Man repeatedly tasered, sedated before death
Police’s decision to repeatedly taser an Indigenous man during an arrest was appropriate, a coroner has ruled.
A man died after he was repeatedly tasered during an arrest and was not monitored for side effects when he was sedated, a coroner has ruled.
Following a three-day inquest in 2023, Queensland State Coroner Terry Ryan handed down his findings on Friday ruling Ashley Charles Washington’s cause of death remains undetermined.
Police were called to a Toowoomba street after the 31-year-old had broken into a home and stolen several items before the owner confronted him.
Following a struggle between the pair, Washington ran onto the street and was confronted by Senior Constable Jamie Williams with his police dog Turbo.
Washington failed to comply with requests to get on the ground and went on to repeatedly stab the police dog with a pair of scissors after it was deployed.
Sen Const Williams was also stabbed in the face and arm by the scissors when he tried to restrain Washington.
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The officer repeatedly used his Taser and had told the inquest it was the last resort before he used lethal force.
Washington was arrested and restrained after more police officers arrived and when ambulance paramedics showed up he was given a sedative as he continued to thrash about.
He became unresponsive within five minutes and when he was transferred into the ambulance he entered cardiac arrest and died shortly after.
Ryan concluded Washington’s cause of death could not be determined but the forensic pathologist said it was likely a result of multiple factors.
These include pre-existing coronary atherosclerosis, physical and psychological stress, and the effects of methylamphetamine and the sedative in his system.
Ryan also ruled the actions of Sen Const Williams were appropriate in the circumstances of the arrest, noting Washington’s family accepted that his response was within police guidelines.
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The coroner ruled the decision to sedate Washington should not be criticised, however the paramedics did not monitor him closely after the drug was administered.
He said the paramedics “mistakenly” thought Washington’s condition becoming calmer while entering the ambulance was from the sedation.
Ryan did not find it a “wilful omission of care”.
The coroner accepted a submission from Queensland Ambulance Service’s medical director Stephen Rashford that paramedics failed to appropriately assess and continually monitor Washington.
Dr Rashford’s submission could not determine whether earlier monitoring could have prevented Mr Washington’s death, Mr Ryan found.
Both paramedics had admitted to the inquest that with the benefit of hindsight, the care could have been provided differently.
Ryan accepted significant training has been rolled out for police and paramedics following Washington’s death and are continuing to enhance their responses.
“I am satisfied that the QPS and QAS recognise the significance of sudden post-arrest medical decline and the need for training about these scenarios, and are continuing collaborative development of training products for both agencies,” he said.
He extended his condolences to Washington’s family over the distressing death.
“It was clear that he was loved and is missed by his family,” Ryan said.
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