Supporters attend the inquest into the death of Jeffrey Winmar at the coroner’s court in Melbourne. Photograph: James Ross/AAPSupporters attend the inquest into the death of Jeffrey Winmar at the coroner’s court in Melbourne. Photograph: James Ross/AAPVictoria police called to give evidence into Indigenous man’s death in custody seek protection from self-incriminationRequest comes at the start of a two-week inquest into the death of Noongar man Jeffrey Winmar in Melbourne
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Eleven police officers called to give evidence into the death of an Aboriginal man in custody have sought certificates to protect themselves from self-incrimination.
The request from the Victoria police chief commissioner came at the start of a two-week inquest into the death of Noongar man Jeffrey Winmar.
The 28-year-old died in hospital on 11 November 2023, two days after being pursued and arrested by police.
Body-worn camera footage played to the Victorian coroner’s court on Monday showed Winmar drop to the ground after being confronted by a police dog on 9 November.
He had fled from officers who went to arrest him at a Burwood address in Melbourne’s east, scaling the property’s roof and jumping over multiple fences.
Winmar was cornered by the police dog and his handler when he lost consciousness.
He was handcuffed before detectives realised he was unresponsive and placed him into the recovery position.
There was no further footage of the incident because the dog handler moved away and detectives were not required to have body-worn cameras installed.
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailThe court was told police cancelled two initial calls for an ambulance but paramedics ultimately attended the scene after Winmar went into cardiac arrest.
The 28-year-old died in Box Hill hospital two days later as a result of multi-organ failure in the setting of methamphetamine use.
The cause of the organ failure and whether earlier medical intervention could have prevented Winmar’s death are part of the inquest’s scope, counsel assisting Rachel Ellyard told the court.
The actions of police in the planned arrest would also be considered by the coroner.
A Victoria police review into the incident found the officers had acted appropriately and all policies were complied with, the court was told.
But police barrister Marion Isobel made applications for certificates on behalf of the 11 officers called to give evidence in the inquest on the grounds of potential self-incrimination.
The certificate would protect each of the police members from facing disciplinary action as a result of their evidence.
Barristers representing each of Winmar’s parents opposed the applications, saying they were inappropriate.
Coroner Sarah Gebert only had to decide one of the applications on Monday but accepted there were reasonable grounds.
Leading Sen Const Jason Nowakowski, the police dog handler, was granted a certificate and told the court he did not know Winmar was Aboriginal or was scared of dogs.
But the officer maintained he would not have done anything differently if he was aware and he did not believe there were any significant failures from police during the arrest.
Winmar’s father said he still had questions about the actions of the officers.
“What happened to Jeff is not right,” said a statement from Jeffrey Anderson, read by his daughter Rosie outside court.
“Jeff didn’t die on his own. There needs to be accountability.”
Winmar’s mother, Ursulla, said she was looking for justice for her son and she hoped people would be held accountable.
The inquest was scheduled to run for two weeks.
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