Police concede it took officers a long time responding to a welfare call for an ailing elderly man, but say it’s too early to know if the 19-hour wait contributed to his death.
The 85-year-old was still breathing when police arrived at his southwest Sydney unit, but he was declared dead after CPR failed to save him.
Senior officers on July 12 defended the long wait after a concerned member of the public called with fears for the welfare of the Bankstown resident.
Critics have seized on the death as evidence under-resourced police should not be performing welfare checks and mental health call-outs, after a series of concerning incidents involving vulnerable individuals.
Multiple investigations have been launched into the circumstances surrounding the man’s death.
The welfare call was received about 5.40pm on July 4, but officers did not attend the man’s unit until 12.30pm the following day.
The resident was displaying shallow breathing but could not be revived.
New South Wales (NSW) Police Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden said the command covering the Bankstown region was one of the state’s busiest, adding he was “not going to stand here and judge police.”
Asked if the 19-hour wait was a “very long time”, he conceded there was “no doubt.”
“The circumstances are tragic, but we want to understand whether the time between ... the call and our response, was that a factor in the circumstances of this man’s passing,” Mr. McFadden said.
Police watchdog the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission will monitor the investigation, which is also being reviewed by the force’s internal oversight body.
The cause of death is yet to be determined, but no suspicious circumstances have been found.
The man lived by himself and was experiencing health issues, but police did not disclose what those were.
Greens MP Sue Higginson said police should not be first responders for welfare checks and mental-health calls because they were not equipped for the job.
“The circumstances of this death are on the Minns Labor government ... police should not be undertaking welfare checks and the government has heard this loud and clear since they came into power,” she told AAP.
“The bottom line is that the current response systems are broken, and they are failing the most vulnerable people in our state.”
Police conduct has come under intense scrutiny after an officer was charged with manslaughter over the death of a 95-year-old great-grandmother with dementia, who died after being tasered at a Cooma nursing home in 2023.
The officer, a senior constable, has pleaded not guilty.
In June, two constables were accused of assaulting a 92-year-old man with likely dementia at a home at Picton.
Premier Chris Minns acknowledged the latest incident was a concern for police.
“We want to make sure that when people access triple-zero when they contact emergency services, they’re dispatched quickly and if changes need to be made, (I’ve got) every confidence police will do that as soon as possible,” he said.
Acting Police Minister Tara Moriarty agreed the public needed to have confidence that when they called emergency services, responders would attend.
NSW has been battling persistent shortages among police ranks, with about 1500 vacancies across the state.
Mr. McFadden said the probes into the incident would determine if decision-makers gave priority to the correct call-outs on the day.
