Family ‘in the dark' after death in custody of Indigenous man with disability at Coles supermarket in Alice Springs
Disturbing details have emerged about the death of a young man in custody at a Coles supermarket on Tuesday.
The young man, who died after being pinned to the ground by police, was a 24-year-old Warlpiri man from Yuendumu, a remote community about three-and-a-half hours northwest of Alice Springs.
The young man, who lived with a disability, had been in Alice Springs for a number of years, and was under a guardianship order and on an NDIS plan.
He was confronted by security guards who believed he was shoplifting in the confectionary aisle of Coles about 1.10pm.
NT Police Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst said the 24-year-old man was then 'taken to the ground' after a scuffle with the guards, and held there for 'a number of minutes'.
Plain-clothed officers then arrived and handcuffed the young man — this is when police determined he had lost consciousness.
The handcuffs were removed and police began CPR until paramedics arrived and took the 24-year-old man to Alice Springs Hospital, where he was declared dead about 2.20pm.
His cause of death was unable to be determined by a preliminary autopsy, and the forensic pathologist is required for further investigation.
Calls for inquiry amid reports 'knee was behind his head'
There is no independent inquiry into the death at this stage.
While Wurst said police will approach the 'complex investigation' with an 'objective lens', calls are mounting for additional scrutiny.
One woman told NT News that she witnessed people calling out to police during the incident: 'This fella has a disability, he's disabled, just be a bit more careful.'
'And then all of a sudden he started fitting on the ground, like he was having a seizure,' the woman said.
One witness told the outlet they saw an officer's 'knee was behind his head', and another witness told the ABC: 'It looked pretty violent, and then they slammed him to the ground.'
Wurst said police would not 'provide specifics in relation to the actual incident and the conduct of the security guards or officers', when he was questioned about these witness reports during a press conference.
Amnesty International Australia called for an investigation to be conducted, independent of NT Police, to 'ensure impartiality and to maintain public confidence in the process'.
'The death of yet another young Aboriginal person in police custody is unacceptable and demands immediate action,' an Amnesty spokesperson said.
There have been 593 Indigenous deaths in custody recorded since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
Community mourns, family left 'in the dark'
The young man's grandfather, Yuendumu elder and Warlpiri man Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, said the family has been left 'in the dark about what really happened'.
He has called for access to the CCTV and bodycam footage, which Wurst said is currently informing the police investigation.
'Family representatives need to see all available footage of this incident immediately, both CCTV and bodycam, so we can understand what happened to my jaja (grandson),' Hargraves said.
'We are terrified. We are shattered. We are frustrated. This is happening again and again.
'They (police) are saying they want to come and say sorry to us — no. We can't go on saying sorry, sorry, sorry.'
The Yuendumu community were a fortnight away from receiving the coronal findings about the death of Kumanjayi Walker, a Warlpiri and Luritja teen, also from Yuendumu, who was shot three times at close range by former NT police officer Zachary Rolfe in 2019.
An inquiry into the shooting found Rolfe not guilty on all charges over the 19-year-old's death in 2022.
After years of waiting, Hargraves said the community is now considering postponing the visit from NT Coroner Elisabeth Armitage, who was set to reveal her findings to them on June 10.
'Because of all these troubles happening right now, it's too much,' Hargraves said.
'Criminalisation of disability'
The First Peoples Disability Network said the death highlighted 'the increasing criminalisation of disability' and exposed failings with the guardianship system and the NDIS.
Senator Lidia Thorpe called the young man's death yet another case of 'brutal force' used against Indigenous people.
'He was hungry and he needed care. Instead, he was met with brutal force,' she said in a statement.
'This is not an isolated tragedy — it's part of a brutal pattern where our people die at the hands of police and in prisons. We won't stop speaking out until it ends.'
Indigenous Australians Minister and NT Senator Malarndirri McCarthy described the incident as devastating — that a man 'just searching for some food' had died.
A senior relative of the man said in a statement his Warlpiri people were devastated by the death and angry that another young man had 'lost his life at the hands of the police'.
'What are the police doing using such force on a vulnerable young man in a supermarket? Did they even try to de-escalate?
'Why was he there alone, where were the carers who were supposed to be responsible for him?'
'We cannot tolerate this situation, with continued brutality and lack of respect.'
