Australia police prioritise the actions required to obtain access to the Minimum Nationwide Person Profile System and the integration of that system with the current Incident Management System to allow automated searches and to make that system available to front line police. STATE CORONER 28 September 2007 Inquest into the death of William John WATKINS page 20.