MEDIA ALERT
When: From 10am, Saturday 19 March 2022
Where: Starting in Jellicoe Park, Warialda Street, Moree
What: A peaceful march from Jellicoe Park through the Moree CBD
The family of 22-year-old Gomeroi man Gordon Copeland, who died in a police operation last year, have invited supporters and media to join them in a rally for justice.
“We are rallying to keep Gordon’s name out there and keep his memory alive. We won’t let up until we get answers and until our mob stop dying in prisons and police operations. We invite all community to come and walk with us,” said Lesley Fernando, Gordon’s aunty, speaking on behalf of the family.
Gordon was last seen alive in the Gwydir River near Moree after a police incident in the early hours of 10 July 2021. His body was found on 7 October 2021. The Aboriginal Legal Service will be representing his family in a coronial inquest into his death.
At least 21 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people died in custody and police operations across Australia last year, including Gordon Copeland. There have been more than 500 deaths since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody concluded in 1991.
ENDS
Contacts:
- Aboriginal Legal Service: Alyssa Robinson – [email protected] 0427 346 017
- Family contact: Lesley Fernando – [email protected] 0478 104 898
A previous media release on Gordon Copeland’s death can be found here: https://www.alsnswact.org.au/death_of_gordon_copeland_to_be_investigated
