Ms Dhu was a 22-year-old Australian Aboriginal woman who died in police custody in Western Australia on August 4, 2014. Dhu had been arrested two days earlier for unpaid fines, and was required to serve four days in custody to clear part of the debt. While detained, Dhu complained of pain and was taken to hospital. Police accused her of faking her condition, and medical staff believed her complaints were exaggerated and suspected drug withdrawal. Dhu died shortly after arriving on her third visit to hospital. The cause of death was an infection due to three-month-old rib fractures caused by her partner. An internal police investigation found 11 officers had not complied with regulations or were guilty of misconduct. A coronial inquest found that she suffered "unprofessional and inhumane" handling by police and "deficient" treatment from hospital staff. The inquest recommended not imprisoning people for unpaid fines and introducing a Custody Notification Scheme.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Ms_Dhu
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1783:
A climactic eruption of Mount Asama, one of the most active volcanoes in Japan, killed roughly 1,400 people and exacerbated a famine, resulting in another 20,000 deaths. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Asama
1914:
World War I: Adhering to the terms in the 1839 Treaty of London, the United Kingdom declared war on Germany in response to the latter's invasion of Belgium. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_invasion_of_Belgium
1964:
The National Security Agency falsely claimed that a U.S. Navy destroyer was attacked a second time by North Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, leading Congress to authorize the use of military force. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Tonkin_incident
2007:
An airport police officer discovered a suitcase containing US$800,000 as it went through security at Jorge Newbery Airfield, sparking an international scandal involving Venezuela and Argentina. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mar%C3%ADa_del_Luj%C3%A1n_Telpuk
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
Spidey-sense: (humorous) An intuitive feeling, usually of something being dangerous or risky; (more generally) instinct, intuition. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Spidey-sense
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
We've been told that our crises are somebody else's fault. We are distracted from our real failures and told to blame the other party, or gay people, or immigrants, and as people have looked away in frustration and disillusionment, we know who has filled the void. The cynics, the lobbyists, the special interests, who've turned government into only a game they can afford to play. --Barack Obama https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Barack_Obama