Taylor, Scott Matthew

OFFICE OF THE STATE CORONER FINDINGS OF INQUEST CITATION: Inquest into the death of Scott Matthew TAYLOR TITLE OF COURT: Coroner’s Court JURISDICTION: Brisbane FILE NO(s): COR/2012/197 DELIVERED ON: 24 September 2013 DELIVERED AT: Brisbane HEARING DATE(s): 18 September 2013 FINDINGS OF: Mr Terry Ryan, State Coroner CATCHWORDS: CORONERS: Death in police custody, Tasers

REPRESENTATION: Counsel Assisting: Mrs Rhiannon Helsen PCSC Darryl Dreyer, PCSC James McCafferty, PCC Adrian Daniels, PCC Michael Briffa & PCC Lucas Macrae: Mr Adrian Braithwaite (Gilshenan & Luton Legal Practice) Queensland Police Commissioner: Ms Belinda Wadley (QPS Solicitors Office)

Table of Contents

The Coroners Act 2003 provides in ss.45 and 47 that when an inquest is held into a death in custody, the coroner’s written findings must be given to the family of the person who died, each of the persons or organisations granted leave to appear at the inquest and to various officials with responsibility for the justice system. These are my findings in relation to the death of Scott Matthew Taylor. They will be distributed in accordance with the requirements of the Act and posted on the web site of the Office of State Coroner.

Introduction On 14 January 2012 at 9:03 pm, five police officers attended Scott Matthew Taylor’s address in relation to an allegation of rape against a 15 year old child.

The front door of his residence was observed to be open, with a screen door closed. Mr Taylor was seen sitting in the living room with his Mother, Mrs Valda Taylor. Upon seeing police, Mr Taylor ran to the rear of the unit. Police entered the residence and located Mr Taylor in a rear bedroom. He was observed to stab himself repeatedly in the left hand side of the chest with a knife. Officers ordered Mr Taylor to cease his actions, which he failed to do. A Taser was subsequently deployed in order to prevent him from inflicting further self-harm. After having no obvious effect, the Taser cartridge was replaced and deployed a second time. Mr Taylor then dropped the knife and fell to the ground.

Police handcuffed Mr Taylor and administered first aid whilst awaiting the arrival of the Queensland Ambulance Service (‘QAS’). Upon arrival, QAS officers observed Mr Taylor to be in cardiac arrest. The handcuffs and Taser barbs were removed and resuscitation attempts were commenced. Mr Taylor returned to spontaneous circulation on three occasions, however, continued to have arrests. He arrived at the Gold Coast Hospital (‘GCH’) at 9:42 pm, where resuscitation attempts were continued. At 9:45 pm, Mr Taylor was pronounced deceased.

These findings:  confirm the identity of the deceased person, how he died, and the time, place and medical cause of his death;  whether the police officers involved acted in accordance with the Queensland Police Service (‘QPS’) policies and procedures in force at the time;  consider whether any changes to procedures or policies could reduce the likelihood of deaths occurring in similar circumstances or otherwise contribute to public health and safety or the administration of justice; and  the adequacy of the QPS investigation into the circumstances relating to the death.

Findings of the inquest into the death of Scott Matthew Taylor 1

The Investigation Immediately following the incident with Mr Taylor, the Officer in Charge of the Surfers Paradise Child Protection Investigation Unit, Senior Sergeant Troy Penrose, was contacted and briefed on the matter. The scene was secured and all officers involved were told they could no longer discuss what had occurred. A short time later, the Regional Duty Officer attended and issued a direction that the officers were not to discuss the matter. All officers complied with this direction.

Scenes of Crime Officers subsequently attended Mr Taylor’s residence in order to conduct a forensic examination of the scene. This examination included collecting samples relevant to the investigation, photographing the knife and blood staining in the bedroom as well as seizing a number of items for the purpose of further forensic testing.

The incident was decreed to be a ‘death in custody’ and the State Coroner, Mr Michael Barnes, requested that the Queensland Police Service (‘QPS’) Ethical Standards Command (‘ESC’) conduct an investigation and provide a report on the matter. Inspector Kerry Johnson of the ECS Internal Investigations Branch was charged with investigating the circumstances leading to Mr Taylor’s death.

ESC officers attended the scene the evening of Mr Taylor’s death and spoke to relevant witnesses, including Mrs Taylor, who indicated that she had no complaint about police actions during the incident.