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7NEWS
4 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Coward punch victim Dave Harcus died one month after sent home from hospital with Panadeine Forte. His loved- ones want answers
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'It happened so fast, he just came up behind him, punched him in the back of the head, and Dave just fell straight to the ground — didn't even try to put his hands down or anything because he didn't know it was coming,' Harvey told Back in the car, Harcus slumped forward in his seat — he was bleeding from the ear, had cloudy eyes, and was visibly in shock. Harvey said she would take him to the hospital, but Harcus insisted on heading home, where he would file a police report 'in case I die in my sleep'. 'I wasn't going to argue. You can't argue with Dave, I've known him for a long time,' Harvey said. She got a call from Harcus the next day — he was ready to go to the hospital. Harvey dropped him there and recounted the alleged assault to hospital staff, leaving with the assumption that Harcus would be kept overnight for tests, or flown down to the Royal Adelaide Hospital. But she said there were no CT scans, or referrals, just a packet of Panadeine Forte. 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But when she arrived at the hospital the next day, a nurse pulled Harvey into a kitchenette and told her: 'I'm really sorry, but your friend Dave passed away in the early hours of this morning.' 'Well, I nearly collapsed,' Harvey said. 'My heart started racing — it was horrible. They made me a cup of tea.' Tracking down the truth Harcus' niece and listed next of kin, Monika Addicott, only learned her uncle had been unwell when she received a call from the hospital three hours after he had died. The 43-year-old said she asked the doctor to give her all the details, but was not told about 'any kind of treatment or examination in the 12 or 13 hours that he was there'. 'They just basically said that he was very calm and very peaceful, and just kind of drifted off into sleep.' Addicott did not learn about the coward punch until she called a Cooper Pedy pub — she was trying to track down anyone who knew her uncle. 'That's when I was told about what happened (at the land auction),' Addicott said. Addicott remembers Harcus fondly, and recalled the time he insisted she come over and stay with him in Coober Pedy in her early 20s, so that he could teach her the value of money and hard work. 'It certainly re-educated me. It gave me my values and an appreciation of what I've got,' Addicott said. At the time of his death, Addicott was living in public housing in Brisbane, where Tropical Cyclone Alfred was ripping through the region. She had to wait until the storm blew over before she could travel to her uncle's home and begin to sort out his affairs. Time slipped by upon her arrival, as she enrolled her child into a Cooper Pedy school, liaised with the coroner, cleaned through Harcus' home, and began to arrange a funeral which she can't afford until she fundraises $9000. 'Evidently, I've exceeded my absentee quota (for public housing), so they've evicted me,' Addicott said. Her friends are currently boxing up her belongings in her absence, and putting them into a storage unit. With so much already on her plate, Addicott said that she would have to cross that bridge when she gets to it. Pushing for further investigation SA Police confirmed to that it is satisfied the alleged assault is not connected to Harcus' death — his loved ones were told he died of a heart attack as a result of a sepsis and pneumonia. It's a diagnosis that still doesn't sit right with Addicott, or Harvey, who watched her friend rapidly deteriorate seemingly from the moment he was hit. She believes gaps in clinical care may have contributed to a causal chain of events that led to her friend's death. Having been twice-prescribed just Panadeine Forte following the assault, Harcus did not believe treatment beyond pain relief was available to him, and died unaware of the severity of his condition, Harvey said. 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Because of this ongoing investigation, the hospital was also able to comment on the claims made by Harvey, when contacted by 'Our condolences go to the friends and family of Mr Harcus for their loss,' Eyre and Far North Local Health Network chief executive officer Julie Marron told Following Harcus' death, Harvey followed up with police on their progress in pressing assault charges. She claims it was only then that police 'caught up' with a suspect. A man has been charged with assault and faced Coober Pedy Magistrates Court May, after receiving a summons. The matter was adjourned until late July. 'Everybody was just drawn to him' Addicott described her uncle as an enigma, and recalled the excitement she felt when he would rock up on her doorstep after a prolonged period out of touch. This is exactly how he arrived on her wedding day. 'All throughout my life, that's exactly how he was. You wouldn't hear from him, and then he'd just somehow find ya, and just say, 'G'day!',' she said, adding that he surprised her in this way on her wedding day. Harcus was just 11 years older than Addicott, who said he was 'more like a big brother than an uncle'. He lived with his pet chihuahua, Nigella, a continuation of the tradition — his parents also lived with chihuahuas. Addicott has now adopted Nigella. 'Uncle was the most charismatic, funny, smart man that you could ever possibly come across,' Addicott said. 'Everybody was just drawn to him. He was just always coming up with some crazy idea ... some new way to do things.' Harvey described her late friend as a 'proud, honourable' person and 'a very loyal friend'. 'He was just a good person, he had a very good heart. 'Just an example — my mother died in 2005, and I couldn't get all the funds together — Centrelink wouldn't help, and Mum didn't have any money or a will — and (Harcus) lent me the money to have her cremated. That's the kind of person he was. 'I went to pay him back when I had the money, and he wouldn't take it back.' Harcus had spoken about arranging his own will not long before he died, but never got around to it. Now, Addicott is struggling to pull together her own funds in order to lay Harcus to rest. 'I legitimately have zero way to pay for this ... meanwhile, Uncle lays there, waiting for me to do something ... and all I can do is cry, because I JUST. CAN'T. AFFORD. IT,' the GoFundMe said.
