Nearly 600 First Nations people have died in custody since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody was tabled. We need a lot more truth-telling and real action, argues Peter Boyle.
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John Pat’s death in custody was remembered 37 years after the 16-year-old died of head injuries in a police cell in Roebourne in 1983, reports Kerry Smith.
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Pat, a 16-year-old Aboriginal boy, was killed on September 28, 1983, after a fight erupted between a drunken off-duty police officer and local Aboriginal people in Roebourne, Western Australia. Pat was passing by at the time and was drawn into the melee by police. Pat was subsequently struck by a police officer, falling backwards and hitting his head on the pavement. Denied medical assistance, he died a just a little more than an hour after he was locked up.
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