WA cop thought dying woman was faking it

A policeman suggested to a detainee that an Aboriginal woman moaning in pain was trying to get out of a cell, a coronial inquest has heard.

A WA cop thought an Aboriginal woman in custody was faking illness before her death, a court heard. (AAP) Source: AAP

A policeman handcuffed a limp Aboriginal woman and dragged her out of her cell to take her to hospital still believing she could be faking illness shortly before she died, an inquest has heard.

Ms Dhu, whose first name is not used for cultural reasons, died two days after being locked up at Western Australia's South Hedland Police Station in August 2014 for unpaid fines totalling $3622, stemming from offences including assaulting an officer.

Constable Christopher Matier testified in Perth on Friday that when he was preparing to take the 22-year-old to hospital for the third time in as many days, he could not carry her and asked if she was sure she could not walk.

"I wasn't entirely convinced that she couldn't use her legs," he said.

Const Matier dragged Ms Dhu to the cell door and leaned her against his leg, knowing it would be difficult to drag her to the police van.

The officer said he asked Ms Dhu: "Are you sure you can't get up because this is the way I'm going to have to take you?"

He said she replied: "No, I can't move my legs."

In hindsight, Const Matier accepted he should have called an ambulance but believed it would be just as quick for police to drive her.

He also agreed with the suggestion she was like a "rag doll" but said it was his practice to handcuff detainees if he was going to take them out.

The officer continued to believe there was a chance she was faking it and could therefore be a flight risk.

In footage played to the court of Ms Dhu being dragged and then carried to the van with the help of Senior Constable Shelly Burgess, Const Matier is heard shouting: "Shut up!"

But he said it was directed at Ms Dhu's partner, Dion Ruffin, who was also in custody and had been swearing at police and calling them dogs.

Const Matier said he first formed the view Ms Dhu was faking illness early in his shift, based on a conversation he overheard with his superiors.

He denied completely disregarding Ms Dhu, telling the inquest he thought he was doing the best he could by offering her paracetamol, which she had been given by medical staff during a previous hospital visit.

But in footage played in court, Const Matier was heard asking another detainee if she had been screaming all night and if she was "trying to get out".

Const Matier told the inquest Ms Dhu had been declared fit for custody twice but he did not check what her complaint had been, saying he did not think it was relevant for him to know.

Ms Dhu died at the Hedland Health Campus from staphylococcal septicaemia and pneumonia, following an infection in her fractured ribs that spread to her lungs.

The inquest continues.