ESC investigators subsequently conducted extensive interviews and video reenactments with the police officers involved. Records of interview and statements were also obtained from various police officers, relevant civilian witnesses, QAS officers and members of Mr Taylor’s family. The Taser used was seized and the content downloaded. Audio exhibits and photographs were also obtained. A coronial report detailing the investigation was subsequently submitted to my office and tendered at the inquest.

On 17 January 2012, a full internal and external post-mortem examination was conducted by Pathologist, Dr Nathan Milne.

On 17 January 2012, a request for information was made by ESC investigators to the Statutory Administration and Policy Unit, Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs Directorate, Queensland Health, in order to determine whether Mr Taylor had any mental health related medical records.

No records pertaining to Mr Taylor were identified.

I am satisfied that the investigation was comprehensive and independent, and that all relevant material was accessed.

Findings of the inquest into the death of Scott Matthew Taylor 2

The Inquest An inquest was held in Brisbane on 18 September 2013. All of the statements, records of interview, audio exhibits, photographs and materials gathered during the investigation were tendered at the inquest.

The investigating officer, Inspector Kerry Johnson gave evidence and Counsel Assisting, Mrs Helsen, proposed that no further oral evidence be heard subject to objection from any other party. I agreed that the evidence tendered, in addition to the oral evidence of Inspector Johnson, was sufficient for me to make the requisite findings.

The evidence Criminal history Mr Taylor had a significant criminal history commencing in 2003, which included convictions for a number of violent offences, including Assault Occasioning Bodily Harm, Burglary with violence and multiple breaches of domestic violence orders.

Most notably in 2008, Mr Taylor was convicted of Acts intended to maim/disfigure/disable following an incident in 2006 where he stabbed his brother, Mr Rodney Taylor, in the face a number of times. At the time of his death, Mr Taylor was on parole having been sentenced to six years imprisonment with a parole eligibility date of 1 December 2008.

Allegation of rape On 13 January 2012, an allegation of digital and oral rape against Mr Taylor was made to police on behalf of a 15 year old complainant. It was alleged that between the 6 and 7 January 2012, Mr Taylor had kissed the complainant before digitally penetrating her and performing oral sex at a Gold Coast residence. Mr Taylor had allegedly made admissions to the caller to police that he had kissed the complainant, inserted his fingers into her vagina and performed oral sex upon her.

Plain Clothes Senior Constable (‘PCSC’) Darryl Dreyer and PCSC James McCafferty from the Surfers Paradise Child Protection and Investigation Unit were tasked with investigating the complaint.

The complainant subsequently participated in a s.93A interview with PCSC Dreyer, where she disclosed the offences. The complainant also stated that a couple of days after the incident, she had made disclosures regarding the matter to an adult relative who subsequently confronted Mr Taylor. He did not deny the accusations and allegedly apologised for his conduct.

On 13 January 2012, a pretext telephone call was conducted with Mr Taylor who did not make any admissions regarding the offences.

Sequence of events on day of Mr Taylor’s death Findings of the inquest into the death of Scott Matthew Taylor 3

On 14 January 2012, police obtained a DNA specimen from the complainant for the purpose of analysis. A request by the police for the adult relative to whom the complainant had initially disclosed the offences to participate in a further pretext telephone call with Mr Taylor was refused.

On this day, PCSC Dreyer discussed the investigation into the complaint with shift supervisor, Detective Sergeant Renee Garske from the Surfers Paradise Child Protection and Investigation Unit. Following this discussion, Detective Sergeant Garske advised PCSC Dreyer that he appeared to have sufficient information to make contact with Mr Taylor and arrange an interview.

PCSC Dreyer planned to attend Mr Taylor’s residence that day in order to request that he voluntarily accompany him for the purpose of conducting an interview in relation to the complainant’s allegations. Had Mr Taylor declined to be interviewed, PCSC Dreyer intended to arrest him for the offence of rape.

Given Mr Taylor’s notable criminal history, he was assessed as being ‘high risk’ with the possibility of becoming violent. Accordingly, in addition to PCSC Dreyer and McCafferty, Plain Clothes Constable (‘PCC’) Adrian Daniels, PCC Michael Briffa and PCSC Lucas Macrae were also briefed to attend Mr Taylor’s residence. PCSC Dreyer, McCafferty, Macrae and PCC Briffa were equipped with firearms and handcuffs. PCC Daniels was the only officer in attendance with a Taser. He also had capsicum spray. All officers were wearing plain clothes, however, had silver police identification badges with them either in their pockets or clipped onto their belts.

