Inquest into the death of Sydney Hawke
Deceased
Sydney Hawke
Demographics
85y, male
Date of death
2024-07-04
Finding date
2026-05-22
Cause of death
intracerebral haemorrhage due to systemic hypertension with coronary artery atherosclerotic disease being a significant contributing condition
AI-generated summary
Sydney Hawke, an 85-year-old man, suffered an intracerebral haemorrhage (likely July 3-4, 2024) at home and was found barely alive on July 5. A neighbor called police at 5:41 PM on July 4 to report welfare concerns, but the job was downgraded from Priority 2 to Priority 3. New South Wales Police did not attend until 12:27 PM on July 5—almost 19 hours later. Paramedics initiated resuscitation but he could not be revived. Autopsy revealed intracerebral haemorrhage due to systemic hypertension with coronary atherosclerosis. Expert medical opinion concluded death was likely inevitable given the extensive haemorrhage and his age, even with earlier response. However, earlier hospital transfer would have provided palliative care and family presence. The inquest examined police CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) systems, prioritization processes, and staffing levels. Unprecedented call volumes and reduced operational capacity (64% of authorized strength) contributed to the response delay. Recommendations focused on improving CAD job prioritization guidance.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Contributing factors
- systemic hypertension
- coronary artery atherosclerotic disease
- small vessel disease
- cerebral artery atherosclerosis
- delayed police response
- downgrade of CAD priority from Priority 2 to Priority 3
- unprecedented volume of outstanding CAD jobs (90 total)
- reduced operational capacity at Bankstown Police Area Command
- police staffing levels at 64% of authorized strength
Coroner's recommendations
- Determine whether useful guidance can be provided to operational NSWPF officers regarding how to select the most appropriate CAD jobs to attend when a large number of CAD jobs of the same priority are outstanding
- Such guidance should address factors (including incident types and other incident features) which may increase or decrease a job's priority
- Clarify the role of NSWPF radio dispatchers when units request the 'next job' via NSWPF radio
- Establish preferences for the method by which units acknowledge jobs
- Account for local priorities and issues in CAD job prioritization
- Allow flexibility or exceptions in CAD job prioritization guidance
- Provide developed guidance to the Commissioner's Executive Team for consideration of its use throughout the NSWPF
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