Updated
A mentally ill Canberra man shot by police and made a quadriplegic has lost his battle for compensation.
Jonathan Crowley was shot in the neck by police during a psychotic episode in 2001.
Mr Crowley took the Australian Federal Police and ACT Mental Health to court in 2008 seeking compensation.
Last year in the Supreme Court, Justice Hillary Penfold found police and ACT Mental Health had breached their duty of care in their handling of the case and Mr Crowley was awarded compensation of $8 million.
But police and ACT Mental Health appealed against the decision and today the Court of Appeal overturned the original ruling.
Mr Crowley will now not be receiving any compensation.
Speaking outside court, he says he cannot understand why.
"It's a real tragedy for anyone who becomes a victim of a police shooting. It's just devastating," he said.
His sister, Camille Corson, says it is financially devastating after fighting for 11 years.
"It's a tragic day for all of Australia because anybody can have the onset of a mental illness, the first and initial episode," she said.
"My twins weren't even conceived when this happened and this is how long it's taken."
Mr Crowley's family say they will consider an appeal to the High Court.
Topics: courts-and-trials, mental-health, act, canberra-2600
First posted
No comments:
Post a Comment