Police officer charged over Joyce Clarke death in Geraldton to fight murder charge

The police officer who fatally shot Aboriginal woman Joyce Clarke in Geraldton will stand trial to fight allegations he is a murderer. The first class constable, whose identity is suppressed, was in February charged with murdering the Yamatji woman, who was shot dead outside her Karloo home on September 17 last year. He became the first WA police officer to be charged with the offence while in the line of duty in almost a century. The West Australian has confirmed an administrative committal hearing was held in the Stirling Gardens Magistrate’s Court today where a consent order indicated the officer would plead not guilty to the offence. The officer, who was earlier granted bail of $100,000 with a similar surety, is due to appear in the Supreme Court for the first time on August 17. On the night of her death, relatives had called triple-0 concerned for her welfare. Witnesses told police Ms Clarke had been holding a knife when she was shot. She had been released from jail about three weeks before she was shot having originally been arrested for stealing a mobile phone from a house and then setting fire to her cell. After the officer was charged, Police Commissioner Chris Dawson described the day as one of the “saddest” of his career. “The circumstances of what occurred in Geraldton are tragic and will have a long-term impact on the lives of many people, they include Ms Clarke’s family, the Geraldton and wider community and police officers right across our vast State,” he said at the time. “Today’s event is rare and is unusual in the history of WA policing. “I have full confidence that our police officers will continue to conduct their duty and their difficult job to the highest standards that we all expect.” Ms Clarke’s family said the charge had lifted a weight off them but nothing could ease their suffering. “It helps me but the thing is ... it’s not going to erase the pain, no matter what we do,” Ms Clarke’s adoptive mother Anne Jones told 7NEWS. “It’s not going to do anything. I’s not going to bring her back to life. “She was a loving mother to her child ... I just want to know who he is, I just want to see his face.”