Undertaking Effective Investigations A Guide for National Human Rights Institutions Watching the video As soon as the QPS investigators arrived at the watch-house, they viewed the cell video tape. The QPS investigators seized the tape. S/Sgt. Hurley was allowed to watch the video on 19 November 2004, after his initial interview, and again on the morning of 20 November 2004, with QPS investigators present. Later on 20 November 2004, after viewing the tape for the second time, S/Sgt. Hurley took part in a video re-enactment and a followup interview. Scene processing The QPS forensic investigators began their examination of the cell that afternoon. It is unclear what other scenes, including other areas of the watch-house, such as the door area, were photographed, video-taped and forensically examined. Dinner at S/Sgt. Hurley’s home At about 10.30pm on 19 November 2004, the QPS Detective Sergeant who worked on Palm Island and who was involved in the investigation went to S/Sgt. Hurley’s home, which is in a secure police compound. He cooked dinner for S/Sgt. Hurley and other members of the QPS investigation team. They were at the residence for about an hour, eating dinner and drinking beer. There is no suggestion that there was excessive drinking. 20 November 2004: INTERVIEWS AND SCENE PROCESSING Interviews QPS investigators continued interviewing witnesses the day after the death. All of the interviews were audio-taped and some involved video-taped re-enactments. S/Sgt. Hurley was interviewed twice that day by the QPS investigation team. The first interview was a videotaped re-enactment that lasted 14 minutes. The second interview was audio-taped and lasted 12 minutes. The QPS investigation team conducted seven other interviews with police and civilians during the day, including interviews with Sgt. Leafe and PLO Bengaroo. It appears that no interview was longer than 20 minutes. Scene processing The arrest scene was not visited until 20 November 2004; that is, the day after Mulrunji died. S/Sgt. Hurley drove the QPS investigators to the scene. Form 1 A “Form 1” is a QPS form used to report a death to the State Coroner under the Coroners Act 2003. The State Coroner uses the information in the Form 1 to assist them in deciding if an autopsy should be performed. The Form 1 is also used as a source of information by the forensic pathologist performing the autopsy. A QPS investigator prepared the Form 1 regarding the death of Mulrunji on the evening of 19 November 2004. However, the form was not sent to the State Coroner until 22 November 2004. The QPS investigative team had interviewed Roy Bramwell, who alleged that S/Sgt. Hurley repeatedly punched Mulrunji as he was being taken into the watch-house. That information was not conveyed to the pathologist in the Form 1. 4