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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Sarah Collard

Gordon Copeland inquest: police officer says river conditions were ‘extremely dangerous’ and search should have lasted longer

The steep and eroded banks of the Gwydir River approximately 6kms north of the town of Moree
The Gwydir River where Gordon Copeland drowned on 10 July 2021 after the car in which he was a passenger, followed by police, went into the water. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

A New South Wales police officer has told an inquest into the drowning death of a Gomeroi man that the river conditions were “extremely dangerous”, but agreed police officers should have initially searched for longer.

Constable Katerina Hinton, a probationary constable with Moree police, told the court that she had less than three months’ experience in the job and the effort was her first search and rescue.

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