Officer F tells inquest into Indigenous death in custody that he thought Dungay was trying to trick guards

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A senior prison officer thought a man who said he could not breathe while being restrained by five guards during a cell transfer was faking it, a coronial inquiry has been told.

The inmate, 26-year-old David Dungay Jr, died during the forcible transfer in the mental health ward of Long Bay jail in December 2015, after he refused to stop eating a packet of biscuits – which had prompted concerns about his blood sugar levels because he was diabetic.

Officer F, who was acting assistant superintendent at the time, was giving evidence on the second day of a two-week inquest examining Dungay’s death.

Officer F told the court he believed Dungay was trying to trick the officers.

He said he could see Dungay’s chest moving up and down but counsel assisting challenged the claim. Counsel pointed out that Officer F was positioned at the door of the cell and there were five officers on top of Dungay, who were positioned between Dungay and the officer. Dungay’s face was also facing the wall. Officer F maintained his claim.

By the time Dungay was in the second cell, where he was also injected with a sedative, Officer F had more concerns that it was not a ruse but he did not say anything to the immediate action team (IAT) officers holding him down. A few minutes later Dungay died.

Play Video 1:31 Introducing Breathless: the death of David Dungay Jr podcast – video

His death is the subject of a Guardian Australia podcast, Breathless.

The inquest has raised numerous questions about the chain of command at the time, excessive responses and whether corrections protocols were followed.

It was Officer F’s decision to have Dungay moved from cell 71 to 77 – which had a camera – but he said it was on a request from Justice Health medical staff.

Officer F denied engaging the IAT was an overreaction to the apparent need to separate Dungay from the biscuits he was eating.

He said he made attempts at de-escalation by going to speak to Dungay personally three times but said he did not engage nurses, doctors, or Aboriginal liaisons to try.

Later asked by the Dungay family lawyer if he wanted to say anything to the family, Officer F said he did not.

Key disputes are emerging between Corrections and Justice Health, over who decided Dungay needed to be moved to another cell. The court is yet to hear from medical staff but legal representatives have already disputed some testimony from officers.

The court heard Officer F allegedly failed to get medical clearance for the cell transfer of the mentally ill inmate.

Harrowing video footage shows death in custody of Aboriginal man Read more

Officer F earlier said a Justice Health nurse requested Dungay’s transfer “on medical grounds” because Dungay had returned a high blood sugar level reading, and they wanted him in a cell where he could be monitored.



“If the nurses require him to be moved, we move him,” he said.

He said generally Justice Health would supply a certificate once a transfer took place, but he did not seek this before or after Dungay’s transfer.

He denied allegations that he twice sent a nurse to get a medical certificate signed by a doctor, required to authorise a cell transfer by the immediate action team (IAT), but the doctor refused.

Both Officer F and Officer E, a senior officer who has since been promoted, were adamant the incident was a medical incident, not a security one, and as such the transfer was requested by Justice Health staff.

However, under questioning Officer F conceded that a medical incident was not an allowable justification for engaging the IAT and it was against operational protocols, and Officer E conceded there were other options that could have been taken instead of a cell transfer.

Despite Officer E’s assessment that it was purely a medical incident, not a security one, no nurse or doctor was asked to speak to Dungay and try to get him to give up the biscuits, and no doctor was asked to consult.

“In my experience the doctors and nurses only inflame the inmates more than they help,” he told the court.

Under emotional questioning from a number of legal teams, Officer E said it was his experience that Corrections staff do a better job of de-escalating incidents in the mental health ward than medical staff, who he acknowledged had psychiatric training officers did not.

Officer E conceded that he had no medical or nursing training, or any training on managing patients with mental health issues or diabetes, but stood by his claim under questioning, albeit saying it did not inform his decisions on the day – instead the thought of engaging doctors had simply not occurred to him.

Monday’s hearing heard Corrective Services NSW has since updated its policies, including those around the use of force, and now reflect that “is a misconception that a restrained person who can talk must be able to breathe”.

However an officer, who appeared via videolink and referred to as Officer D, said she did not know what “positional asphyxiation” meant, and she had still not yet received any training about the risk of incorrectly restraining someone.

• Additional reporting: Miles Herbert and Taylor Fuller