Aboriginal death in custody inquest begins

THIS DEATH HAPPENED PRIOR TO A NURSE WORKING AT THE WATCH HOUSE.  SUCH DEATHS ARE LARGELY THE REASON MY POSITION AND THAT OF THE OTHER WATCH HOUSE NURSES CAME TO BE IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY.  I WILL BE POSTING UP-DATES AS THEY HAPPEN BUT THIS VIDEO NEWS STORY GIVES YOU SOME BACKGROUND..........

http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2012/s3523779.htm

Day 1

By Allyson Horn
Updated June 12, 2012 18:34:03

An inquest into the death of an Aboriginal man in police custody in Alice Springs has heard he may have died from suffocation.
Kwementyaye Briscoe, 28, died after being taken into protective custody in January this year for being drunk.
Mr Briscoe's family say witnesses saw police officers assaulting him in the central Australian town's watch-house before he died.
The family asked Northern Territory Chief Minister Paul Henderson for an independent investigation into his death but the request was denied.
Family and friends of the dead man packed the Alice Springs Coroner's Court for the first day of the inquest.
Some cried as the court saw security footage taken in the police watch house on the night of Mr Briscoe's death.
The footage showed Mr Briscoe was bleeding from the head but the court was told he did not receive any medical treatment.
The court heard Mr Briscoe was placed face down on a mattress in a police cell and left in an awkward position with his neck twisted against a concrete block.
The court also heard Mr Briscoe was not checked in his cell for more than two hours, which is against police procedure.
When he was checked, he was found to be unconscious and was pronounced dead a short time later.
Counsel assisting the Coroner told the court it would hear pathology evidence suggesting Mr Briscoe died from suffocation.
Today the court heard from the officer in charge of the investigation into the death, Acting Superintendent Scott Pollock.
He told the court Mr Briscoe showed signs of physical and emotional distress after being bought into custody and that Mr Briscoe should have received medical assessment.
An affidavit from a senior Northern Territory Police official was also tendered, in which the official apologises to Mr Briscoe's family for not providing adequate care.
The Coroner will hear evidence from at least 25 witnesses.

The hearing continues.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-12/briscoe-death-in-custrody-inquest-begins/4066476?section=nt