Why do Aboriginal people need help?

Gomeroi man Stanley Russell was shot dead by police at his aunt's Seven Hills home in November 2021, after four officers attended the property to execute an arrest warrant.

The court was told that during a search of the house, the 45-year-old was found in the garage wielding an axe and knife, before he was shot by police.

Deputy NSW Coroner Carmel Forbes said that officers fired their guns in response to "their reasonable perception of an immediate risk to their lives".

The court heard Mr Russell had an intellectual disability.

He suffered with depression, anxiety and substance abuse issues which were exacerbated after the death in custody of his brother, who died by suicide in Long Bay jail in 1999.

Ms Forbes said he believed officers hung his brother, despite there being no proof, and this contributed to his fear of going into custody.

"Mr Russell had said he would rather die than go back to custody, six months earlier," she said.

Ms Forbes said none of the officers considered that Mr Russell was an Aboriginal person when executing the warrant.

"The officers may not understand the historical context of the relationship between police and Aboriginal people, and why in that context Aboriginal people might have a particular fear or distrust towards police", she said.

She recommended police work with the Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) to develop a way to execute bench warrants on First Nations people which would encourage defendants to hand themselves in.

"Hopefully the recommendations will help provide alternatives to confrontational arrests," she said.

Aboriginal Legal Service Coronial Advocate Hannah Donaldson said the recommendation could "save lives".

"We are ready and willing to make this lifesaving reform a reality," she said.

"If properly followed, this procedure would reduce the number of occasions where police show up without warning to arrest an Aboriginal person.

"Aboriginal people who are subject to a bench warrant would be contacted by someone they trust … they could hand themselves in voluntarily and safely."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-14/inquest-suggests-change-execution-of-warrants-indigenous-people/102225046