At 8:50 pm, PCSC Dreyer and McCafferty met with PCC Daniels, Briffa and PCSC Macrae at the BP Service Station at Frank Street, Labrador to conduct a second briefing about the matter. It was determined that PCSC Macrae and PCC Briffa would cover the rear of the unit complex at 33 Middle Street, Labrador whilst the other three officers approached Mr Taylor’s front door (Unit four).

Police arrived at the unit complex at around 9:03 pm. PCSC McCafferty activated his digital voice recorder upon arrival. PCSC Macrae and PCC Briffa walked around the front of the building and then towards the back in order to cover any possible rear escape routes. PCSC Dreyer, McCafferty and PCC Daniels approached the front of Unit four, at which time it was observed that the front door was open with the screen door closed. PCSC Dreyer claims that as he approached the front door, he removed his police badge from his right pocket so that he could identify himself. Mr Taylor was observed to be seated in the living room with an elderly woman later identified to be his mother. He was seen to run toward the rear of the unit after seeing police approach.

Upon seeing Mr Taylor run, PCSC Dreyer yelled “Stop, police” as he entered the Unit via the unlocked security screen. He was concerned that Mr Taylor may have been attempting to flee via a rear door or window. Whilst running through the lounge room, PCSC Dreyer called out, “Scott, Scott”. PCSC Dreyer, followed by PCC Daniels, ran into the hall way and saw movement in the bedroom at the rear of the residence. PCSC McCafferty was the last Findings of the inquest into the death of Scott Matthew Taylor 4

officer to enter the residence. He recalls yelling something along the lines of, “Stop, police” as he entered the residence.

Upon reaching the bedroom doorway, PCSC Dreyer and PCC Daniels observed Mr Taylor to be striking himself in the chest with a knife. PCSC Dreyer repeatedly called upon Mr Taylor to drop the knife. PCSC Dreyer then pulled his service firearm and PCC Daniels drew his Taser. PCSC McCafferty was behind the other officers and did not draw a weapon due to his colleague’s positions. Mr Taylor was approximately two to three metres from police at this time. He did not acknowledge police commands nor desist from self-harming.

All three officers describe Mr Taylor as stabbing his chest in a frenzied and repetitive manner. PCSC Dreyer recalls telling PCC Daniels to deploy his Taser by stating “Taser, Taser, Taser”, which PCC Daniels did without any effect. PCC Daniels recalls that he did not call out “Taser, Taser, Taser” in accordance with his training guidelines, as there was insufficient time to do so. PCC Daniels immediately dropped the cartridge and replaced it so as to be able to re-deploy the Taser. PCSC Dreyer called out “Taser, Taser, Taser” at which time PCC Daniels deployed his Taser for a second time. This caused Mr Taylor to drop the knife and fall to the floor. PCSC Dreyer immediately moved forward and handcuffed Mr Taylor, so that his hands were in front of his body. This was done in order to ensure the safety of all persons within the unit. According to PCC Daniels, he depressed the trigger on the Taser only once, on each occasion it was deployed.

Upon walking around the right side of the building, PCSC Macrae and PCC Briffa encountered a six foot fence, which they were unable to navigate.

Accordingly, the officers retraced their steps to the front of the building. PCSC Macrae recalls hearing a voice call out, “drop the knife, drop the knife”, and “Taser, Taser, Taser”. He then heard an explosion type noise consistent with a Taser being deployed. PCSC Briffa recalls hearing PCSC Dreyer (who has a South African accent) call out, “get on the ground. Drop the knife”. PCSC Briffa and Macrae then ran toward the front door of Unit four. They entered through the unlocked security screen and ran through the lounge room. PCSC Macrae recalls stopping at the bedroom doorway and observing PCSC Dreyer inside the room tending to Mr Taylor, who had a Taser probe in his chest and in the left side of his neck. PCC Briffa recalls seeing an elderly lady standing at the bedroom door. He moved her away from the door, into the lounge room so she could sit down as she appeared distraught.

