Today, the coronial inquest for the death in custody of proud Noongar man Jeffrey Winmar has concluded following two weeks of evidence and hearings at the Coroner’s Court of Victoria. Jeffrey’s family thanks everyone who has supported them through this difficult time, including those who have sent messages of support and to those that have come to the court to stand in solidarity with their long journey of seeking answers and justice.
Jeffrey was a beloved son, father, uncle, brother, grandson, and cousin to many. He was a family man that loved spending time with his siblings, nieces and nephews. His family remembers him for his infectious smile and as the protector of his younger siblings. He was only 28 years old when he died in Victoria Police’s custody.
On November 9, 2023, eleven Victoria Police officers including a specialised canine unit and two more officers from the drone unit, attended a house for a planned arrest. Jeffrey was hospitalised in a serious condition after he fell unconscious following a police pursuit. He never recovered from this and died in hospital two days later on 11 November 2023.
Throughout this coronial inquest process, Jeffrey’s family have asked questions about how Jeffrey was treated during his pursuit and arrest, and raised concerns about Victoria Police’s conduct and accountability. Jeffrey’s family have sought answers about the medical treatment he received and whether more could have been done to ensure Jeffrey was still alive today.
Jeffrey’s family have delivered their impact statements to the Coroner’s Court today. This inquest will now adjourn for final submissions from all parties, before the Coroner hands down her findings and recommendations.
Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS) are proud to walk alongside Jeffrey’s family; we know this fight for truth and justice for Jeffrey is not over and we will continue to support them every step of the way.
Jeffrey’s father, Jeffrey Anderson, is represented by VALS and Jeffrey’s mother, Ursulla Winmar is represented by Victorian Legal Aid.
Full family statements have been published on VALS and VLA websites following their submission to the court.
Quotes Attributable to Jeffrey ‘Pep’ Anderson, Jeffrey’s father:
“There’s been too many Blak deaths in custody. We need people to see it from our side. We need people to stand with us including the courts and especially the Coroner mob. I haven’t felt like this inquest understands how police treat Aboriginal people and Jeff’s history with police.
I’m asking you to listen to what I’m saying and to hear my story and Jeff’s story.
The police in WA have been heavy handed with me and most of my family and community. That’s the way it’s always been. My whole life I’ve seen the cops target Aboriginal people. I’ve been bashed so many times. I’ve heard many experiences of Aboriginal boys being bashed by police and shoving their heads down the toilet.
When I was younger, the police would take us to a police station, put our heads down, smash our heads with phone books. We used to get shot at in the Kwinana area. I’ve been shot at a couple of times by police and managed to get away.
If police see kids running, most of the time they’ll drive to catch up to them and question them. Jeff’s cousins have had trouble with WA police. The police chase them until they catch them, question them, and then pin petty charges on them like disorderlies.
As a kid, Jeff would have seen the Elders in WA being arrested and mishandled by police. It would have really frightened him. This was something that happened all the time. When Jeff was around 13 or 14, he got a bit of bashing around by police at a few stations around here and the city. Jeff was also treated badly by police in Leongatha.
We know police. We know what police are capable of doing. Jeff knew this too. Jeff would have been terrified of police. I can see Jeff’s face in that footage and I just know how scared Jeff was of police that day.
On that day, on 9 November 2023, I think the adrenaline would have had Jeff’s heart racing and panicked. I think Jeff would have been thinking “what are they going to do to me now?” I know what he’d been through with police before.
There have been 3 or 4 deaths in custody in my family and community, all young fellas in their 20s or 30s.
Before we lost Jeff, my brother lost his son at Canningvale [Hakea] prison in WA. His name was Jordan Anderson. He was my nephew. He used to stay with me sometimes when I was in living in Kwinana. Jordan and Jeff were around the same age and close. Jordan was 23 years old when he passed away in custody.
In 2022, my cousin also lost her son Ricky-Lee Cound at Canningvale prison. He was 22 years old when he passed away in custody. It happens to a lot of them at Canningvale when they get taken out the back.
My younger cousins who were 12 or 13 died in a police chase. Two of them were in a car accident. Police followed them. They hit a pole at 100km/h. One of them were saying police rammed them into the pole. There was four of them in the car. Two little ones in the back died on impact. One of them lost a leg, his leg got jammed. The other cousin ran but he didn’t know he had broken legs. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and then that happened with the cops.
The police and prisons are killing us. And no one seems to be taking it seriously.
There’s a lot of trauma when it comes to mob. There’s lots of brother boys being killed in custody. It’s fear. And having someone there during the arrest who’s mob and cares for mob would make community members feel different. It would make sure the same situation, what happened to Jeff, doesn’t happen again.
My son was 28 years old when he died in police custody. Jeff didn’t just die on his own. I’m asking this court to pay attention to the fact that my son was a proud Noongar maaman who died in police custody. You can’t ignore that he was Aboriginal. There is a history and a pattern here and it can’t just be ignored.