ABC News
10 hours ago
- ABC News
Kumanjayi White's family want NT Police to hand over investigation into his death. Who could take it?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family. Since 24-year-old Yuendumu man Kumanjayi White died after being restrained by Northern Territory police officers inside the Alice Springs Coles, his family has repeatedly called for an independent investigation. But is that legally possible? Could the federal government intervene? And what other body could investigate the young man's death? Mr White died after officers, who were not in uniform, responded following an altercation between Mr White, who lived with disabilities, and a security guard inside the supermarket on May 27. NT Police alleged Mr White placed "items down the front of his clothing when he was confronted by security guards" and that a security guard was assaulted. As Mr White's community of Yuendumu grieves, NT Police has refused his family's request to hand the investigation over and allow them to review the CCTV footage. Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst said he will lead the investigation and "provide oversight" along with NT Police's Professional Standards Command, pledging it will be "objective, professional and transparent". "Detectives have collected a considerable amount of evidence and the public can be assured that a full and thorough investigative report will be prepared for the coroner," he said. He said the evidence includes CCTV footage and the security guards' body-worn cameras. The coronial inquest has been paused while police determine "whether any criminality was involved". Police said they won't release evidence, including the camera footage which Mr White's family has requested to see, until their investigation concludes. They have not shared a timeline for the investigation. The territory's forensic pathologist is also doing further work to determine Mr White's cause of death, after an autopsy was inconclusive. We don't know yet what the evidence will show about how Mr White died. John Lawrence SC, former Crown prosecutor in Darwin and former president of the NT Bar Association, said investigators should gather all evidence that is potentially relevant. "It will include eyewitness accounts, body-worn camera footage of the security guards, forensic evidence that'll be gathered including the post-mortem determination as to the cause of death," Mr Lawrence told the ABC's Indigenous Affairs Team. "It's then considered by the prosecutor as to what, if any, offences have been committed and what, if any charges are laid." Jeremy King is principal lawyer at Robinson Gill Lawyers and head of the firm's police misconduct practice. He previously acted for the mother of Veronica Nelson, an Aboriginal woman who died in a Victorian prison cell in 2020. Mr King said NT Police is required to look at whether any force was used and assess whether it was lawful, reasonable and proportionate. "You would worry that perhaps (Mr White's disability) is not going to be front of mind with police when looking at this," Mr King said. Advocacy groups including Justice Not Jails, Justice for Walker and Amnesty International have been at the forefront of calls for an external inquiry, alongside Kumanjayi White's grandfather, Warlpiri elder, Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves. Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy is also among those who have said it may be necessary for an inquiry to take place at arm's length from NT police, to ensure impartiality. Marion Scrymgour, the federal Labor MP for NT electorate Lingiari, has called for Australian Federal Police (AFP) detectives to "take over" the investigation. The Central Land Council (CLC) has called on the federal government to withhold funding from the NT government "until it sets up an independent police conduct commission". Hannah McGlade, who is Kurin Minang Noongar associate professor at Curtin Law School, said the standard required under international human rights law is that police cannot investigate police. "This is not independent or impartial," Dr McGlade said. She pointed to the UN's minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners — the so-called "Nelson Mandela rules" — which state that any custodial death must be investigated by "a judicial or other competent authority that is independent of the prison administration". Barrister John Lawrence SC, who represented one of the Don Dale youth detainees during the 2016 royal commission, alleged NT Police was selective in the information it provided about the events on May 27, which he says indicated "bias". He criticises police for telling reporters Kumanjayi White had assaulted a security guard (which he says hasn't been established) and allegedly assaulted a woman earlier in the day — but not sharing details of Mr White's disability, or the level of force used when he was apprehended in Coles. "Police putting that out there, not only besmirches horribly the deceased's character and sullies him, but it must have caused great grief and distress, and no doubt, anger for the family," he said. The NT Police told the ABC in a statement "in the Northern Territory, there are specific legislation which governs the disclosure of information about a person's physical, mental health, disability and criminal records". Some legal experts said the work the NT Police has done to date can and should be handed over to another investigative unit. "The obvious candidates would appear to be units from other police forces," Mr Lawrence said, adding that the Victorian police force could be an option. "Because you do want the best investigators gathering all of the evidence that's potentially relevant. "Legally and constitutionally, the Labor government has legislative authority over the NT complete — they