[3][4][2] Police raids and behaviour following the community riot were found to have breached the Racial Discrimination Act 1975,[5] with a record class action settlement of A$30 million awarded to victims in May 2018.
[12] Doomadgee family spokesman, Brad Foster, claimed that after the men had been put into the cells, fifteen minutes lapsed before a seven-second check was done on the inmates.
Procedures for taking of statements from illiterate Aboriginal people were not followed, including the requirement to have a representative present who understands the process (preferably a legal representation).
[19] Subsequent to the autopsy report reading a succession of angry young Aboriginal men spoke to the crowd and encouraged immediate action be taken against the police.
As a way of helping them understand and cope with the on-going trauma they had experienced, children were later encouraged to express themselves through art, one of the resulting pieces was titled "We saw the police station burn.
Police officers in riot gear, wearing balaclavas, with no identification and carrying large guns, marched into the community, conducting early-morning raids.
[16] Part of the flown in police contingent was the tactical response group who wore riot shields, balaclavas and helmets with face-masks, Glock pistol at the hip and a shotgun or semi-automatic rifle in their right hand.
[23] Premier Peter Beattie visited Palm Island on Sunday 28 November, producing a five-point plan to restore order to local leaders.
The lawyers maintained two key points, firstly that the emergency could only last for as long as the riot itself and secondly the police did not have extended search and detain powers under the Act that they had relied upon.
Largely supporting this conclusion was that Hurley had considered it necessary to raise similar concerns only a year prior to Mulrunji's death to the Federal Parliamentary Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs.
[36] Leanne Clare, the Queensland Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), announced on 14 December 2006 that no charges would be laid as there was no evidence proving that Hurley was responsible for Mulrunji's death.
[citation needed] After several days of media and public pressure, Queensland Attorney-General, Kerry Shine, appointed retired Justice Pat Shanahan to review the DPP's decision not to lay charges against the police officer.
[40] Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Sir Laurence Street, was selected to review the decision not to charge Hurley over the death of Mulrunji.
[47][48] On 17 December 2008 District Court Judge Bob Pack, in Townsville, ruled that Clements' finding "..was against the weight of the evidence..",[47][48] so upholding Hurley's appeal, requiring a new coronial inquiry and outraging local Aboriginal people who feared this would "..only dig up buried bones..".
[50] The Attorney General and appellants submitted that if punching is set aside there should be an inevitable finding that the fatal injuries were due to a deliberate application of force by Chris Hurley after the fall, e.g. a knee drop.
[23] Former Premier Wayne Goss dismissed as "cheap politics" the union's demand for attempted murder charges to be laid, he said their comments since the death in custody had been consistently unhelpful.
Yanner said his anger was with the legal system in general and particularly the police's role in justice for Indigenous people, saying that Hurley was an exception to these problems, but that he had probably gone too far in giving Mulrunji a hiding.
He was appointed to a duty officer position at the Broadbeach police station on the Gold Coast[60] The Queensland Government agreed to provide a confidential payout of A$370,000 to Mulrunji's family in May 2011.
[34] After Coroner Clements made her findings but before they were overturned by the District and Supreme Courts as being inconsistent with the evidence QPU President Gary Wilkinson was highly critical.
[64] After the Attorney General's decision to prosecute was made public members of the Union held rallies in every major city in Queensland protesting against the political intervention, and in support of Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley.
[71] In 2010, artist Vernon Ah Kee created a four-screen video installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, entitled Tall Man.
[71] Within a month of Doomadgee's death, Hurley was transferred to the Gold Coast[2] where he medically retired in 2017, following a string of charges including assault and dangerous driving.
[75] Chris Hurley faced disciplinary actions after being transferred to the Gold Coast including for: A resident and his partner were later awarded $235,000 compensation for assault, battery and false imprisonment.
/ Now at peace / #blacklivesmatter#In November 2020, the memorial was moved to the garden of his sister, Valmai Aplin, as it was getting vandalised by children in its earlier location, just before the anniversary of Mulrinji's death.
[84] Then Queensland Indigenous Policy Minister Liddy Clark offered for activist Murandoo Yanner and Carpentaria Land Council chief executive Brad Foster to accompany her to Palm Island in the weeks after the riot.
According to Yanner and Foster, Minister Clark's Senior Policy Advisor had asked them to fabricate a story for the public that they had agreed to reimburse the cost of the flights, while assuring them they would not have to pay.
[90] Even though the Minister had already personally paid the cost of the airfare the Queensland Government ministerial services still pursued Yanner and Foster for the money on behalf of Ms. Clark however they refused to pay.
The letter stated that the branch was active in organising protests against the Premier and his upcoming opening of a new Queensland Police Youth Club facility on Palm Island.
The letter even hinted at a desire among members to defect to the Liberal Party, stating that under Labor living conditions have not improved on the island, and life expectancy had fallen.
[96] By April 2007 it was reported that the PCYC Centre had become a great success, a place where young and old participate in numerous sporting, educational and cultural activities in a safe and comfortable environment, and the focal point of re-building positive relations between the police and the community.