A veteran cop has revealed how political correctness may have gotten in the way of tracking down a man accused of throwing a thermos of hot coffee on a baby.
Nine-month-old baby Luka was at a picnic with his mother and friends at Hanlon Park, in Brisbane‘s south, when a stranger approached them and scalded hot coffee over the infant on August 27.
Little Luka suffered life-threatening burns to his face, upper body and arms and has since undergone four surgeries in Queensland Children’s Hospital.
An urgent manhunt was launched with detectives revealing on Monday the 33-year-old accused attacker had managed to flee overseas.
Former Australian Federal Police detective superintendent David Craig criticised Queensland Police for leaving the accused man’s race out of their first public alert.
‘His description was reported as “a person [with] tan skin…” that doesn’t narrow it down very much,’ Mr Craig told Channel Seven‘s Sunrise program.
‘He should’ve been called out as a man of Asian appearance, just as we do people of Caucasian appearance. It didn’t happen quickly enough in this case.
‘This is not racial vilification terms. These are identifying terms.’
Nine-month-old baby Luka (pictured) suffered life-threatening burns to his face, upper body and arms after a stranger poured hot coffee over him
The movements of the alleged attacker (pictured) before he fled the country revealed he likely had ‘some counter-intelligence experience’
Mr Craig said it was ‘unnerving’ how the man managed to evade authorities and slip out of the country despite his photo being shared online.
‘Clearly, this person had some counter-surveillance experience. He knew what he was doing,’ he said.
‘He was obviously avoiding electronic trails so he couldn’t be followed so easily.’
His comment comes as Australians around the country come together to support the victim’s family with kind-hearted Aussies donating more than $150,000.
‘Sending you all the strength in the world and to your precious beautiful baby … may he make a full recovery and receive the best treatment available,’ one person wrote.
‘Just horrifying and unbearable. I am truly sorry for this suffering. I hope the culprit is found,’ another added.
The fundraiser was started to collect money for the baby’s medical costs, with the organiser expressing their gratitude for the support amid such a ‘difficult and traumatic time’.
‘We have been blown away by all the support, both with donations and those reaching out with words of encouragement,’ the fundraiser states.
‘This GoFundMe will be able to support (the baby) with all of his ongoing care needs which is truly a weight lifted off our shoulders.
‘He is such a strong little boy and we are so so proud of him.
The 33-year-old man accused of carrying out the attack was in NSW on August 28 – a day after the incident in Brisbane.
He flew out of Sydney Airport on August 31 with his own passport just 12 hours before police confirmed his identity.
A warrant has since been obtained for his arrest for alleged grievous bodily harm, a charge which carries a possible life sentence.
Mr Craig explained it will a ‘bit of a legal process’ to extradite the suspect to Australia but he is confident ‘authorities will get him back here’.
‘There should be a police-to-police operation happening at the moment trying to locate that person through a mutual assistance request and the extradition request will come through,’ he said.
Queensland Police Detective Inspector Paul Dalton, who described the incident as a ‘savage attack’ without apparent motive, said the accused was ‘aware of police methodologies’ and had been ‘conducting counter-surveillance activities’.
‘This is probably one of the most complex and sometimes frustrating investigations I’ve had to be involved in and lead,’ he said on Monday.
Det Insp Dalton said the man was clearly ‘aware of what we (the police) do to find people’ and that cops had been stymied in their efforts when they had initially been given the wrong name.
‘It wasn’t until September 1 that we were able to put a name to the face in the CCTV,’ he said.
‘Even at that stage, we probably didn’t have enough evidence to obtain a warrant.
‘We’ve since been to NSW and Victoria to gather that information, and the warrant has been granted.’
Former AFP officer David Craig (pictured) explained it will a ‘bit of a legal process’ to extradite the suspect to Australia but he is confident ‘authorities will get him back here’
Nine-month-old baby Luka (pictured) was enjoying a picnic with his mother and friends at Hanlon Park, in Brisbane’s south, when the stranger attacked
Detective Inspector Dalton said he knew which country the man had fled to, but could not share that information while the investigation was still live.
He said the man had been in and out of Australia since 2019 and had been ‘lawful’ each time.
‘There’s no adverse holdings that we can find on him in Australia,’ Detective Inspector Dalton said.
He said the man was in the country on a visa and had addresses ‘across the eastern seaboard’ but not in Queensland.
The accused had been an ‘itinerant’ worker in Queensland, NSW and Victoria and police had interviewed some of his former colleagues.
The police officer said the attack was the ‘most cowardly’ he had witnessed in his career.
‘A young mother and a baby sitting on the ground and you are allegedly approaching them from behind,’ he said.
‘Can you think of anything more vulnerable than that? And to take advantage of that? You’re probably right, it’s one of the most disgusting ones I’ve come across.’
The senior cop vowed that he would not let up the investigation until the man is caught.
‘I’ve got 30 detectives working for me. They are devastated that they missed this person by 12 hours,’ he said.
‘I think only the family would be more upset about that.’
Detective Inspector Dalton encouraged anyone with any information to come forward.
‘People may feel safe now that this person has fled Australia, to actually come forward to police,’ he said.
‘I encourage them to do that. There’ll be no judgement on you whatsoever.’
Detective Inspector Paul Dalton on Monday afternoon confirmed many people’s, including Luka’s family’s, worst fears by admitting the suspected attacker had fled Australia (pictured, Luka with his mother in hospital)
The man was described as being a small build with tanned skin. He was wearing a black hat, glasses, a shirt and shorts at the time of the attack.
Police tracked his movements after the attack to the southern Brisbane suburb of Tarragindi, where he changed his clothes outside a church.
He then caught a rideshare car into central Brisbane, before moving onto Caxton Street where the trail initially went cold until he was found to have fled the country.