The NSW coroner has heard it was “horrific” that Aboriginal man Eric Whittaker, who died in hospital after suffering a brain haemorrhage in prison custody, had been shackled to the bed in the last days of his life despite being unconscious and unresponsive. An emergency medicine researcher from the University of New South Wales, Anna Holdgate, went on to tell the court “we would only use restraint as a last resort” and “for the briefest time possible”. According to Holdgate, who was speaking as an expert witness, the 36-year-old Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay man was unconscious and unresponsive after being given sedatives within an hour of arriving at the hospital, and he “would have been unable to move due to the medication”. Whittaker had been reviewed by medical staff and, according to their notes, was “unconscious and on breathing support”. However, he remained restrained. Eric Whittaker begged corrective services officer for help […]