A New South Wales coronial inquest into the death of a man restrained by police on a motorway has highlighted inadequate CPR training for officers. The coroner has made recommendations aimed at addressing systemic failures in police training.
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00:00The inquest into the death of Kevin Edwards heard the 39-year-old from Shell Harbour had
00:07a long history of mental health issues and substance abuse.
00:11It heard in 2021 he was found running shirtless on the M4 motorway in Sydney.
00:17He was taken into care and released, but his family told the court that his mental health
00:22continued to deteriorate and on May 10 in 2022 he was involuntarily admitted to the
00:30Shell Harbour Allura Mental Health Unit.
00:33He was discharged on May 30, something his family had serious concerns about.
00:38He was not discharged into their care, but into a friend's.
00:41He did return home, but the last time the family saw him was on June 4 in the afternoon.
00:48He was next sighted on CCTV on June 5, early in the morning, in an incident that mirrored
00:54what happened a year prior.
00:56He was found walking in the carriageway of the M5 motorway in Sydney near Moorbank.
01:03And it's one of the busiest roadways in Australia, even though it was early in the morning.
01:08The police were called and the court heard in evidence from the police that he was saying
01:13words to the effect of, I need help, I need an ambulance.
01:17They attempted to subdue him, they used OC spray and they used handcuffs, and as they
01:22manoeuvred him over the medium strip, they somehow dropped him.
01:26One officer thought he was unconscious, the others noticed shallow breathing.
01:31The decision was made by the officers not to perform CPR, so CPR was not performed on
01:37Mr Edwards for half an hour before the ambulance crews arrived.
01:42He was taken to Liverpool Hospital and he died half an hour later.
01:46So the inquest has been looking at how his treatment was in his discharge from the hospital
01:52unit and the police response.
01:54So the coroner has ultimately found that overall his discharge was acceptable, but she's made
02:01some critical recommendations to the NSW Police Force about their CPR training.
02:06The inquest heard that all of the officers involved, there were three, had extensive
02:11experience as officers, but they felt their CPR training was inadequate.
02:16So the coroner has suggested that they ensure they have annual training that involves a
02:21practical element, because the inquest heard that since COVID, that practical element of
02:26practising on a dummy had been removed because of the pandemic concerns.
02:32She's also recommended that they review all of their training implements and ensure it
02:36meets national standards.
02:38The NSW Police Force have taken on board the recommendations and are now considering them.
02:45Throughout the inquest, the coroner expressed her appreciation of the police and praised
02:49the family for their humility and bravery in dealing with the police.
02:55The family have issued a statement to the ABC in which they say the police should not
02:59be forced to deal with the mentally ill and they offered their respect to the police.
03:03But they still remain concerned about their son's discharge from the mental health unit
03:08and say they hold grave concerns for how the mentally ill are treated in NSW hospitals.
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