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Doomadgee clashes instigated by heavy-handed police By Callum Clayton-Dixon Nganyaywana Gulf community leaders Murrandoo Yanner and Alec Doomadgee claim the recent clashes in the northeast Queensland town of Doomadgee were instigated by police. Riot squads from Mount Isa were flown into the remote community following an altercation between locals and police on March 2. Activist and cultural advocate Alec Doomadgee (Gangalidda, Garawa & Waanyi) flew from Sydney up to his hometown after getting word of what was happening. “There was a bit of an argument between a couple of young girls, one of whom was the daughter of Arthur Doomadgee,” he said. “All of a sudden police come screeching down the street, pulled up beside them and a female officer in full uniform jumped out. To everyone who witnessed it, she was very abusive towards Arthur and his family. She pulled out her baton and started swinging it around in front of Arthur, trying to intimidate him. She then approached him and was in his personal space, and he defended himself. She was calling him a black mother f#@ker.” The female constable was allegedly struck in the face with a torch, leaving her with a broken nose. Police then arrested Arthur Doomadgee and transported him to the local police station. His two sons were also arrested and charged with “willful damage of police property”. Arthur is the older brother of Cameron Mulrunji Doomadgee who died in police custody on Palm Island in 2004. According to Murrandoo Yanner, Chairman of the Carpentaria Land Council, Arthur Doomadgee’s family had been “targeted a lot [by police],
Activist Alec Doomadgee (left) stands with his cousin Arthur Doomadgee outside the town’s courthouse. Arthur, 52, appeared before the magistrates’ court on March 7 facing charges of assaulting a police officer. IMAGE: Facebook
particularly since the death on Palm, because he like most of us, continues to maintain and advocate that Chris Hurley got away with blue murder”.
tactics, Alec called the whole ordeal “quite horrific, considering that these are the people that supposedly carry the law”.
“He [Inspector Kidd] decided to Following the arrests, a crowd of around locals turned up at the police instigate the tactical response team to station where they maintained a vigil come in here and bash the living sh#t out of the blackfellas in the streets. They through to Sunday morning. were arresting and abusing children, “Because we know the nature of searching women and children in the police to have their payback, just like streets at night. Even the mayor got told they did to his [Arthur’s] brother on to ‘get off the f@#&ing road you black Palm Island, people feared for his bastard’. The police were intimidating safety,” said Mr Yanner, a Gangalidda and bullying people in the street, and Garawa man. Aboriginal people who were just going The police overreacted big time, about their daily lives.” said Alec. The following Thursday saw “They [police reinforcements] police shut down much of the town came in here under the guise of a including the school, supermarket, lie that was pushed by the inspector hospital and post office, without himself [Mount Isa Police Inspector consent from the local shire council Trevor Kidd]. I saw a report in The or mayor. North West Star with Inspector Mr Yanner labelled the police Kidd claiming there was a riot in Doomadgee, that the police station was union’s talk of riots “exaggeration being smashed, the cops were being and sensationalism”. threatened with sticks and stones, and “There was no riot,” he said. “They that they were afraid for their lives.” can’t get their story straight, they’re very Accusing police of heavy-handed dishonest.”
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YANNER: on a sovereign basis, we refuse to march under a permit “It was the first time in history, the first time ever that the Doomadgee community stood up and fought for themselves,” said Alec. “It’s the first time they’ve looked the white man in the eye and said, we will no longer take this, we will no longer be your little black jackey jackey, we will no longer let you bully us, we will no longer let you kick us and treat us as second class citizens.”
Hundreds of locals rallied & marched on Doomadgee’s courthouse demonstrating against the “brutality” of police actions. IMAGE: Facebook
Also blaming police for a lot of the infighting within the Doomadgee community, Mr Yanner said “there’s a lot of the old English divide and conquer still going on, playing families off against each other”.
magistrates’ court on March 7. He was released on conditional bail with a curfew from 7pm to 7am, and is due to appear in court on May 2.
Police told demonstrators they could be arrested for ‘unlawful assembly’ as they didn’t have a permit to march, said Mr Yanner. “F#ck their permit. On a sovereign basis, we refuse to march under a permit. If people want to march, add a bit of spice to it, do it without a permit.”
Hundreds of locals rallied and Police denied allegations of marched on the courthouse that misconduct, saying they are baseless. Arthur Doomadgee, 52, faced Thursday, demonstrating against the court on charges of assault at the town “brutality” of police actions.
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