Officers observed a number of stab wounds on the left hand side of Mr Taylor’s chest. Compression was immediately placed on the wounds by PCSC Dreyer using a towel obtained by PCSC Macrae. PCSC Dreyer recalls throwing the knife onto the bed. PCC Daniels claims that he used a sock to pick up the knife and place it on the bed. He observed the knife to be a fillet knife with a black handle, approximately 10 to 15 cm in length. PCSC Macrae subsequently instructed PCC Daniels to move the knife from the bed as he was concerned about the close proximity of the weapon to Mr Taylor. The knife and a nearby beer bottle were subsequently moved to the adjacent Findings of the inquest into the death of Scott Matthew Taylor 5

bathroom. According to PCC Daniels, Mr Taylor appeared to be conscious and alert. PCSC McCafferty called triple zero and remained on the phone to the QAS for four minutes and 58 seconds, providing information on Mr Taylor’s condition and relaying instructions to PCSC Dreyer. After obtaining Mrs Taylor’s details, PCC Briffa returned to the doorway and observed PCSC McCafferty kneeling next to Mr Taylor, rubbing and tapping his face as he was going in and out of consciousness. PCSC Dreyer recalls seeing three Taser barbs on Mr Taylor’s body, one on the right hand side of Mr Taylor’s neck, one in his chest near the stab wounds and one in bottom right of his torso.

Mr Taylor was placed into the recovery position and his vital signs were continuously monitored by police.

QAS paramedic, Mr Tony Wilson and student paramedic, Mr Dayle Letizia attended the scene and observed Mr Taylor to be in cardiac arrest. Code one backup was requested and police were asked to remove Mr Taylor’s handcuffs. QAS officer Wilson recalls removing Taser barbs from Mr Taylor’s neck, chest and abdomen. According to QAS officer Letizia, Mr Taylor had four Taser barbs in his body, which had to be cut off prior to defibrillation pads being used. Intensive Care Paramedic, Ms Jacquelyn Knowles also attended the scene.

Whilst QAS officers were attending to Mr Taylor at his residence, PCSC Dreyer spoke to Mrs Taylor and obtained her details. She indicated that Mr Taylor had vaguely mentioned the allegations of rape and that the police may attend the house in order to speak with him. He stated that he planned to do a “runner” if that occurred. PCSC Dreyer asked Mrs Taylor whether her son had ever previously attempted to commit suicide. Mrs Taylor stated that many years ago he had planned to drive his car over a cliff, however, the car had broken down before he was able to do so.

Resuscitation attempts were made by the QAS officers at the scene and continued during transfer to the GCH. At 9:45 pm, Mr Taylor was declared to be deceased by Dr Shahina Braganza. Dr Braganza observed Mr Taylor to have approximately 19 lacerations to the left had side of his chest. No other obvious signs of injury were noted. An ultra sound of Mr Taylor’s chest revealed that his heart sac was filled with fluid, which was most likely blood.

Dr Braganza suspected that Mr Taylor had died as a result of ‘chest trauma with massive bleeding causing hypovolemic cardiac arrest.’ A digital recording of the incident was captured by PCSC McCafferty on his digital voice recorder and confirms the incident in its entirety, as outlined above.

On the night of the incident, ESC officers attended the scene and spoke to Mrs Taylor. According to Mrs Taylor, Mr Taylor only became violent when he had consumed alcohol. She is of the belief that he suffered from an undiagnosed bipolar disorder as he would become agitated easily and be very spontaneous in his actions. Mrs Taylor stated that earlier that day, Mr Taylor had told her that police may be looking for him in relation to a matter involving Findings of the inquest into the death of Scott Matthew Taylor 6

a 15 year old child. He denied that he had sexual intercourse with the child.

She stated that Mr Taylor had consumed four tall stubbies of Toohey’s New throughout the course of the day, however, was not intoxicated.

Mrs Taylor recalls seeing five police officers approach the door of the unit, at which time Mr Taylor jumped up and ran to his bedroom. He did not say anything when he did this. She observed the officers enter the unit and follow Mr Taylor to his bedroom. She then heard one officer say, “he’s got a knife, he’s stabbing himself” before hearing a commanding male voice say, “Taser, Taser, Taser”. She did not hear Mr Taylor call out of say anything at all. One of the police officers remained with Mrs Taylor in the lounge room during the incident. She recalls that the incident transpired very quickly.

Results of the blood stain analysis conducted by the Scenes of Crimes officers were found to be consistent with the version of events provided by the first response police officers, as outlined above.

Use of the Taser Subsequent enquiries confirmed that all officers present were qualified in Taser, firearms and operational skills and tactics training. Prior to interviewing the five officers who attended Mr Taylor’s unit, a breath specimen was taken using the Alcolmeter. All officers returned a negative result. Urine samples were also taken. All officers returned negative results.

The Taser used by PCC Daniels was also seized by ESC investigators and the contents downloaded. It was found that the Taser had been activated on three occasions on 14 January 2012, a “spark test” at 20:49:10 (1 second), 21:09:20 (2 seconds) and 21:09:28 (5 seconds).

