Why were no criminal charges laid against the police officers involved in Tanya Day’s death?
Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day was arrested just before Christmas in 2017 after falling asleep on a train to Melbourne. When she fell and hit her head in a police station holding cell, no one helped her for three hours.
She died of her injuries.
Despite Victoria’s coroner finding “an indictable offence may have been committed” by the two police officers who failed to check up on her, state prosecutors decided late last week that they would not face any criminal charges.
No one has ever been convicted for an Indigenous death in custody
One 2018 study of 134 Indigenous deaths found that coroners referred just five of those deaths to prosecutors. Two of those made it to court. Neither court case resulted in a conviction.
The study’s author found several reasons why we might see outrage in the U.S. of a police officer shooting a black man dead, but little action over the death of an Indigenous Australian in police custody.
Why don’t we see more convictions?
In the U.S. activists quickly get hold of CCTV footage to shape public opinion. Complex traditions around honouring dead Indigenous Australians mean that CCTV footage is often not used.
Suppression orders and lengthy procedural delays are often used in Australian courts, meaning it can be years before we hear about some of the deaths dealt with by coroners. .
Defamation laws and an overwhelmingly white media means even when legal issues are not a problem, Indigenous deaths in custody are still not discussed widely.
“Devastated and angry”
The family of Tanya Day said they were “devastated and angry” that the police officers involved in her death would not face any criminal charges.
The family was not directly informed of the Department of Public Prosecutor’s decision to refuse charges.
“It is not good enough that such an important decision was made behind closed doors without any input from our family or the broader Aboriginal community. It is in the public interest - and the interests of Aboriginal people across Australia - that the plice be held accountable for their actions.”
Family of Tanya Day
Tanya Day’s death in custody - timeline
3.14pm: Police find Tanya Day sleeping on a V/Line train at Castlemaine. She is intoxicated.
3.56pm: Tanya Day is placed in a cell at the police station.
4.50pm: Tanya Day falls forward, hitting her head against the wall of her cell.
8.03pm: Police conduct their first check on Tanya Day, finding her on the floor with a bruised head.
8.25pm: An ambulance is called.
9.48pm: Tanya Day falls unconscious due to her injuries. She remains unconscious until her death 17 days later.