12mo ago

Murder victim Kelly Wilkinson repeatedly visited police in fear. They said she was ‘cop shopping’

www.theguardian.com Murder victim Kelly Wilkinson repeatedly visited police in fear. They said she was ‘cop shopping’

Exclusive: Family calls for inquest, saying Wilkinson visited police ‘almost every day’ before she was murdered by her husband in 2021

213 comments

The police are worse than useless.
- Nooo. Like their cars say, they're there to protect and to serve and-... Oh, I see how they may have slipped up on this one. And maybe in a few other incidents... Regularly... All the time...Okay, you have a point.
  
  They should change it to "reject and swerve".
  
  Let's just stick at the end of that phrase a needed word:
  Money
  
  Protect and serve the wealthy class
  
  That's why they often put it quotes for plausible deniability: "we just put that on our cars 'cause we heard some guy say it once."
- There was a story on reddit about a ex husband sending death threat letters and police said, "unless you're being raped or dead, we can't help you."
  
  Send those letters to a cops wife or daughter and I guarantee they do something

"cop shopping" is also known as "finding a needle in a haystack" or "the one cop that will do the minimum of their job".
At the beginning of April 2021, police charged Johnston with four serious domestic violence offences against Wilkinson. He was given watch house bail.
In the weeks that followed, Wilkinson attempted to speak to police “almost every day” about her concerns in relation to Johnston, her sister, Natalie Wilkinson told the Gold Coast Bulletin in 2021, including allegations he had breached the conditions of his domestic violence order.
Another sister, Danielle Carroll, said at that time that Kelly had told police, “I am scared for my life, I am scared for my children’s life. We are not safe”.
- I’m curious what the cops could have actually done given existing legislation.
  Were they able to arrest and detain him because he was in breach of the AVO or can’t they do anything?
  If they could have done something and didn’t then they should be held accountable.
  If the law is written such that they couldn’t arrest him then I’m not sure what could have changed.
  It’s a frustrating thing.
  
  This is such a weak argument. The police have a wide latitude in their discretion in the way they execute the law and almost no individual liability for any actions they take (e.g. murder, theft, rape, etc.), especially when they fear for their own lives or think someone may have broken an imaginary law that only exists inside their own head. But, when someone needs actual help and protection, suddenly their hands are tied by red tape? It's more than frustrating, it's straight up Orwellian doublespeak.
  
  With weekly break-ins, they could have watched the place and arrested whoever is breaking in for, you know, the crime of breaking and entering. They could have further gotten a protective order against the dude and then watched the place again after he left jail.
  She didn't report the break-in once.
  
  They could've arrested him
  In the weeks that followed, Wilkinson attempted to speak to police “almost every day” about her concerns in relation to Johnston, her sister, Natalie Wilkinson told the Gold Coast Bulletin in 2021, including allegations he had breached the conditions of his domestic violence order.
  
  If you are charged, the police may release you on bail from the watch-house. Otherwise, they must take you to court as soon as possible and release you if the court grants bail.
  He was found sufficiently suspicious/liable enough in the initial investigation to warrant being arrested and given a formal charge, but still released on bail.
  If police charge you with an offence, they must give you a notice to appear or a full charge sheet (also called a bench charge sheet), which provides details of the charge. Police will provide the full charge sheet if they arrest and formally charge you at the watch house.
  They saw what he was doing to her, agreed enough to charge him with a crime, and then released him, with details of her complaints to the police in hand. DVO + this new offense should have been obvious that he has reoffend - the police’s behavior was completely negligent
  
  I know someone who helps run a series of shelters, where people in fear of abuse can hide. It’s not the cops, but cops sometimes send people their way. They have an ever-changing set of safe houses, and my friend can’t even say where she works in case one of the locations gets out.
  I have no idea how they connect with victims though

When I tried to report my suspicions that my ex was abusing my kids, I was told by DCFS to stop stirring up trouble or I would lose custody.
Years later, my kids are old enough to be listened to, and the DA office still chose not to prosecute because it's he-said-she-said. Both kids have mental health issues stemming from child abuse that I have to deal with on a daily basis, all while trying to juggle my mental health as a previous abuse victim from the same man.
And then they say that victims fail to report. Well, duh. It's often safer not to.
- My sister ended up losing custody for the same thing.
  I begged her not to do it because I knew exactly how it would go. I said, “Seriously, you’re in a custody dispute. They’re going to treat you like you’re making this up. Wait. Be patient. I know it sucks. It just isn’t the right time for it.”
  The kid is very autistic and he sits and yells at himself now, “You’re just bad Adam! You do this on purpose Adam! That’s for girls Adam! You’re not a girl Adam! You’re just a troublemaker Adam!” I wish I could remember what my mom told me he was yelling at himself about the other day, she was in tears.
  I don’t know. It’s a sad situation. Her ex definitely has better resources for dealing with him (financially, which is a lot with autism as bad as his) but I can’t imagine him yelling criticisms at himself all the time if my sister didn’t lose him. He was allowed to express himself and dance and play dress up before. He don’t have that any more. Because he likes Disney princesses a lot and she had photographed him playing with dolls and things, they made a big deal about that in this small town.
  Sad situation.
  