With respect to PCC Daniels’ decision to use the Taser during the incident, he told ESC investigators that he did not consider the use of capsicum spray as a viable option due to the enclosed space and the potential for secondary exposure to himself and PCSC Dreyer. He also did not consider closed or open hand tactics as a feasible option as Mr Taylor was armed and posed a threat. He considered that use of the Taser was an appropriate means of stopping Mr Taylor from continuing to self harm, given his proximity to Mr Taylor and the imminent threat to himself and PCSC Dreyer.

Relevant Legislative Powers Mr Taylor’s death occurred whilst PCSC Dreyer was in the process of investigating a complaint of Rape pursuant to s 349 (1) & (2) of the Criminal Code 1899.

When PCSC Dreyer and the other officers entered Mr Taylor’s residence after seeing him run to the rear of the Unit, their actions were lawful in accordance with s 21 of the Police Powers and Responsibilities Act 2000 (‘PPRA’), which relates to the general power to enter and arrest someone or enforce a warrant. The section specifically enables a police officer to enter a place and stay for a reasonable time to arrest a person without a warrant (see s 21(1)(a)). Section 21(2) of the PPRA states that a police officer may enter a Findings of the inquest into the death of Scott Matthew Taylor 7

dwelling without the consent of the occupier to arrest or detain a person only if the police officer reasonably suspects the person to be arrested is inside the dwelling.

Section 365 of the PPRA also enables a police officer to arrest a person without a warrant in certain circumstances where an officer reasonably suspects a person has committed or is committing an offence and it is reasonably necessary to do so because of the nature and seriousness of the offence (see s 365(1)(k)). Section 365(2) of the PPRA also provides that, ‘…it is lawful for a police officer, without warrant, to arrest a person the police officer reasonably suspects has committed or is committing an indictable offence, for questioning the person about the offence, or investigating the offence, under Chapter 15.’ Autopsy results An external and full internal post-mortem examination was performed by Dr Nathan Milne on 17 January 2012. A number of histology and toxicology tests were also undertaken. Dr Milne was also provided with the knife believed to have been used to inflict the wounds to Mr Taylor’s chest.

The external post-mortem examination revealed that Mr Taylor had 21 injuries on the left hand side of his chest. In Dr Milne’s opinion, one of these injuries could have been caused by a Taser barb. Most of the injuries had a generally similar appearance and some were seen to be overlapping. Each injury measured between 2 to 18 mm in length. Most of the wounds had the appearance of a sharp medial end, with several having flattened lateral ends, consistent with a single edged blade with the sharp edge facing medially.

Adipose tissue was seen to be exposed in some of the wounds.

Dr Milne noted four injuries, which may have been caused by a Taser barb, namely:

(a) Left anterolateral neck: red area with at least superficial skin loss, 6mm in size, with central area of abrasion 2 mm. Most likely an abrasion or puncture wound. Dr Milne concluded that the injury was consistent with a Taser barb injury.

(b) Central chest over left lower sternum: pale red wound with superficial skin loss, 3 mm in size. Dr Milne concluded that the injury was most likely to be an abrasion that was not caused by a Taser barb.

(c) Right lower chest: apparent puncture (4 mm), with an adjacent red abrasion (2 mm). Both of these areas of injury lie within an area of red bruising (8 mm). Dr Milne concluded that the injury was an apparent puncture wound and abrasion which was consistent with a Taser barb injury.

(d) Left chest: puncture (2 mm) with purple bruising at the margin, 4 mm in size. Dr Milne concluded that the puncture Findings of the inquest into the death of Scott Matthew Taylor 8

wound could have been caused by a Taser barb or a very superficial stab wound. Following histology testing to the skin in this area, Dr Milne concluded that this injury was probably caused by a Taser barb.

A number of other minor injuries were observed including, a recent red and purple bruise on the left side of the mandible (9 mm), a yellow bruise on the right upper chest (20 mm), a partially healed linear abrasion on the right forearm (40 mm) and four transversely oriented linear abrasions on the right lower leg (up to 40 mm). No injuries were observed to Mr Taylor’s wrists or hands from the handcuffs used by the police.

The internal post mortem examination revealed that upon a reflection of the skin around the injury to the left anterolateral neck (as outlined above), an area of haemorrhage (35 mm to 20 mm) deep was present. A reflection of the skin on the chest area where the stab wounds were present showed an area of haemorrhaging on the left hand side of the chest, where at least 12 separately identifiable stab wounds were observed within an area of haemorrhage (180 mm to 130 mm). Reflection of the muscles on the left side of the chest showed at least five different stab wounds. Examination of the chest wall from the interior showed an additional 12 stab wounds, which were not visible during the external examination.

