Call for housing review after Collin Burling's death in police custody

The Australian

08-08-2025

A public housing advocacy group claims a man who died in police custody last month was suffering from possible carbon monoxide poisoning due to an unaddressed gas leak.
Collin Burling, 45, died at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney on July 15 after he was restrained by police and paramedics.
Mr Burling fell unconscious after paramedics and police responded to a concern for welfare check at the Daniel Solander government-owned housing complex in Waterloo, in Sydney's east, just before 2am on Tuesday.
Paramedics tried to revive Mr Burling, who suffered a cardiac arrest, but he was declared dead at the hospital.
Collin Burling died in police custody.
It's uncertain whether Mr Burling was sedated at the time, which NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said was usually intended for people who were 'aggressive in nature'.
He said Mr Burling may have been suffering from a 'mental health episode' at the time of the incident.
'At first the male was compliant … at some point that male has become non-compliant and has resisted aggressively. The male was subdued by police,' Mr McKenna said.
The NSW Coroner's office told NewsWire that it was still in the 'very early stages of the investigation' and it would take 'several months' before it was completed.
Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna said sedatives were used for people acting 'aggressive in nature'. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper
Footage recorded by Mr Burling's partner Taite Collins captured the interaction between the 45-year-old and emergency services shortly before his death.
In the video, Mr Burling tells emergency services 'I'm not a threat' as he stands inside the ambulance.
'I've got no weapons, I've already been searched,' he said in the clip.
'I'm not under arrest for anything.'
Once he left the ambulance, Mr Burling was told to 'stop resisting' by officers, who pinned him to the ground, with at least four officers on top of him.
Mr Burling could be heard saying 'I can't breathe' and calling for help.
In a statement, Action for Public Housing advocates allege the unit complex Mr Burling had been living in was experiencing a gas leak, and he had 'rung the firefighters to complain about a strong smell of gas'.
In the statement, Action for Public Housing said firefighters called the ambulance and police after 'diagnosing Burling, incorrectly, as having a drug-induced psychosis'.
They allege Mr Burling noticed the 'strong smell of gas' for four weeks and the leak went 'untreated'.
There had been numerous complaints of gas leaks, the advocacy group said.
The advocacy group alleges a hole was covered by Mr Burling and his partner to stop the leak.
Other residents made complaints about the smell of gas to Homes NSW on several occasions, they said.
'A gaseous leak with a strong smell has been identified by a number of residents in the Waterloo Daniel Solander public housing estate on level 6,' the advocates said.
Images shared by the advocacy group allegedly show a hole that was covered by Mr Burling and his partner to stop the smell of gas entering the apartment.
They have urged Homes NSW to 'take emergency and immediate action to solve the potentially deadly gas leak crisis' on the sixth floor of the Waterloo housing complex.
'These leaks are a hazard and need to be addressed immediately,' they said.
Homes NSW told NewsWire the holes had been investigated and can be used as vents or for running leads., leading to the sound of escaping air flow. They have since been plugged.
A spokesman for the organisation said Homes NSW had 'thoroughly investigated claims of 'gas leaks' at the Solander Building in Waterloo'.
'In investigating the matter, we have confirmed there is no gas supply to the building, and as such any claims of gas leaks are impossible,' they said.