Behrendt, Jason --- "Royal Commission Report of Inquiry: The Death of Bruce Thomas Leslie" [1991] AboriginalLawB 25; (1991) 1(49) Aboriginal Law Bulletin 22

• Royal Commission Report Of Inquiry: The Death Of Bruce Thomas Leslie

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Royal Commission Report of Inquiry: The Death of Bruce Thomas Leslie

by Jason Behrendt

At 11.50pm, 29 May 1985, Bruce Thomas Leslie was found lying outside the Town Talk Hotel in Tamworth. After being diagnosed as being drunk by ambulance officers, he was taken to Tamworth Police Station which "was, and still is, the only proclaimed place in Tamworth under the Intoxicated Persons Act" (p.22).

At 1.00am, 30 May 1985, the ambulance was called to the police station to attend to Bruce Leslie again. Commissioner Wootten found that this was probably "because of concern that Mr Leslie may have suffered an injury, not that he may have had a diabetic or other illness", as the police on duty had claimed (p.41). The attending ambulance officer failed to diagnose any injury.

At 7.45am an ambulance was again called to the police station. Bruce Leslie was taken to Tamworth Base Hospital. An x-ray showed that he had a fractured skull. He was then transferred to the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, where widespread brain haemorrhaging was revealed. On 6 June 1985, Bruce Leslie died as a result of the brain haemorrhage.

Bruce Leslie's injuries were caused after his head came into "contact with a blunt surface with considerable force" (p.4). This occurred either at the police station or outside the hotel before he came into police custody. If he was injured outside the hotel, Commissioner Wootten found that "he probably suffered a further injury as a result of falling or being dropped or assaulted in Tamworth Police Station between 12.00am and 1.00am on 30 May 1985" (p.9).

Commissioner Wootten found that an accurate description of events was not possible because:

"...three police officers [Sergeant Nealon, and Constables Andrews and Sloane] have conspired to conceal by false evidence what happened to Mr Leslie when he was in the police station. These three officers have given false accounts of events to the Commission, and two other police officers have sought to mislead the Commission on ancillary matters" (p.10).

There was also scathing criticism of the "ludicrously inadequate" internal police investigation of Bruce Leslie's death which was conducted by Sergeant Rapley.

"In short it is clear that it never crossed Sergeant Rapley's mind that the possibility of misconduct or breach of duty by police officers was something that required examination – their account was just to be accepted. This is consistent with the supposed `investigations' of police by police in many of the deaths in custody. Given all the circumstances, and lack of any evidence of how Mr Leslie acquired his injury, this is a particularly blatant and glaring example of the inappropriateness of investigation of police by their colleagues" (p.71).

The withholding of information from Bruce Leslie's family was also addressed in the report. While Bruce Leslie was in the Royal North Shore Hospital his family had made numerous enquiries into how his injuries were sustained. They claimed they were told by Sergeant Rapley that two salesmen, who were staying in the hotel, had found Bruce Leslie outside the hotel and had taken him to hospital. It was not until after Bruce Leslie had died that the family were informed that he had been in police custody from 12.15am to 8.00am on 30 May 1985. In relation to this matter Commissioner Wootten made the following observation:

"In my Report of the Inquiry into the Death of Mark Wayne Revell, I commented on the need for openness and frankness in dealing with relatives. This case provides another example of anguish and suspicion that is caused by inadequate or unsympathetic communication. The difference in this case may be that the police did have something to hide" (p.100).

Commissioner Wootten recommended that the prosecuting authorities consider whether criminal charges should be laid, that the Commissioner of Police consider whether disciplinary action should be taken against any police officer and that the Ambulance Authority consider whether disciplinary action should be taken against any ambulance officer.