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An Indigenous inmate has died in a Western Australian prison.
Corrective services officers found the unresponsive 41-year-old in his cell at Hakea Prison on Monday morning.
Prison officers and medical staff attempted to revive the man but they were unsuccessful and he was declared dead at the scene.
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Preliminary reports indicate the man suffered a medical episode.
Police will prepare a mandatory report for the coroner.
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Hakea Prison, in Canning Vale in Perth’s southeastern suburbs, is a maximum security prison for men who have been remanded in custody while waiting to appear in court.
The incident comes just weeks after teenager Cleveland Dodd attempted to take his own life inside Casuarina Prison’s Unit 18 youth detention facility.
The 16-year-old boy was taken to Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital in Perth in a critical condition on October 12. He later died in hospital in the company of family members.
His death caused outrage and calls for the facility to be closed.
An Indigenous inmate found dead at Perth’s Hakea Prison is believed to have had a medical episode. Credit: AAP
West Australian Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia conceded on Monday he was acting on advice when he told reporters that Dodd was given first aid in a “matter of minutes” after self-harming. That response time is being disputed.
“In the hours following the attempted suicide of Cleveland Dodd, I acted on available preliminary advice provided to my office,” he said in a statement on Monday.
“At the time, I acknowledged that information would be subject to an internal investigation to establish a more detailed and accurate account of events.”
Cleveland’s death is being investigated by the Department of Justice and the coroner and the CCC has also started inquiries following allegations of serious misconduct.
There have been 80 deaths in custody this year, according to the Australian Institute of Criminology.
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