JC coronial inquest: Family slam authorities for allowing officer who shot Yamatji woman to keep working

The foster mother of Yamatji woman JC, who was fatally shot by a police officer in Geraldton almost five years ago, has criticised authorities for showing a “complete lack of care” for her family by allowing the man to continue working as an armed officer. The family issued a statement through their lawyer on the eve of a two-week coronial inquest into JC’s death, starting in Geraldton on Monday. JC was shot on September 17, 2019 by First Class Const. Brent Wyndham during a confrontation in Rangeway. The officer’s identity was suppressed for years, until a Supreme Court judge granted the family’s request for it to be lifted in May, ahead of the inquest. Eight police officers surrounded the 29-year-old woman after responding to reports a person was armed on the street. JC was carrying a knife and a pair of pink-handled scissors. Const. Wyndham had arrived on the scene and, within 16 seconds, drew his gun and shot JC in the stomach, killing her. He was charged with murder — the first WA officer to be charged with that offence in almost a century — but was acquitted at trial in 2021. This week, JC’s foster mother Anne Jones provided a statement to the Geraldton Guardian through her lawyer Kevin Banks-Smith, who will represent her and JC’s 11-year-old son at the inquest. “The fact that Brent Wyndham continues to work as an armed police officer in Geraldton shows a complete lack of care by the State Government and WA Police about our family’s position,” she said. “JC’s 11-year-old son has been very badly impacted by the senseless death of his mother . . . the family is doing all we can to help him live a happy, normal life, but it is very difficult. “He carries a lot of anger and fear about the death of his mother at the hands of WA Police.” Ms Jones hoped her family would achieve closure at the inquest and answer some of the “many” questions that went unanswered during the trial. “The WA Police policy when arresting First Nations people is a big problem,” she said. “The use of a powerful gun on an Aboriginal woman who was known to the police arresting her to have a history of mental illness and substance abuse problems before a taser was used is a disgrace to the State of WA. “The fact that the most junior officer of eight on the scene can (apparently justifiably) shoot an Aboriginal woman standing still in a public street holding pink craft scissors and a kitchen knife within 16 seconds of arriving at the scene, and with no direction from his superior officers, requires an explanation that was not provided at the murder trial of Brent Wyndham. “Our only hope for answers and closure is in the hands of the State Coroner now.” A WA Police spokesperson said police would consider the Coroner’s findings. “As the matter is subject to an impending coronial inquest, it would be inappropriate for the WA Police Force to make comment,” the spokesperson said. The WA Police Officers Union this week declined to provide an update on the situation as to who would foot the legal bill for two officers due to appear at the inquest. They accused the State Solicitors Officers of “abandoning” its two members because of a “conflict of interest”. It is understood Const. Wyndham is one of the officers whose legal bill will go before Cabinet for approval. Police have remained quiet on their presence and security plans over the course of the inquest. “For operational reasons we do not comment on officer numbers at specific locations. However, we remain agile with the capability to scale up or down our resources as required to keep the community safe,” a police spokesperson said. Officers, eyewitnesses, JC’s family and Const. Wyndham testified at the three-week trial, but the scheduled list of witnesses at the inquest is unclear at this stage. During the Supreme Court trial, prosecutors claimed Const. Wyndham had no justification for shooting JC, arguing the “reckless and thoughtless” decision to pull his gun during the frantic 16-second confrontation amounted to murder because the woman had stopped and was not moving her feet. However, Const. Wyndham’s defence team argued police officers were entitled to use any force as long as it was reasonably necessary, and that his actions were justified because JC had refused to drop the knife despite repeated requests. The jury took three hours to deliver not guilty verdicts for murder and manslaughter. The inquest will sit in Geraldton next week, before moving to Perth in its second week.