Police reinforcements called in as racial tensions simmer over Kalgoorlie boy's death
Police reinforcements have been flown to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia after a day of violence on the remote city’s streets where tempers flared over the death of a teenage boy.
Twelve police were injured on Tuesday as about 300 people clashed with officers and stormed the grounds of the local courthouse, angry over the death of 14-year-old Elijah Doughty on Monday morning.
The accused killer’s family is now in hiding and police spent the night on high alert.
The Indigenous boy was allegedly killed by a 55-year-old man driving a ute that hit the allegedly stolen motorcycle the boy was riding.
Police will allege the man deliberately chased the boy in his Nissan Navara and hit the motorcycle.
He was charged with manslaughter and was supposed to face court on Tuesday until the racially-charged riots forced the cancellation of the hearing.
Riot police and dogs were called onto the streets as tempers flared. The grandparents of the dead boy, other family members and Aboriginal elder appealed for the crowd to calm down.
But their appeals fell on deaf ears.
Five police cars were damaged in the violence. One officer received cuts to his face, apparently caused by a projectile thrown from the crowd.
The sale of takeaway alcohol was banned overnight in a bid to calm tensions.
Local indigenous leader Linden Brownley told The West the death of the teenager was a “tipping point”.
“A life has been taken in a brutal manner and things have reached a boiling point,” he said.
"Things have come to a head - if you feed people a spoonful of hatred every day, what you are going to get out that is hate in return."
WA Indigenous Affairs Minister Peter Collier, who is from Kalgoorlie, said the unrest was the culmination of long-simmering tensions.
“The circumstances around what occurred were profoundly tragic and you cannot for a moment imagine the angst, the anxiety, the anger that exists for any parent or relative who loses an adolescent child,” Mr Collier said.
“Having said that, the tensions have existed for a number of years and I guess they boiled over today.”
Shadow indigenous minister Ben Wyatt said Elijah’s death was tragic but implored people to respect the law.
