The NSW coroner hears that Aboriginal prisoner Eric Whittaker was unconscious and would not have been able to move

The NSW coroner has heard it was “horrific” that Aboriginal man Eric Whittaker, who died in hospital after suffering a brain haemorrhage in prison custody, had been shackled to the bed in the last days of his life despite being unconscious and unresponsive.

An emergency medicine researcher from the University of New South Wales, Anna Holdgate, went on to tell the court “we would only use restraint as a last resort” and “for the briefest time possible”.

According to Holdgate, who was speaking as an expert witness, the 36-year-old Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay man was unconscious and unresponsive after being given sedatives within an hour of arriving at the hospital, and he “would have been unable to move due to the medication”.

Whittaker had been reviewed by medical staff and, according to their notes, was “unconscious and on breathing support”. However, he remained restrained.

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Members of Whittaker’s family, whose names are protected by a non-publication order, also addressed the court.

“When I first walked in, I saw him with the shackles on,” one family member told the court. “I told the nurses, he is dead. Why can’t you take them off? They looked at me like I was stupid.”

After Whittaker was sedated and reviewed by nurses, a brain scan was performed at 2.25 pm but, the court heard, it was six hours before the results were seen by a neurologist.

Earlier this week another neurologist, Dr David Rosen, told the court time is crucial when dealing with brain injuries.

“Every minute is a minute you will never get back,” Rosen said. “If Mr Whitaker was taken to a clinic earlier, he may have been able to give a better account of his medical history, and may have had a better outcome.”

In a statement read by the counsel assisting the coroner, Peggy Dwyer, Whittaker’s family said: “A great injustice has occurred while he was in custody. His basic human rights have been violated. We only wish to have his dignity back.”

Whittaker’s death prompted Corrective Services NSW to launch an internal investigation, after which new protocols for the care of inmate patients were implemented, the court heard. These new protocols require officers to listen to health professionals in regard to the level of restraint an inmate requires.

But Holdgate said no matter what the protocols are, “it is always difficult to get a consensus on appropriate levels of restraint with the authorities”.

Earlier this week, the court heard several of the 20 harrowing emergency phone calls Whittaker made from his cell in Parklea prison, in the lead up to his death.

In the audio recordings played in court, Whittaker repeatedly told corrective services officer James Dobry, who was responsible for fielding emergency calls: “Open my door” and “I need help”.

Officer Dobry told the court it did not occur to him at the time that Whittaker was having a medical emergency. When Whittaker continued to use the emergency call or “knock up” system to ask for help, Dobry said: “You have already been seen by the night rovers.”

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On Monday, corrective services investigator Kenneth Johnston said Dobry’s responses suggested “a level of apathy towards the inmate”.

Dobry told the court: “In hindsight, I could have been clearer about demanding a welfare check. Or taking Mr Whittaker straight to the clinic. The behaviour he was exhibiting was serious enough to demand a second welfare check.”

In her closing statement Dwyer said “no-one should be shackled in those circumstances, especially if the family is saying this hurts us”.

On closing the inquest, Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan addressed the family, saying “we will adjourn, and we will get to work”.

Her findings will be handed down on 28 February 2020.

