Luke Gilbert
Donation protected
The family live in WA and the inquest is in Cairns in August 2023. Flights and accommodation is only funded for witnesses NOT the family so we are seeking donations to help pay for this as the family of LUKE have been unable to work since he was shot and killed by police in October 2022
Donations made so far have gone towards repatriating Luke and all his belongings back to WA and his funeral.
The facts…
On the 1st October 2022 just after midnight Luke Gilbert was shot and killed by two police officers in Airlie Beach Queensland while walking to the pub…
Excessive force, completely unjustified and disproportionate to what was happening was used !
On that day, Luke, who lived in Townsville, had intended to go to work but ended up travelling to Airlie beach (3 1/2 hours drive away) to help a friend with car trouble.
While still in his workwear, which included a small penknife (7cm blade) he used as a tool clipped to his belt, he went out to the pub. Luke was walking on his own to another pub just after midnight when he saw two police officers. Realising he still had his knife on his belt, he covered it with his hand, presumably so he wouldn't get stopped. Luke passed two more officers while still covering the knife with his hand.
Luke was intoxicated and he almost bumped into one of the officers, who asked him if he was alright. When the officer noticed Luke's hand covering something, he asked what he had. Luke then unclipped the penknife from his belt to show them while walking slowly towards them as they were backing away.
He said “Shoot me, I dare you” while both officers immediately drew their firearms and pointed them at Luke, escalating the situation very quickly.
The officers shouted for Luke to drop the knife, he did not, and they opened fire only 18 seconds after stopping him.
Luke did NOT lunge or threaten to harm the officers or anyone else in any way. He had his arms down by his side approximately 15ft from the officers when he was shot at five times by both officers. Three bullets went into his chest, and two hit nearby cars. Luke fell to the ground immediately and lay unresponsive on the floor when they turned him onto his front and handcuffed his arms behind his back.
It was approximately seven minutes before they attempted CPR, and they arrested him and emptied his pockets before giving him any first aid. This is all shown on CCTV, BWC, and video footage given to the family by members of the public and analysed independently.
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The officers haven’t been arrested and charged or even stood down and the investigation is completely inadequate and one sided.
The family therefore need to give Luke a voice to seek justice and campaign for change after being killed by these two officers with no accountability upto now.
We also have a petition with over 22,000 supporters, so please follow the link below to add your support…
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Thank you for your ongoing support
Organizer
Shontay O'Brien
Organizer
Falcon, WA