Man who died after being tasered by police experienced ‘perfect storm’ of events, inquest hears
The circumstances surrounding Jack Kokaua’s death after a police officer tasered him three times, and he was held down by multiple officers, have been described at a Sydney inquest as “the perfect storm”.
The assessment was made by cardiologist Mark Dooris who listed some of the possible causes of death as positional asphyxia, multiple tasers and an underlying heart disease. An autopsy report found no direct cause of death.
Sydney police were originally called on 18 February 2018 after the 30-yearold was seen struggling to ride a hirebicycle with one wheel locked.
Babbling incoherently and falling into the path of traffic in the middle of a busy Glebe road, Kokaua appeared extremely sweaty and unsteady, and heavily intoxicated.
Concerned for his safety, detectives called for an ambulance, but Kokaua resisted and was told “look mate you’ve got to stop”, the coroners court heard on Monday.
Sgt Stephen Sutherland, in his evidence, said it was difficult to control the strong man.
“He pretty much shrugged me off, did whatever he wanted ... I had all my weight on one of his legs and he lifted me off the ground,” the court heard.
When paramedics arrived they managed to sedate Kokaua and take him to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital where he was scheduled under the mental health act.
Kokaua, who suffered from chronic schizophrenia and personality disorder, appeared calm and co-operative when he asked a nurse to use the bathroom.
Unaware it took six police officers to hold down Kokaua, the nurse released his ankle restraints so he could urinate with “some dignity”.
Shortly after he escaped the hospital by jumping over a stretcher carrying another patient.
After scaling the wall of Sydney University’s St Andrews College, he walked into a university lecture and confronted staff and students.
“Jack walked into one of the seminars and is recorded as saying ‘I am an angel’ and walking around the classroom saying ‘bless you, bless you’ to a number of students,” the counsel assisting, Kristina Stern SC, told the inquest on Monday.
Sen Const Jacqueline Buchanan, who later located Kokaua, was hopeful he would co-operate following the first incident of resistance.
She said he appeared agitated and kept saying “do you want to fight me”, and was clenching his fists into a ball.
Violently resisting arrest and unresponsive to pepper spray, one officer said he used his Taser after Kokaua ran towards him.
When he fell to the ground multiple officers used their body weight to pin down Kokaua. One later described the scene “like stacks on”.
Buchanan said she wasn’t monitoring his breathing but was yelling out instructions, asking her assisting officers to do so.
Kokaua at one point was face down on the ground. Stern on Monday queried the arresting officers’ inconsistent evidence as to when they turned their minds to his breathing.
Sutherland was asked why an ambulance was not called immediately after locating Kokaua for the second time that day.
Sutherland said in a perfect world ambulances would be called for every mental health intervention, but generally police officers made an assessment before calling in “sparse resources”.
About four minutes after the final Taser was applied his lips had turned blue and no pulse could be found. He was later pronounced dead in hospital.
The inquest continues before coroner Teresa O’Sullivan.