00:00Cleveland-Dodd's family are still trying to piece together the events of October 12
00:06last year, feeling no closer to answers after the non-appearance of a key witness.
00:13Kyle Mead-Hunter was the senior officer on duty the night Cleveland-Dodd fatally self-harmed
00:18inside his Unit 18 cell.
00:21During Part 1 of the inquest, the court was shown CCTV and heard evidence that Mr Mead-Hunter
00:27was sitting in a darkened room, partially undressed, when staff raised the alarm that
00:32the teenager was unconscious in his cell.
00:35The officer was supposed to be the first witness this week, but he's been excused, Coroner
00:40Philip Urquhart saying he had received a report from Mr Mead-Hunter's psychiatrist, stating
00:45he was not fit to attend court because his PTSD symptoms rendered him unfit to undergo
00:52questioning.
00:53Instead, the inquest heard evidence from the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA, its director
01:02Peter Collins describing a relationship breakdown between the ALS and the Department of Justice,
01:08saying regular meetings ceased after the ALS took legal action in the Supreme Court in
01:132022 over the prolonged unlawful confinement of detainees.
01:19The former Inspector of Custodial Services, Neil Morgan, also appeared, telling the inquest
01:24he was horrified but not surprised when he heard of Cleveland-Dodd's death.
01:28My horrible feeling is that Unit 18 will drift on for a considerable time to come.
01:34Over the coming days, the inquest will hear from senior departmental staff who will be
01:39asked why it took a death in custody to expose systemic issues in WA's youth detention system
01:45and what's changed since Cleveland-Dodd's death.
01:48Governor Philip Urquhart told the court he had seen improvements during a recent visit
01:52to Unit 18, among the changes staff now wearing body-worn cameras, in line with other Australian
01:59jurisdictions.
Comments