00:04December 16 2021, an end of year school celebration that turned into a scene unlike anything Dean
00:11Wotherspoon had experienced in decades of policing. The first class constable describing
00:17it as organised chaos, telling the inquest, I'd never been exposed to another mass casualty
00:24event of such scale. Six children died after a gust of wind lifted the jumping castle
00:29from the Oval at Hillcrest Primary School in Devonport. Constable Wotherspoon told the court
00:35when he arrived he developed tunnel vision, saying police officers, school staff, paramedics
00:41were all doing what they could to save the children. He said paramedics were clearly overwhelmed and
00:47we were changing regulators on oxygen cylinders because they were stretched. Constable Wotherspoon
00:55said some mistakes were made, including his decision to go to the Mersey Community Hospital
01:00to photograph the children. He said, I should have detached myself from those duties and maintained
01:06that coordination role from a forensic perspective. Constable Wotherspoon told the court the chain of
01:12command wasn't clear and that created confusion. Earlier this inquest had heard the anguish of
01:19mother Georgie Burt, who said she first saw her son Zane three days later at the funeral home.
01:25Constable Wotherspoon questioned the decision making around who was and wasn't allowed to see their child,
01:31saying, I guess that's the starkest example of the breakdown in command and control.
01:36I think it's obvious that we can and should have done better. Constable Wotherspoon became teary
01:42talking about the profound impact on himself and fellow officers. He said losing a child defied the
01:49laws of nature and if not directly responsible for ending careers, the tragedy hastened it.
