Tanya Day Coronial Inquest 2020
What happened
Tanya Day, a 55-year-old Yorta Yorta woman, was arrested for public drunkenness in Castlemaine, Victoria, in December 2017. While held in a police cell, she suffered five falls, hitting her head, which went unnoticed by police for several hours. She was later hospitalized and died on December 22, 2017, from a brain haemorrhage.
What the court decided
Coronial inquest into the death of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day in police custody after being arrested for public drunkenness. Coroner recommended decriminalisation of public drunkenness — fulfilling a key RCIADIC recommendation from 1991, 29 years later. Victoria subsequently decriminalised.
How the court got there
Coroner English found that systemic racism within Victoria Police contributed to Tanya Day's death and that the death was preventable due to the police's failure to adequately monitor her and respond to her deteriorating condition. The Coroner highlighted that the law criminalizing public drunkenness disproportionately affects Aboriginal people, recommending its decriminalization to prevent similar deaths and address long-standing recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
Statutes and cases cited
- § Coroners Act 2008 (Vic)
- § Summary Offences Act 1966 (Vic)
Categories
Authoritative link
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