Assistant commissioner for corrections says he ‘formed the opinion we need to do something urgently’ after damning evidence at inquest

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Prison authorities are to implement urgent changes in the restraint training of officers following damning evidence presented to a court looking at the death in custody of an Indigenous inmate.

Corrective Services New South Wales will offer a new training course in the fatal risks of restraining someone face-down, the assistant commissioner, Kevin Corcoran, told the inquest into the death in custody of David Dungay Jr.

He said he came to the decision after hearing evidence from a number of corrections staff.

Over the past week a number of guards have given evidence that they were not trained in the risk of positional asphyxia or, in some cases, even aware of the term.



David Dungay inquest: officer says he thought response team sent to 'security situation' Read more

“I formed the opinion we need to do something urgently,” Corcoran told the court on Tuesday.

The three-hour session would comprise “theory, case studies and ... practice”, and would target members of immediate action teams (IAT) but also any officer that was untrained. Corcoran said he anticipated it would roll out in coming weeks “once they got course content”.

Corrective Services NSW confirmed a new training course for officers involved in the use of force was being developed. It would include “role play” and training on how to avoid the risk of positional asphyxia, the spokeswoman said.

“We expect to finalise the course within a month, and provide it to officers as soon as possible, starting with members of our immediate action teams around the state.”

The spokeswoman did not address questions about why it was only being developed now, more than two-and-a-half years after Dungay’s death.

Corcoran was appearing before the NSW coroner’s court, which is examining the death of Dungay.

Dungay was restrained face-down by a rapid response team and sedated after he refused to stop eating a packet of biscuits. The inquest has heard staff were concerned Dungay would affect his blood sugar levels but there have been conflicting accounts about whether it was a medical or security situation, and who made key decisions amid the incident.

Play Video 4:12 'I can't breathe': footage shows David Dungay's death in custody – video

Corcoran said corrections had started a “working group” to examine the processes in G ward of Long Bay prison, where Dungay was being held as a mental health inmate.

A number of officers involved in the cell transfer during which Dungay died have appeared as witnesses before the inquest. It has been revealed five of the six IAT officers who restrained Dungay were untrained in positional asphyxia.

Another witness, a corrections officer, told the court she did not know what “positional asphyxiation” meant, and she had still not yet received any training about the risk of incorrectly restraining someone.

David Dungay inquest: shocking video shows prison officers restraining inmate before death Read more

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

An update to the use of force policy, approved by Corcoran, came into effect in December 2017, two years after Dungay’s death. An online copy is redacted apart from the contents page, which lists: “positional asphyxia and sudden death under restraint”, “warning signs of positional asphyxia” and “prone position restraint and other high-risk positions”.

Some witnesses gave evidence that they had received updated information about positional asphyxia in the form of a memorandum that was sent around in 2017.

Corcoran suggested a memo was not adequate for ensuring sufficient staff knowledge.

Another senior officer involved in developing training defended the memo.

The inquest continues.