What’s it going to take for people to start taking us seriously when we say that cops are killing our people? My son died because of police’s racism. How many more commissions, inquiries and reports do there need to be for this inquest to wake up and understand what’s happening to us and what happened to my son.”
*Maaman means man in Noongar language
Quotes Attributable to Ursulla Winmar, Jeffrey’s mother:
“Jeffrey was a leader in our family; the strength that kept us together. Now our family is falling apart. We are so broken. He was the big brother and like a father figure to my younger children. My family chain is broken now and because there’s a piece missing, it can never be fixed. He was one of the most important pieces of the 20 people in my family that linked us all together.
I love my son so dearly and he has been taken from me. He is no longer here to speak for himself, that is why I am here to speak on his behalf. I miss him and I miss his phone calls. He used to always remind me I have to forgive people, to go with love in my heart. He always honoured me as his mother. He said he learnt to be strong through my strength. Jesus Christ was always in the centre of our lives.
I’ve been robbed of a son and I feel broken I couldn’t protect him, like I have failed him. I only had 28 years with my son. A parent should not have to bury their child. I feel like I should have gone first.
I had hoped through this inquest process that we could bring the darkness to the light so that Victoria Police could correct their wrongs and make it right by owning up to what they did. I don’t feel like I have the whole story.
Something happened to my son under the tree. I don’t know what happened because the canine officer with the body worn camera was told to leave. The police officer who had his knee on Jeffrey’s, they say they didn’t use force but the autopsy and the injuries Jeffrey had tell me a different story.
I feel the police have been made to be the victims when my family are the real victims.
Jeffrey had so much to live for. He had a son, he had his family, and his whole life ahead of him. Jeffrey was robbed of his life, and his son has been robbed of a father that he will never see again. Jeffrey wanted to hand himself in. He was talking to lawyers and rehab centres. We were working together to do this. I spoke to the Yoorrook Justice Commissioner truth receiver about our experiences.
I don’t believe Jeffrey would have taken that much methamphetamine. He knew his body so well, he knew what he could tolerate. I don’t believe there is the evidence to show he overdosed himself.
Someone should have told the police to stand back, to stop. Jeffrey was no threat; how far did they have to go?
It was so quick between him arriving and the police all being there, I feel like it was rushed. They pushed the dog onto Jeffrey just to make him scared and to make him run. The way they surrounded the house I believe they wanted Jeffrey to run towards the dog, but he got on the roof instead.
I believe when Jeffrey got to the house at 40 Cumming Street he knew the drone was following him. I believe he surrendered himself. He climbed the tree as he was scared of the dog. I believe he was so scared of the dog, that this caused him to pass out. The police did not give him enough time to recover.
I want justice for my son and for people to be held accountable.
My son did not deserve to die for the warrants out for his arrest. My son didn’t deserve to have ambulances cancelled twice while he was experiencing a life-threatening critical incident. He didn’t deserve to be treated as less than human and stripped of his human rights based off the colour of his skin as a First Nations man. My son Jeffrey was failed. If our system is so just and so right, why do these deaths continue? Why is my son another statistic?
I am so confused about what is right and what is wrong after this inquest. After this inquest I still have more questions about what happened to my son. I feel like the police have been commended for their actions. I am frustrated with how long this whole process has taken, it shouldn’t take this long for us to get answers and to try and navigate the truth.
We placed our trust in a system supposed to protect us. But systems protect themselves first – the way a family closes ranks when one of its own is questioned. I saw this in Court the last two weeks.
I believe a lot of lives could have been saved if the government and the Courts of this Country took accountability and put a stop to the deaths in custody. There should be consequences for wrongdoing.
Why do our people have to get the death penalty when in custody? Why is no one being held accountable for the deaths in custody? First Nations people are being killed. I feel there is no accountability and no justice for the First Nations people of Australia.”
Quotes Attributable to Nerita Waight, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service:
“The circumstances around Jeffrey’s passing in police custody as we heard throughout this inquest are devastating. Jeffrey’s family deserve answers and they deserve justice.”
“I am proud that VALS’ Wirraway Practice has been supporting Jeffrey’s family by representing his father Pep during this coronial inquest. We know that the coronial process is inherently unsafe for our people, so VALS will continue to do all we can, walking alongside Jeffrey’s family in their fight for truth and justice. We hope the coroner’s findings can start giving them the answers they need, so there is an opportunity to heal.”
“I wish I could promise families that a coronial inquest means that what happened to their loved one will never again happen to anyone else, but tragically this is not the case. Time and time again we see our people dying in custody. This shouldn’t have been the end to Jeffrey’s story, he had a lot to give to his family and community, and we mourn his death collectively.”
“The grief, trauma and suffering ripples across families and communities, with the trauma and suffering having a profound impact. In the past 12 months we have seen the highest numbers of Aboriginal people die in custody since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, 35 years ago. This is a national shame and more needs to be done to keep us safe.”