Queensland's police "service" again

Three-hour wait for emergency-call response as woman brutally bashed

GOLD Coast police took up to 3 1/2 hours to respond to a violent domestic dispute in which a woman was brutally bashed in front of her nine-year-old son and ended up on life support.

The boy told police his mother resembled "a rag doll" after a sustained attack lasting up to 90 minutes. It was so violent that her blood was found splattered on the ceiling.

Police received a 000 call to a Burleigh Waters unit but the officers were diverted to another disturbance. By the time they arrived at the unit, they found the woman unconscious in a pool of blood. Last night she remained in intensive care.

Witnesses reported hearing the attack start about 12.30am on Saturday but police did not arrive at the scene until 4am.

An internal investigation has been launched. The police media office announced an Ethical Standards investigation would be held as the bashed woman's partner faced Southport Magistrates Court yesterday charged with grievous bodily harm.

Police prosecutor Myee Arandale told the court the woman's son witnessed the "callous attack", in which his mother was repeatedly punched and slapped. "He described his mother as looking like a 'rag doll' while this was occurring," Senior-Constable Arandale told the court. "(Her) eyes were swollen black and she was bleeding above one of the eyes. "The defendant kept slapping his mother."

Sen-Constable Arandale said a "huge amount of blood" was found at the scene.

Witnesses reported a commotion lasting from 12.30am to 2am on Saturday, the prosecutor said.

She said the accused man left his partner unconscious to go upstairs for cigarettes. Police found him asleep when they arrived.

Sen-Constable Arandale told the court the woman was on life support in the Gold Coast Hospital with head injuries, the extent of which would not be known until she was brought out of an induced coma. The court was told the accused had been banned from going within 100m of his partner. He had also twice been charged with assault in recent months over unrelated matters.

The man initially applied for bail but withdrew his application and said he would go to jail. He will face a committal hearing in August.

A police spokesman said officers were responding to a 000 call to the domestic dispute when they were flagged down about another disturbance "requiring immediate police attendance". "The South East (police) Region - with the assistance of the Ethical Standards Command - will investigate the full circumstances relating to the delay in responding to the call for service," the spokesman said.

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