Thread by @IndigenousX

Strongly encourage to have a read through this summary and my over the top thread 🙃#JusticeforTanyaDay hrlc.org.au/tanya-day-inqu…

The coroner found Shaun Irvine the Vline conductor who deemed her ‘unruly’ (while asleep) within 60 seconds of coming in contact with her was influenced by mums Aboriginality. When he notified the train driver he used the words “I want her off my train” #JusticeforTanyaDay

This was in part because mum was the first sleeping passenger he’d ever removed from a train. He gave evidence of encountering abusive and disruptive passengers before, but never felt the need to have them removed by police like mum #JusticeforTanyaDay

On stand he refused to acknowledge mum had dark skin and said he couldn’t say she wasn’t of anglo saxon appearance-but that day he told VicPol she was an Aboriginal woman. When asked if he’d do things differently knowing the outcome for mum. His answer was NO #JusticeforTanyaDay

The Coroner failed too find the decision to arrest mum was influenced by her Aboriginality, but in the view that it was unsafe to leave her sleeping on the train #JusticeforTanyaDay

Which is unbelievable considering after mum was placed in the divvy van they attended a call to a non-Indigenous woman who was “heavily intoxicated”. They drove her home safely and without a fine. She survived being drunk in a public place, the same fate not afforded to our mum

At the time of mums arrest Aboriginal women were more than 10 more likely to be arrested for public drunkenness than non-Indigenous women #JusticeforTanyaDay

We have always and will continue to believe that racism infected every part of the Police’s treatment against our Mother and if she was a white woman she would never have been arrested, taken into custody and died. #JusticeforTanyaDay

The Coroner has found that the police totally failed to comply with their most basic procedures for the safety, monitoring and care of our mother in custody, ruling that Mum should have been provided with health care and not ever been taken into custody #JusticeforTanyaDay

Senior Constable Danny Wolters was said not to be a credible witness-the accuracy of his custody module entries(the observation and monitoring)didn’t coincide with CCTV among other reasons. In an attempt to cover his tracks he went as far to add new “evidence” using the intercom

The Coroner made a finding that mum was “not treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of a human person as required by the Charter” #JusticeforTanyaDay

She also found that Victoria Police had not undertaken any review of Mums death and had made no learnings from her death in custody. This is consistent with each officer saying that, knowing Mum would die in custody, they would not have changed anything

For the first time in Victoria the Coroner referred to the Department of Public Prosecutions on the belief that an indictable offence may have occurred. Last week we heard the decision of no prosecution - disregarding the evidence and opinion of the Coroner #JusticeforTanyaDay

The Coroner foreshadowed making the recommendation to abolish public drunkenness. The Vic Gov announced its commitment to replace it with a public health response. This is nearly 30 years on after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody recommended its abolition

The same law that claimed the life of our Uncle Harrison Day who died in police custody in Echuca in 1982 after being arrested for a $10 unpaid fine for a charge of being drunk and disorderly #JusticeforTanyaDay

It’s 1 year on and the Andrews Government has yet to follow through with its public commitment, but has shown its dedication to increasing police powers during a health crisis. Again proving Aboriginal lives are not a priority #JusticeforTanyaDay

Until the government acts and hold police accountable for killing Aboriginal people, the number of black deaths in custody will continue to rise. They are not and should never be judge, jury and executioner #JusticeforTanyaDay