JC murder trial: Protesters gather in numbers to express frustration over Geraldton officer’s acquittal

Protesters stamped handprints on the walls of the Geraldton Police Station and courthouse in demonstration against Friday’s acquittal of a police officer who fatally shot an Aboriginal mother two years ago. About 150 people gathered across the road from the Geraldton Courthouse to express their sadness and frustration over the death of 29-year-old Yamatji woman, JC, who was shot in the stomach while armed with a bread knife and a pair of scissors. A jury took three hours to find a Geraldton police officer – who cannot be named – not guilty of murder and manslaughter after a two-and-a-half week trial in the WA Supreme Court. Saturday’s mostly peaceful march ended in young protesters covering the Geraldton Police Station and Courthouse with painted handprints and messages of support for the Black Lives Matter movement. A group of Indigenous women mourned the loss of their friend and relative directly outside the Geraldton Police Station, holding hands as tears streamed down their faces. Kija-Bard woman Jennifer Gregory-Kniveton said the Indigenous community was deeply hurt by JC’s death and the outcome of the trial. “We have no tears left,” she said. “This can’t go on. Justice has no colour. “Justice is for everyone, but so far for our people, there is nothing.” In a passionate plea, Ms Gregory-Kniveton asked all Australians to stand with First Nations people. “Today we stand in cultural solidarity for our young women that died at the hands of the very system that is supposed to serve and protect,” she said. “Stop stripping us down and treating us like animals. “We are treated as sub-humans in our own country. When will this institutionalised racism end?” Protesters brought traffic to a standstill as they marched up Marine Terrace waving Aboriginal flags and shouting at the top of their lungs: “What do we want? Justice. When do we want it? Now.” Police kept away from the march, with uniformed officers directing traffic as the group stopped in the middle of the Geraldton CBD for about 15 minutes. Wajarri Yamaji man Anthony Dann demanded Geraldton police stop flying the Aboriginal flag outside their station as it was a “token gesture”. “The police aren’t here for us,” he said. “The justice system stinks. “One day you will be affected by a similar incident. Don’t think it will touch you? If you don’t stand up and do something as an Indigenous community and a wider community it is going to continue to happen.”