Finding into death of Samir Ograzden
Deceased
Samir Ograzden
Demographics
25y, male
Date of death
2008-05-13
Finding date
2014-07-04
Cause of death
Gunshot injury to the neck
AI-generated summary
A 25-year-old man was shot and killed during a police pursuit in May 2008 after fleeing a vehicle stop where drugs and a firearm were found. He was pursued on foot through Melbourne streets, entered a car park, fired at police (wounding an officer), and was fatally shot. The coroner found the police response was appropriate and lawful. Death resulted from a gunshot wound to the neck causing catastrophic vertebral artery and cervical spine damage, likely fatal within minutes. Key clinical lessons: severe neck trauma with vertebral artery disruption is immediately life-threatening; the delay in medical access (31 minutes due to scene safety protocols) did not contribute to the fatal outcome given the nature of injuries. The coroner made recommendations regarding scene management, training for armed pursuits, and investigative transparency but found no preventable medical issues—the injuries were unsurvivable even with immediate intervention.
AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes.
Drugs involved
Contributing factors
- Gunshot wound with complete disruption of cervical spine and bilateral vertebral arteries
- Deceased fired at police first
- Deceased failed to comply with police commands to stop
- Deceased was armed with loaded firearm
- Delay in access to medical treatment due to required CIRT containment and scene safety protocols
Coroner's recommendations
- Training in containment, restraint and arresting of seriously injured or deceased persons should be reviewed to minimize unnecessary handcuffing in circumstances where it is not required for containment/restraint/arrest, is inhumane, or may cause further injury
- Investigating officers should conduct video recorded walkthroughs of incident scenes
- Where possible and appropriate, interviews with police officers involved in police-related fatalities should be video recorded
- All relevant notes and materials should be disclosed and provided to the Coroner, investigating officer, Counsel Assisting and Interested Parties prior to commencement of inquest
- An institutionally independent, legally trained person should observe the interview process with Victoria Police members involved in police contact related deaths to allay perceptions of collusion and bias
- A policy should be developed ensuring transparency when Civil Litigation team initiates meetings with police witnesses, with a member of Professional Standards or independent person present
- Protocols should be established to ensure evidentiary materials and aids provided to officers in Civil Litigation meetings are disclosed to Court, investigating officer, Counsel Assisting and Interested Parties in timely manner
- A training module on foot pursuits of armed and suspected armed offenders should be developed and incorporated into Victoria Police Manual and OSTT, providing guidance on alternative tactical options including radio communication responsibility, disengagement considerations, and specialist resource deployment
- Review of sub-officers' training in scene management decision making and provision of support to officers assuming leadership responsibilities at scenes
Full text
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