'Things gunna burn': court sees video of Lex Wotton before Palm Island riots
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Version 0 of 1. Dramatic footage of Lex Wotton, the man jailed for inciting the 2004 Palm Island riots, telling locals “things gunna burn” has been played in the federal court. Related: Palm Islanders angry police turned away Doomadgee's partner, court hears Wotton on Wednesday watched his younger self address gathered islanders after a coroner’s preliminary report into Mulrunji Doomadgee’s death found the local man died in custody from falling over a step. “I tell you people ... things gunna burn,” a shirtless Mr Wotton told the crowd. “I’m not going to accept it [the report] and I know a lot of you people don’t.” The local police station and house of arresting officer senior sergeant Chris Hurley were razed in the rioting, which started after the mayor, Erykah Kyle, read out the findings in November 2004. The video shows her telling the crowd Mulrunji suffered heavy internal bleeding and broken ribs. “How did he break four ribs from one fall?” one local can be heard yelling. Wotton’s brother-in-law, David Bulsey, called the death “cold-blooded murder” and questioned why Hurley shouldn’t “rot in jail” before the riots. “They’re inciting the riots, cops,” Bulsey, who addressed the crowd for much longer than Wotton, is seen saying in the video. “They want it to happen.” Related: Palm Island police pointed guns at children in raids after riot, court told Wotton, who launched the class action against the state of Queensland and police commissioner on behalf of Palm Islanders, said he told police the community wanted them to leave after the station was destroyed. He said he tried to organise transport for police to depart the island but locals were reluctant to get involved. The federal court, based in Townsville, heard rioters threw rocks at a fire truck and tried to block its path as the police station burned. The council passed a motion to send a letter asking government officials, including then premier Peter Beattie, to come to the island and address the community before the riots, Wotton said. The four-week trial, to determine whether alleged police failures after Mulrunji’s death were racially discriminatory, continues. |