Two knife related incisions were also observed on Mr Taylor’s fourth and fifth ribs on his left hand side.

The left lung was found to be collapsed with several stab wounds present to the upper lobe. The pericardium had four stab wounds (up to 10 mm) on the anterior and left lateral aspects.

Three injuries were observed to the heart, two of which involved the full thickness of the left ventricular wall. On the left mid ventricle, a stab wound (10 mm) was observed to the epicardial surface. A longer stab wound measuring 30 mm in size was also observed on the endocardial surface. On the anterolateral apex, a 6 mm stab wound was observed to the epicardial surface. An area of superficial haemorrhage 2 mm in size was also noted on the mid posterolateral left ventricle. Dr Milne notes that the minimum length of the wounds appears to be 80 mm. The maximum length of the stab wounds, however, was difficult to determine as it was not clear, which external wound was associated with the deepest wounds to the heart. The degree of force necessary to inflict such wounds was considered by Dr Milne to be at least moderate.

Toxicological testing showed that Mr Taylor had a blood alcohol concentration equivalent to 0.111 %. No drugs were detected.

In Dr Milne’s opinion, the cause of death was stab wounds to the chest, some of which caused significant internal organ injury and haemorrhage. Due to the large number of stab wounds, Dr Milne was unable to determine which of the wounds on the skin were associated with the most severe and deepest Findings of the inquest into the death of Scott Matthew Taylor 9

injuries to the heart. The deepest wounds appear to have been inflicted from left to right and were at least 80 mm in depth. The stab wounds were consistent with having been caused by the knife provided to Dr Milne by the police. The degree of force required to inflict the injuries would be at least moderate, as there were knife injuries to the bony sections of the ribs.

In Dr Milne’s opinion, the use of the Taser by police did not contribute to Mr Taylor’s death, having considered the severity of the internal injuries from the stab wounds.

Investigation findings Following a thorough investigation, Inspector Johnson concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that the police officers involved in this incident acted unlawfully or improperly when attending and entering Mr Taylor’s residence. Furthermore, PCSC Dreyer was found to have acted within the confines of the PPRA in entering Mr Taylor’s dwelling after positively identifying him and forming the view that he was attempting to flee to avoid arrest.

On the information obtained during the course of the investigation, it was concluded by Inspector Johnson that Mr Taylor had fatally harmed himself in order to avoid returning to jail. There was no evidence identified, which implicated any other person as being directly involved in Mr Taylor’s death.

Conclusions I conclude that the circumstances surrounding Mr Taylor’s death have been thoroughly and professionally investigated by the ESC. The recommendations made in the Coronial Report by Inspector Johnson are appropriate. It is clear on the evidence obtained during the course of the ESC investigation and the post-mortem examination that Mr Taylor died as a result of self inflicted stab wounds, some of which caused serious internal injuries and haemorrhaging.

Whilst Mr Taylor was Tasered by police on two occasions, this action did not contribute to his death and was necessary in order to stop him from committing further acts of self-harm. The decision by police to enter Mr Taylor’s dwelling in order to stop him from avoiding arrest once he was seen to run towards the back of the residence, was lawful pursuant to the PPRA.

Findings required by s45 I am required to find, as far as is possible, the medical cause of death, who the deceased person was and when, where and how he came by his death. As a result of considering all of the material contained in the exhibits, I am able to make the following findings: Identity of the deceased – The deceased person was Scott Matthew Taylor.

Findings of the inquest into the death of Scott Matthew Taylor 10

How he died - Mr Taylor died from self inflicted stab wounds whilst attempts were being made by police to detain him.

Place of death – He died at the Gold Coast Hospital, Southport, Queensland.

Date of death – He died on 14 January 2012.

Cause of death – Mr Taylor died as a result of numerous self inflicted stab wounds to the chest, some of which caused significant internal organ injury and haemorrhage.

Comments and recommendations Section 46, insofar as it is relevant to this matter, provides that a Coroner may comment on anything connected with a death that relates to public health or safety, the administration of justice or ways to prevent deaths from happening in similar circumstances in the future.

In the circumstances I accept the submission of Counsel Assisting that there are no comments or recommendations to be made that would likely assist in preventing similar deaths in future.

I close the inquest.

Terry Ryan State Coroner Brisbane 24 September 2013 Findings of the inquest into the death of Scott Matthew Taylor 11