  I wasn't even in a dispute. I had full custody, and he had minimum visitation, which was still half the kids' free time. And he had been convicted of domestic violence.
  That poor, sweet child. We are failing our children in the guise of parent's rights.
  
  You go give that kid a hug on my behalf and tell him he's allowed to like all the Disney princesses he wants right now goddamnit

"Cop Shopping" is a gross term for them not doing their job. They never prevent or protect anything.
- Wasn't there some sort of ruling a while back that said the police are under no obligation to serve and protect, which is why that's no longer on their cars and stuff?
  Edit: Found it.
  https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/politics/justices-rule-police-do-not-have-a-constitutional-duty-to-protect.html
  Edit 2: My bad, the article is for Australia so this doesn't apply. I'm so used to seeing this sort of thing is the US news.
  
  The usa there have bern many rurlings stating it is legal for cops to do nothing.
  Uvalde school shooting is one example.
- Agreed, support 2A and depend upon yourself.
  
  The article is about things that happened in Australia 🙄
  
  Fuck off. Australia doesn't want or need your freedum bullshit.
  
  If only you supported education, more specifically geography, as much as you pretend to support the Constitution.
  
  Something something, hammer and nail
  
  So he could have shot her?
  
  Just here to keep the -69.

“She reported breaches to the police five times in the week before she was murdered and all but one officer told her to basically go away and don’t come back and just come into the station once a week because you’re coming in too often to report breaches,” criminologist Kerry Carrington told the inquest.
"Stop being a victim of crime! It's annoying!"

Johnston tied Wilkinson to a clothesline and set her on fire on 20 April 2021.
Holy fuck what a monster.
- It's a shame he got married in the first place when so many better men are left out to dry.
  
  Please go to therapy to work out your weird issues with women.
  
  Incel weirdo.
  
  Dude, you're not a better man. MAYBE less violent, but still a massively manipulative moron if you think ANY of the shit you've repeated here is true. I thought SOME of that shit when I was a TEENAGER! You know what happened when I realized I was the one who sucked? I met great women! Quit blaming others for YOUR inadequacies! You're a shit-stain on the male gender, just like that murderer.
  
  People only say that, when they aren't any better. "He/she should have chose me!"
  
  The only people who think that way are exactly like this guy. Entitled.

ACAB
- Yes. All cops are bastards, you can't fight, and you don't own a gun.
  Who exactly do you expect to protect you in situations like this, then? The fairy-godmother?
  
  I would expect police to help, but that didn't happen, hence ACAB.
  
  You're just FULL of bad takes. Take the L and get off the internet. Or go watch another video from Andrew Tate that just EXUDES homosexual tension, while claiming to be aggressively hetero. I'm sure you love those.
  
  Are you saying people who don't rely on cops don't own guns? I have news for you... The media is lying to you.

Days after Wilkinson was killed, Johnston’s lawyer told reporters that “obviously, no one expected this to happen”.
This fucking nonce's very existence is an insult to all mankind.
- A nonce is another name for a pedophile.
  It doesn't mean what you think it means.
  
  In Australia it's more akin to "an idiot, or fool".

A court has previously heard that Johnston tied Wilkinson to a clothesline and set her on fire on 20 April 2021.
Holy shit, I assumed it was an impulsive murder (not that that is good). But doing that to her? What a total piece of shit.

It’s not illegal to call them up every day and just say her name.
- Via their non emergency number though
  
  Of course.

The system is designed to fail the vulnerable. Cops are domestic abusers, racists, and fascists. We need to develop ways to protect ourselves and our community. Wilkinson should have had an option other than the cops. She needed people who had been victimized in the past or at least would believe her and stood to protect her. Folks who would take turns keeping watch over her or give her and her kids a safe place to stay.
I don't think the cops can be reformed but that doesn't mean we can't keep each other safe.
- I suppose holding law enforcement to a higher standard than the rest of us would be a good start. Heck I'd settle for the same standard as the rest of us right now
  
  That would be nice, but how? They have 50 years of excellent, unearned, PR. 20% of scripted television is about unrealistically wonderful cops. When a local government has a problem their first response is always to throw cops at it. Any time they get the slightest pushback they threaten to stop doing all the things the municipality thinks they're doing. Every time a cop's ability to do whatever they want, including nothing, is threatened a massive media reaction rises up to defend them.
  That's why I think we need alternatives. We need to replace cops. The people who solve problems cannot think of themselves as sheep dogs protecting the sheep from the wolves. Someone protecting a potential DV victim from assault might need a gun but someone handling traffic enforcement does not. People running welfare checks don't need guns. People responding to a public mental health emergency almost never need guns.
  Citation needed and Behind the Bastards cop episodes are excellent background if you'd like to know why I'm so jaded when it comes to cop reform.
- Wilkinson should have had an option other than the cops.
  She did. Arm herself and stay as far away from him as possible.
  
  (Well, Australia.)

"our job is to harass brown people, not to protect the public"

The cops don't exist to protect people.
They exist to protect businesses.
- This is in Australia, not the US.
  
