Banjo, Neil Richard
Deceased
Neil Richard Banjo
Demographics
53y, male
Date of death
2017-01-18
Finding date
2019-10-02
Cause of death
Traumatic brain injury sustained from police use of force on 25 February 2016, though coronary artery atheroma may have contributed or been independent cause
AI-generated summary
Neil Banjo, a 53-year-old Aboriginal man, died from traumatic brain injury sustained during a police confrontation on 25 February 2016 in Normanton, Queensland. Officers attended a family birthday party to arrest his intoxicated daughter for public nuisance. When Mr Banjo intervened, concerned about rough handling, Constable Salau performed a 'crouch dive' push, causing Mr Banjo to fall backwards and strike his head on the road. The coroner found the use of force was appropriate but commented that officers should have considered his alcohol intoxication when assessing risk of head injury, and should have considered alternatives to arrest. The coroner recommended enhanced training on vulnerability assessment and expanded use of police discretion for low-level offences, particularly in remote Indigenous communities.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Clinical conditions
Procedures
Contributing factors
- Police use of crouch dive manoeuvre causing fall
- Alcohol intoxication affecting ability to protect self by breaking fall
- Failure to consider vulnerability of intoxicated person to head injury
- Escalation of situation from family dispute to police arrest
- Two junior constables with less than 3 years service responding without backup
- Remote community setting with limited resources
Coroner's recommendations
- Queensland Police Service should include circumstances of Mr Banjo's death in use of force and cultural competency training materials
- Amend operational policies to ensure officers have specific awareness of risk of significant head injury to vulnerable persons who are pushed and fall as result of crouch dive manoeuvre
- Encourage greater use of police discretion and alternatives to arrest in responding to public nuisance and other low-level offences
- Consider diversionary options such as Community Justice Group members or Indigenous police liaison officers for resolution of family disputes
- Consider use of notice to appear or on-the-spot fines as alternatives to arrest
- Review exercise of police discretion in remote Indigenous communities to reduce overrepresentation in custody
- Consider whether public nuisance offences should be redefined
Full text
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