Coronial inquest into death of NT Police Constable Michael Deutrom concludes hearings

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a day ago

A weeks-long coronial inquest into the death of Northern Territory Police Constable Michael Deutrom has ended, shining a light on the mental health challenges facing frontline police.
Warning: This story contains references to suicide and will be distressing for some readers.
Constable Deutrom took his own life in April 2022, after two decades of service in the NT police force.
He was one of three NT police officers who died by suicide in the first half of that year.
The inquest, which began in May, has heard he faced significant stress and had limited time off work during his final posting in the remote Central Australian community of Kintore.
Constable Deutrom's clinicians and expert psychiatrists testified that he experienced several significant traumas throughout his 23-year career, and he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) just days before his death.
The inquest heard Constable Deutrom was never referred to a psychiatrist and NT Police did not investigate his death internally.
Two witnesses also described a workplace culture inside the NT Police Force in which officers felt worried they would be sacked if they were unable to return to frontline duties.
Concluding the inquest hearings on Thursday, NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage said she hoped to make recommendations that could provide better care and earlier interventions to support the mental health of serving NT police officers, when she delivered her findings at a later date.
"I'm sure that you've seen that all of us in this courtroom have been affected by the evidence we've heard," Judge Armitage said.
"Each [suicide death] is a tragedy for the families that involved — none more so than the passing of Michael Deutrom, who was a courageous, brave, contributing member of our community.
In a statement, members of Constable Deutrom's family — who watched proceedings both in court and via video link — expressed gratitude for the support they had been shown.
"We are grateful to the coroner for conducting the inquest into the death of our brother, son and uncle, and the compassion she has shown", the statement said.
"We sincerely appreciate the support we have received during this difficult time."
The inquest heard the NT Police Force had conducted an internal review into its wellbeing unit.
It also heard the force had withdrawn the police motto "service before self" and was contacting police commissioners across Australia to discuss best approaches to improving mental health among staff.
In addition to the stress of his frontline duties, the inquest previously heard Constable Deutrom experienced significant anxiety when he was cross-examined at a coronial inquest.
That pressure faced by police officers was laid bare during the inquest earlier on Thursday, when Assistant Commissioner Peter Kennon was cross-examined about the police force's response to Constable Deutrom's death.
During cross-examination, NT Police Association counsel Ray Murphy asked if Assistant Commissioner Kennon had "bothered" to read certain documents related to the case, and whether evidence he had given about staffing levels in remote communities was "misleading".
NT Police counsel Mark Roberts drew a parallel between Constable Deutrom's experience and Assistant Commissioner Kennon's cross-examination, arguing some questioning had been "over the top".
"We are examining the death by suicide of a police officer — we have heard evidence in this case that that was a stress police officers had experienced, in giving evidence," he said.
"Some care and attention needs to be given to the mental health of people in this courtroom who are being subjected to a cross examination and have been since yesterday, which quite frankly is over the top."
Coroner Elisabeth Armitage ultimately allowed the question, but warned Mr Murphy to "contain" the manner of his examination.
"I am interested in the wellbeing of all police officers," Judge Armitage said.
"I try to conduct these proceedings in a way which are not going to create additional harm."
Assistant Commissioner Kennon clarified his evidence in response to Mr Murphy's question, saying NT police had increased the number of police positions available in particular remote communities, but the force still struggled with recruitment.