  US with kangaroos
- This is such a daft statement.
  Yes the police in question failed to protect this woman, it's a complete failure, officers and management in question need to be investigated.
  That said, police assist people with DV issues every day of the week. I'm sure the police station in question resolves 1000s of domestic callouts a year.
  
  Thank you for this. If it wasn't for one of the cops who responded to my 911 call, I'd still not realize I was being abused.

It’s disgusting as I had to do something similar in Australia before I could find someone to take my domestic violence case serious. Australia cops are a fucking sham when it comes to domestic violence. “Cop shopping”. I hope they rot for coming up for a shit term they coined for boasting about their incompetence. Fucking losers.
- A lot of the time the cops are domestic abusers themselves. Have had family stalked and harassed by an AFP cop in the past, and just like you say the cops had no interest whatsoever.

a friend of mine did the same thing before her domestic murder. the police (who are well funded in this town) did not want to take her seriously, and they did nothing. another friend helped her out and was subsequently murdered too.
- Yeah, it can be extremely dangerous to intervene in domestic violence situations. IIRC, something like 50% of domestic violence related murders are actually bystanders who tried to stop the abuse.
  
  he was right to step in and help. i just wish the cops had done it...
  
  Completely unrelated but I do believe this is my first rimjobsteve moment experienced out in the wild.
- Sorry you lost friends that way. Hopefully the asshole that did it never sees the outside of prison ever again.
  
  it wouldn't make a difference. He's not going to kill anyone else

I fucking can't man. This poor woman. What a horrible and terrifying way to die.

What the fuck is "cop shopping"?
- "Please officer, please help me. Please do literally anything consistent with the stated role of your profession!"
  "No"
  "Ok, I'm going to ask this of a different officer."
  "What do you think this is? A Walmart?!"
- Shopping for cops
  
  Well I did kinda guess that much.
  What does that actually mean?

Man, dude set her on fire...I bet those cops sure feel foolish. Oh well, we all make mistakes.
- The cops almost certainly don't feel anything lol. They decided it wasn't their problem.
- Sorry, this is the police, you should call the fire department. Have a nice day!

I guarantee part of the reason why she was repeatedly ignored was because her husband happened to be a marine.
- No one cares about marines in Australia

I hope the police and everyone who ignored her pleas are reminded of her death everyday of the week. Name names.
- I hope the police and everyone who ignored her pleas are reminded of her death everyday of the week
  YES!
  Name names
  NO!
  what a emotional Rollercoaster

would prolly take years of searching to find a theoretical good cop
- When people say "it is just a few bad apples" they never finish the saying "one bad apple spoils the barrel"
  If someone tries to say that the meaning is different than that just tell them there is only one meaning and it is based on science.
  Ripening apples produce ethylene gas, which triggers aging and increases ethylene production in other, nearby apples.

Cops don't resolve problems, they are the problem.
- They're an excuse not to render a service. If you're in need of protection from a violent neighbor or relative, the police exist as a thing we can say exist to solve the problem without actually solving the problem. If the police don't respond or treat your case with urgency, we're allowed to say that the urgency doesn't exist.
  In a similar vein, they exist to exaggerate the threat of certain areas or populations. If you're constantly putting squad cars and doing arrests and send in SWAT teams through a neighborhood, we can say that the neighborhood must be very dangerous. More and more police activity in an area flag it as "in need of additional policing" because what would the police be doing except restoring law and order to a neighborhood plagued by anarchy?
  They are, in effect, a tool of state propaganda. Their physical presence (or absence) signals what is taboo (or tacitly encouraged) by the city/state/national leadership.

When seconds count police are ~~only minutes away~~ not coming to save you.
- Buy a gun, learn to shoot. Nobody is coming to save you, take agency for your own safety.
  
  Wasn't she a resident of Australia? They have some pretty strict gun laws, so there's almost no chance she'd have been able to get one.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_of_Australia
  A person must have a firearm licence to possess or use a firearm. Licence holders must demonstrate a "genuine reason" (which does not include self-defence)
  (emphasis mine)

ACAB

Yes, cop shopping, i'm in here repeatedly trying to get even one of you to give a shit, and you've got a perjorative term just ready to hand for that exact situation.
Policy against giving a shit would go with the territory I suppose, pathological fucking institution.

Fuckin dumbass pigs

Actions speak louder than words QPS
Can't fucking beleive this happened in my own state, my own country
I thought we wouldn't have to deal with the same bullshit in america here as well
- Write to your police minister. They know that only a small percentage of people who care actually take the time and effort to write in, so if you do so, it has more of an impact than you may think.
  It also forces them to reply, so the squeaky wheel and all that.

!nottheonion@lemmy.world

Police have the highest rate of domestic abuse as a demographic. Of course they don't give a shit.

Sadly, cases like this happens in all the world. I don't know if their work tend to desensitize some cops or what, but this is not the first time something like this happen, and certainly will not be the last.

To be fair, it sounds like this murder led to a pretty thorough external review and an acknowledgement from the QPS leadership that things had to change.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-01/qld-assistant-commissioner-brian-codd-on-police-culture/101717306

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