Police showed lack of ‘respect’ and ‘care’ to family of Indigenous man Gordon Copeland, inquest finds

The inquest heard Gordon Copeland entered the Gwydir river and drowned while running from police. Photograph: Supplied by the family & ALS

Police showed a lack of “respect” and “care” in their interactions with the family of a young Gomoroi man who drowned in a river after running from officers, a New South Wales coroner has found.

Gordon Copeland, 22, drowned in the Gwydir river in the early hours of 10 July 2021. The inquest heard Copeland entered the water while running from police who had followed the car he was in, mistakenly thinking it was stolen.