Supporters of an Indigenous man who died under police arrest have rallied outside a Queensland court as a coronial inquest into his death begins. The inquest will examine the events leading up to Steven Nixon-McKellar's death and if the actions and training of police were appropriate.
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00:00 Supporters, friends and family of Stephen Nixon McKellar gathered in Queen's Park just
00:06 down the road from the Toowoomba Courthouse to hold a vigil remembering the person he
00:11 was and the connections he had within his community.
00:14 They were also protesting the 500 deaths in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission.
00:20 So this was really an opportunity for the community to, I suppose, try and remember
00:25 Stephen in the coronial inquest proceedings which will begin in front of State Coroner
00:29 Terry Ryan today.
00:31 What exactly will the inquest be examining?
00:36 The inquest will be looking to establish what caused Stephen Nixon McKellar's death in October
00:41 2021, the events leading up to his death and whether he was given appropriate services,
00:47 support services and also whether the actions and training of the Queensland Police officers
00:51 who were involved in the altercation with Stephen were appropriate.
00:55 We'll also be looking to see whether there are any recommendations that can be made,
00:59 I suppose, to prevent incidents like this occurring in future.
01:03 So we're expecting proceedings to take about a week and hear from eight witnesses, including
01:07 police officers who were involved.
01:09 [BLANK_AUDIO]