Police downgraded a serious assault charge against Hannah Clarke’s estranged husband, and did not require him to attend the watch house and apply for bail, just days before he killed her and their three children, an inquest has been told.
WARNING: This story contains content that readers may find distressing.
Rowan Baxter was facing a common assault charge when he murdered Ms Clarke and their three children, Trey, 3, Laianah, 4, and Aaliyah, 5, by pouring petrol in their car and setting it on fire in a suburban Brisbane street in February 2020.
An inquest into their deaths was told that police had issued a warrant for Baxter on the offence of assault occasioning bodily harm, due to him attacking Ms Clarke when he dropped his children to her home in January.
During the assault, Baxter grabbed her arm and held her against her car after she tried to grab a phone with photos of herself in her underwear that he appeared to have deliberately left on the back seat of his car, in front of their children, to antagonise her, the inquest has been told.
Senior Constable Justin Kersey told the inquest he and his partner had come across Ms Clarke's estranged husband in a shopping centre on February 9, and asked him to come to the local police beat in order to serve the warrant on him.
He confirmed that, when he got back to the police beat, he opted to only charge Baxter with the lesser offence of common assault, not assault occasioning bodily harm.
Senior Constable Kersey said he did not believe he could prove the bodily harm aspect of the more serious charge, as he was not aware of any evidence, such as photos or any supporting medical report confirming the attack had caused injury to Ms Clarke.
He confirmed he was unaware at the time that, on February 1, Ms Clarke had seen a doctor and had sent at least one photo, which showed her injured wrist, to her friends.
'You put no additional conditions on him at all'
During questioning from the counsel assisting the inquest, Ben Jackson, Senior Constable Kersey confirmed he believed none of that evidence had been reported to police nor put in the occurrence sheet.
Senior Constable Kersey also confirmed that he had initially intended to make Baxter attend the watch house to be charged.
However, he said he then gave him a notice to appear, which did not require him to go the watch house and be bailed.
Senior Constable Kersey said he did this because Baxter had "nil criminal history and this was his first offence, and police were not going to seek 'additional bail conditions'".
He was asked if there was a concerning combination of risks in relation to Baxter, that he had forcibly taken his child, breached a court order and physically assaulted his partner.
Senior Constable Kersey acknowledged that there were risks but said that, with the Human Rights Act coming in earlier — and the fact he believed Baxter had no criminal record — the police had made a decision to issue a notice to appear instead of requiring him to attend the watch house.
Mr Jackson said that, had police given him watch house bail, then there could have been conditions imposed, such as a curfew and residential conditions.
"By providing a notice to appear, you put no additional conditions on him at all, even though he had just been in breach of a domestic violence order and assaulted his partner?" Mr Jackson asked.
Police officer admits he hadn't read all the information
Under questioning from Kylie Hillard, representing the Clarke family, Senior Constable Kersey also confirmed that, before he made a decision to reduce the charge against Baxter, he had not read all the information on Ms Clarke's file in the police records databases.
Some of this information included the fact there had been a request for Baxter's New Zealand criminal record and Ms Clarke' affidavit, which detailed Baxter's escalating behaviour and Ms Clarke's fears.
Asked if the New Zealand offence, where he "nearly killed a man", would be relevant to Baxter getting bail, Senior Constable Kersey said it was possible but the offence had occurred in New Zealand and not in Queensland.
He also confirmed the offence of common assault could potentially result in a three-year jail term, while the top jail term for assault occasioning bodily harm being seven years.
Senior Constable Kersey also told the inquest he had consulted with senior officers in relation to the decision made about whether bail was needed.
The inquest was hearing evidence from police officers who had dealings with Ms Clarke's case, the head of the Queensland Police Union Ian Leavers and Susan Beattie, who heads up the coroner's Domestic and Family Violence Death Review.
Earlier, the inquest was told, police could not instantly access details of a decades-old violent assault committed by Baxter on a cyclist in New Zealand.
A former neighbour of Ms Clarke and Baxter had told the inquest last week that Baxter had commented he did not think he would get into Australia because of that criminal record.
Domestic violence investigations take up 'the lion's share' of police work
Counsel assisting the coroner, Dr Jacoba Brasch, QC, said the officer investigating Clarke's complaints, Senior Constable Kirsten Kent, had tried to find out details of the assault, which was not instantly available in Queensland police databases.
Dr Brasch asked Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers whether that would have been "important information to know"?
Mr Leavers agreed, saying that it was not just about knowing there was a reference to a criminal record in the police database for New Zealand, but also that there was a need to have the context of what happened.
He said he supported the idea of a national data base that included New Zealand criminal records and gave police immediate access to the fine details of offences.
"I would like to see a national framework so all the information that is available on the Qprime — Queensland's police database — is available to all police, right around Australia and New Zealand, and as well as in any family law courts … that would assist police … not just for police protection but for protecting victims,'' he said.
"New Zealand is like another state of Australia and people readily commute between Australia and New Zealand."
Mr Leavers also told the inquest that police were tied up with family or domestic violence issues between 80 and 90 per cent of the time in suburbs such as Kirwan in Townsville, as well as Goodna, Logan and Caboolture in south-east Queensland.
He said the average across the state was about 40 per cent of police work and it represented "the lions' share" of police work across the state.
Mr Leavers also said he thought that the online component of domestic violence investigation training for police "did not cut it" and the most junior of police ended up going to most domestic violence complaints.
After setting fire to his family, Baxter killed himself next to Ms Clarke's burning vehicle.
The inquest continues.
