An apology from the WA Police and WA Country Health Service over the death of 22-year-old Ms Dhu in 2014 has been slammed by the legal team representing her estate.

Ms Dhu died in police custody in South Hedland in 2014 after she was arrested over $3622 in unpaid fines.

An inquest into her death by Coroner Ros Fogliani in 2016 discovered she died from sepsis and pneumonia from an infection from broken ribs, sustained as a result of domestic violence three months earlier.

Lawyer Stewart Levitt claimed the State’s apology meant the WA Government accepted it was accountable for systemic discrimination.

“It’s a recognition that the West Australian Government is being held to account for institutional racism, which led to a young woman being picked up, placed into police custody and treated like a dog in a pound,” he told the Pilbara News.

“The people who actually did what they did to Ms Dhu are not the ones apologising, this is an official apology from higher up though I’m sure they are sorry for what happened.”

Ms Dhu was taken from her holding cell to South Hedland Health Campus a number of times after complaining of stomach pain.

On the third visit to South Hedland Health Campus, she died.

The Coroner condemned the police response to Ms Dhu, saying they acted ‘unprofessionally and inhumanely”.

“You can’t bring back a 22-year-old life, you can’t replace somebody with words, or money either,” Mr Levitt said.