Indigenous Town Calls Out “Despicable” Hypocrisy After Police Sneak Alcohol Into Restricted Area
"They take alcohol off our people, why should they be allowed to bring excessive amounts of alcohol into the community?"
Six regional Queensland police officers have been accused of inappropriately possessing alcohol in a restricted area.
It was originally reported last Monday that two cases of mid-strength beer were transported to Doomadgee in a single patrol vehicle, corroborated with social media post picturing 60 XXXX Gold cans in the backseat — complying with the strict alcohol limitations in place there.
However, eyewitnesses say a group of police were rallying together in multiple vehicles to bring in as much alcohol as legally possible, despite frequently punishing locals for doing the same thing.
Alcohol Restricted Area
Doomadgee is one of 19 communities in the state with a Alcohol Management Plan in place. The predominantly Indigenous town is legally restricted to 22.5 litres — equating to two 30 can cases — of light to mid-weight beer, with an alcohol content of less than four percent.
No wine or spirits are allowed in the area, and the amount of alcohol can be calculated per vehicle, regardless of the number of people in it. Under the legislation, which has been in place for two decades, police can confiscate both alcohol and vehicles found in breach of the management plan.
The maximum penalty for possessing illegal alcohol can see fines of over $100,000 or 18 months imprisonment, while attempts to bring beer above the set quantity into a restricted area incurs 375 penalty units — or a nearly $52,000 fine.
Local resident Chris Toby told Junkee he was on a family outing near the Nicholson River in search of bush tucker last Monday, when they say they spotted a canopied Nissan Outback at ‘Family Tree’ — an area outside the AMP parameters.
“We saw a couple there — a male and female — unloading what we thought were excessive amounts of alcohol out of the back of the canopy, and placing it in a pile on top of each other. We didn’t realise at the time they were police officers, we thought they were contractors coming into work in the township.”
“Why should they be allowed to bring excessive amounts of alcohol into the community?”
The family were going to go over and warn them about the hefty fines or prosecutions attached if stopped by police en route to Doomadgee, but put the two-and-two together when they saw a couple police cars drive past soon after to join the pair.
Toby’s daughter identified that the Nissan belonged to a local police officer, and it became clear the six police officers were using all three vehicles in their plan. Toby went to the police station to confront them, but the female officer driving the Nissan denied their accusations and took off back out to Family Tree.
A few minutes later, the two patrol vehicles showed up to their worksite with four more cases, and between them all, they had brought in six cartons of Gold within their rights. Toby claims a number of senior officers were allegedly involved in the mix, expressing concern that higher-ups were encouraging this behaviour at all.
“They take alcohol off our people, why should they be allowed to bring excessive amounts of alcohol into the community?” He asked. “What is the police policy on bringing personal alcohol in their patrol vehicles?”
Double Standards
A protest took place that night outside the Doomadgee Police Station, calling out the inappropriateness of the official police vehicles’ use, and double standards of the officers’ behaviour.
Breaking News: Video footage of Doomadgee Protest.
The Aboriginal community of Doomadgee in North QLD are protesting in front of the Police Station after locals discovered the police carrying a load of alcohol into an area currently under the QLD ALCOHOL MANAGEMENT LAWS. pic.twitter.com/RSKLdQb6DU
— Alec Doomadgee (@alecdoomadgee) February 22, 2022
In the last 12 months, there have been 91 liquor offences in the Doomadgee division, with the bulk of cases taking place within the March to July pandemic lockdown, according to Queensland Police crime statistics. The last charges publicly reported were in January, with two women appearing in court for attempting to bring over 50 wine caskets into the area.
The graph shows the number of liquor-related offences for the Doomadgee Division for the last 12 months.
“The AMP is a form of prohibition in Australia directly aimed at Aboriginal people,” said Waanyi, Garawa, and Gangalidda man Alec Doomadgee to Junkee. “It’s a racist law that should be eradicated because it’s criminalising Aboriginal people. It’s locking up hardworking, everyday Aboriginal mob on our country.
“But then a white copper can do the same thing and get away with it? That is not right. And it’s certainly not a good look on the outside when white people are getting away with the very thing that they’re charging, arresting, and locking up Aboriginal people for.”
Toby alleges that a road near Gregory River that heads towards Burketown and Mount Isa was used by the officers to transport their alcohol — despite the fact that its closed to the general public.
“Our main concerns are for them to investigate how much alcohol they brought into the community, what alcohol they brought into the community, police officers driving across a flooded road when everyone else was not allowed to drive across a flooded road, and then transferring alcohol in their work vehicles,” he said.
Pending Investigation
Toby hopes the officers’ keycards are audited to double-check whether anything else was bought besides the beer, and whether the alcohol amounts were truly within legal limits beyond what was visible from the cars.
Meanwhile, Queensland Police Service have launched what they describe as a “comprehensive” internal investigation into the reports.
A QPS spokesperson said to Junkee that the investigation will examine “any unlawful conduct” by police officers, including “inappropriate use of police vehicles”. Afterwards, they said that the Ethical Standards Command will overview the outcome of the investigation, and “it is inappropriate, at this time, to comment further”.
Mr Doomadgee said their solution is not enough, because the police are investigating themselves. “If you think that coppers are going to find out that their coppers did anything wrong – they’re not. All they’re going to do is give them a smack on the wrist, maybe a public relations stunt, promote, [or relocate] them.”
He called for an independent investigation by the Crime and Misconduct Commission to take place instead, as well as a scrapping of AMP laws. “It is absolutely despicable that the very people that claim to be upholding law and order are perpetrating the same crimes and getting away with it,” he said.
Photo Credit: Alec Doomadgee/Twitter