WARNING: Distressing content
An Indigenous man was tasered six times by Queensland police and sedated by ambulance officers before he suffered a fatal cardiac arrest, a coroner has heard.
The Coroners Court in Brisbane on Monday held a pre-inquest conference into the death of Ashley Charles Washington, 31, on December 13, 2020 in Toowoomba.
His family members, who listened to proceedings by phone, requested he be referred to during the inquest as Ashley.
Counsel assisting Sarah Lio-Willie said a home owner in the suburb of Mount Lofty discovered Ashley at 6.35pm allegedly trying to remove items from the home including sunglasses, surgical scissors and cash.
Ashley left the property wearing only a pair of shorts and became aggressive towards the home owner who had followed him into the street.
A lone officer and his police dog Turbo in a marked police vehicle located Ashley about 6.55pm.
The officer called out to Ashley to get on the ground but he made unintelligible noises and walked away.
Turbo made contact with Ashley's arm and chest, and he stabbed the dog repeatedly with the surgical scissors, causing the dog to retreat to the police vehicle.
"[The officer] then deployed his Taser, which caused Ashley to fall to the ground briefly, and he was directed to put his hands behind his back," Ms Lio-Willie said.
While the officer attempted to restrain him, Ashley struck the officer in the face and arm with the scissors.
The officer used his Taser on Ashley again, causing him to fall to the ground, and then radioed that he had been stabbed and requested assistance.
"[The officer] continued to cycle the Taser for four rounds," Ms Lio-Willie said.
Five other officers arrived and placed Ashley in handcuffs and pushed his legs towards his buttocks but he continued to yell and spit blood.
Paramedics administered a sedative and Ashley's heart rate went into rapid decline, followed by cardiac arrest, after he was put in an ambulance.
Paramedics performed CPR but Ashley was declared dead at Toowoomba Base Hospital at 8.01pm.
The first responding officer and Turbo recovered from their injuries.
All of Ashley's encounters with police and paramedics were captured on body-worn cameras.
A forensic examination of his body showed injuries from a Taser to the back of his neck, right upper arm, left upper buttock and right thigh.
Ashley had suffered from coronary atherosclerosis but there were no signs of an allergic reaction to the sedative.
He also had methamphetamine in his system in the toxic or lethal ranges.
The examination found an undetermined cause of death that could have been brought about by severe heart disease, causing cardiac arrest, combined with stress and drug use.
A police internal investigation has found that the officers acted lawfully and reasonably.
A Queensland Ambulance Service investigation found the paramedics failed to adequately observe Ashley's condition, but that they were operating in dark, rainy conditions and there was no wilful omission of care.
A three-day hearing from August 29 at Toowoomba before State Coroner Terry Ryan is due to call 10 witnesses.
If this story has raised issues for you, you can call 13YARN 13 92 76 or Aboriginal Counselling Services 0410 539 905.
