Arabic version: تحقيق يكشف الظروف القابلة للتجنب وراء وفاة أحد أفراد سلاح الجو الملكي الأسترالي

An inquest into the death of RAAF aircraftman Gary Sargeant found his drowning was preventable. According to ABC News, the coroner identified multiple missed opportunities to intervene during Sargeant’s acute mental health crisis.

Deputy State Coroner Naomi Kereru stated that significant changes could have been made to avert the tragedy, including an opportunity to search him while he was detained under the Mental Health Act and ensuring he was not left alone at a military health centre while waiting for an ambulance. Kereru emphasized that either of these actions could have saved his life.

Sargeant, 36, was a “valued and loyal” leading aircraftman with the Royal Australian Air Force, having served two tours in the Middle East. He had a documented history of mental health issues, exacerbated by feelings of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a visit to the health centre shortly before his death, he expressed suicidal thoughts to a nurse, highlighting the urgent need for mental health support.

The inquest revealed delays in emergency response and communication failures that contributed to Sargeant’s tragic outcome. His disappearance was not reported to military police for 22 minutes, and it took an hour to ascertain that he had left the base. A series of technical failures and lack of access to essential information hampered the response efforts.

Kereru made several recommendations following the inquest, including the establishment of secure treatment spaces in military health facilities and granting military police the authority to detain and search individuals suspected of mental illness. She noted that had a chaperone policy been in place, Sargeant likely would not have been left alone, reducing the risk of his absconding.