S/Sgt. Hurley started recording the happenings in the cell. The officers were able to watch Mulrunji and Patrick Bramwell in the cells on monitors in the main area of the watch-house. According to notations made by S/Sgt. Hurley and Sgt. Leafe in the watch-house register, the cell was checked at 10:55am. S/Sgt. Hurley wrote: “Two prisoners cell checked snoring”. In a subsequent interview with QPS investigators, S/Sgt. Hurley stated that he went into the cell at 10.55am. He stood over the prisoners, observed that they were both breathing and watched their stomachs rise up and down. According to him, they both appeared to be asleep and they were snoring. At 11:23am Sgt. Leafe entered the cell and noted that Mulrunji was “cool” and had no pulse. Patrick Bramwell was asleep. S/Sgt. Hurley went and checked on Mulrunji. He stated that he felt a weak pulse. An ambulance was called. It took between five to eight minutes to arrive. No first aid was given to Mulrunji by the officers prior to the arrival of the ambulance. Upon examination, an ambulance officer confirmed that Mulrunji had no vital signs present and that he was dead. Notification S/Sgt. Hurley immediately called the Townsville District Police Communications Centre to advise them of the death. The QPS chain of command was informed, as was the State Coroner and the Crime and Misconduct Commission, an independent body that can investigate the police. Next of kin were not notified of the death until approximately 3.40pm that day. QPS investigation team The investigation of the incident was assigned to a QPS Detective Inspector from Townsville, which is the nearest large community on the mainland, roughly 65 kilometres away. The QPS investigation team included the Detective Inspector, a Detective Sergeant and an Inspector from the QPS Ethical Standards Command. Six technical support staff were also assigned, making a total of nine QPS officers. The technical support staff included a Scenes of Crime Officer, a Forensic Services Officer, a Scientific Section Officer, a Human Services Officer and two Constables. The Detective Sergeant in charge of the Criminal Investigations Branch on Palm Island was in Townsville at the time of Mulrunji’s death. Although the QPS dispute that he was appointed to the investigation team, it appears clear that he returned to Palm Island with the investigation team and assisted them with the investigation. To what extent he did so is a matter of debate. He certainly took part in the interviews of police – including S/Sgt. Hurley – and civilian witnesses, obtained written statements, transported Mulrunji’s body to the airport, received a verbal briefing of Mulrunji’s medical history and reported information back to the rest of the investigation team. Arrival on Palm Island The investigation team arrived at Palm Island airport at 2.55pm, some three-and-a-half hours after being notified of the death. S/Sgt. Hurley and Sgt. Leafe met them and drove the nine officers from the airport to the watch-house in two vehicles. None of the officers recorded any of the conversations during the journey. Interviews The QPS investigation team began interviews of officers and civilians soon after arriving at the watchhouse. Two of the officers conducted audio-taped interviews with the two QPS officers involved in the incident (S/Sgt. Hurley and Sgt. Leafe), PLO Bengaroo and three civilian witnesses. One of the QPS interviewers was the Detective Sergeant who worked on Palm Island with S/Sgt. Hurley. The Mulrunji case | 3