Police and Indigenous leaders push for end to violence after Albany street brawl leaves two seriously injured

Indigenous leaders young and old are working with police to “draw a line in the sand” after a brawl left two young men seriously injured in the early hours of Sunday morning. In separate meetings over the past two days, senior Great Southern police met with Menang elders and members of the Great Southern Noongar Emerging Leadership Group to find a way forward after the weekend’s violence. “There was a real willingness from the emerging leaders and the elders to get together with families and to call a community meeting to end this issue between the two parties,” Great Southern Supt Kim Travers said. “They have said they will come back to us with a time in the next two weeks. They will speak to the families and with the parents. “We have offered the Great Southern Police District office as a venue for the meeting. “The outcome needs to be sustainable. There needs to be a long-term resolution to this violence. “There is a willingness from everyone to draw a line in the sand after what has occurred.” Mt Barker man and former WAFL player Russell Wynne, 24, was yesterday in a critical condition at Royal Perth Hospital after he was allegedly struck with a machete then hit with a car on Stirling Terrace. A 22-year-old Lockyer man remains at Albany Health Campus with serious injuries after having more surgery yesterday. Stirling Terrace was closed to the public for two days after the melee, which left weapons strewn across the road. Forensics officers and major crash investigators have completed the recording and collection of evidence from the scene. Police have obtained CCTV footage and spoken to more than 20 potential witnesses. Supt Travers said police were continuing to support the families affected by the incident. She stressed to the community that the criminal investigation into the altercation would be thorough and well managed. “Albany detectives and major crime continue to work through all of the evidence collected from the scene and from witnesses,” Supt Travers said. “The criminal justice system will ultimately examine all of the evidence related to this serious incident; based on the facts presented through the court process there will be a legal outcome.” She said speculation and vitriol on social media regarding the weekend’s violence was not helpful. “There has been considerable social media commentary posted regarding this incident, most of the commentary is speculative at best and is causing sustained anxiety to the families involved and the broader community,” she said. “We ask those who use social media to be considerate of the families who have been impacted by this violent incident.” The WA Police Aboriginal Affairs Division has been engaged to help in the aftermath of the violence. Supt Travers said police had asked the City of Albany to provide support with more street lighting and CCTV cameras. They had also requested assistance from the Department of Communities in relation to community engagement and housing. Albany Det-Sen. Sgt Darryl Noye said police would step up their focus on people who carry weapons. He said extra officers would be deployed in Albany from this week in response to the brawl. On Sunday forensics officers found knives, a machete, chains, metal bars and clubs that had been left behind on Stirling Terrace, he said. “We have some planned operations and we will be targeting people who are known to carry weapons,” Det-Sen. Sgt Noye said. “So we are forewarning anybody, if you are carrying a weapon and you don’t have a lawful reason for being in possession of it, you will be charged.” Supt Travers told the Advertiser that police were on high alert for any further threats of violence. She warned there would be no tolerance of anyone who would seek to “take matters into their own hands”. “The private affairs of people in the community that results in violent behaviour in a public place like on Sunday morning, we need it to stop,” she said. “Two people have been left with serious injures and others are set to face the justice system and you have to ask — what is the point? “There are no winners in any of this.”