could just legislate tomorrow in the federal parliament, ordering the police investigation into the death of Kumanjayi White should be from now on handed over to a specialist unit from another state." Victorian police accountability lawyer Jeremy King does not want to see the matter looked at by police in any jurisdiction. "It doesn't matter whether it's NT Police, Victoria Police, NSW Police or New Caledonian Police, the fact of the matter is that police should not be investigating themselves," Mr King said. "There needs to be an independent authority looking at this carefully and properly, and independently investigating it. "And then coming back with recommendations regarding criminal charges, and then coming back with a brief for the coroner." Mr King said that until there is independent oversight there will be little "incentive for police to act in accordance with the law and to not act with impunity in these situations because they know they'll just get investigated by their brother and sister cops". It was NT Police that charged Zachary Rolfe with murder as well as the two alternative charges of manslaughter and engaging in a violent act causing death over the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker during an attempted arrest in the remote community of Yuendumu. A jury in the NT Supreme Court cleared Mr Rolfe of all charges in 2022. The Little Children are Sacred inquiry on child sexual abuse is an example of an external body investigating criminality in the NT, and what is known as the NT Intervention afterward, an example of the federal government stepping in, according to Dr McGlade. During COVID the AFP was brought into the territory to man checkpoints at Aboriginal bush communities. "The NT will take federal assistance when it suits their interest," Dr McGlade said. Mr King said if the "commonwealth wanted to take this seriously" it could drive another Black Deaths in Custody Royal Commission, but specifically looking at the NT, similar to the 2016 royal commission sparked by abuses as Don Dale juvenile detention centre. "The commonwealth has the power to do that," he said. But he added that communities may have little faith any royal commission's findings would be implemented. The Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro has vehemently ruled out an independent investigation. "It is entirely appropriate [that NT Police investigates] and this is exactly what happens for all deaths in custody," she told ABC Radio Darwin. She said she wanted to avoid the previous Labor government's "mistakes" when then-chief minister Michael Gunner promised the Yuendumu community "consequences will flow" after the death of Kumanjayi Walker in 2019. A later ICAC probe cleared him of alleged political interference in the decision to charge Mr Rolfe. Acting Commissioner of Police Martin Dole has issued a statement saying he "respectfully reject[s]" calls for the probe into Mr White's death to be handed to an external body. He said the major crimes division "operates under strict protocols and with full transparency". The NT Police union told the ABC it wouldn't be commenting while an investigation is underway. All deaths in custody in the NT must be reviewed by a coronial inquest. Police said their investigation will be "independently reviewed by the NT Coroner, who has broad powers to examine all aspects of the incident and make findings without interference". The NT coroner spent more than two years examining the 2019 police shooting of Kumanjayi Walker. Those findings will now be handed down on July 7.
The Advertiser
11 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Calls for justice and action on deaths in custody
Vigils calling for justice are continuing across Australia as part of a national week of action following the death of a young Aboriginal man in police custody. Kumanjayi White, 24, who had a mental disability, died on May 27 shortly after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes police officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs. His death has sparked national outcry, with his family demanding an independent inquiry and for the officers involved to be stood down. Speaking at a rally outside Victoria's parliament on Friday, Mr White's grandfather, Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, said his grandson was "killed for no good reason." "What have we done to you. We are supposed to be working together in harmony but (police) are taking away our lives," he said. "He was not a criminal. He was a quiet, young man." The rally was also attended by Krauatungalung Elder Uncle Robbie Thorpe, Senator Lidia Thorpe, and Aunty Donna Kerr, the mother of Joshua Kerr. Ms Kerr spoke of the urgent need for justice, recalling how her own son, an Indigenous man, was found unconscious in his prison cell and later died in August 2022. "Shame on this country. Shame on what they have done to our kids and families in incarceration. There is not a day that goes past where I pinch myself because my son is never coming home," she said. "How are we here today, going three years since my boy, now another child, shame. Justice is what we want in this country." About 300 people attended the vigil on the steps of Victorian parliament, holding signs that read "Who is the real thief?" and "Genocide in progress". Senator Thorpe said more must be done to stop the "genocide" in Australia, noting it had been five years since the global Black Lives Matter movement was ignited after the police killing of George Floyd in the US. She vowed to support the family's call for an independent investigation into police. NT Police on Friday confirmed the officers had not been stood down. Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro rejected calls for an external investigation, saying police are the right authority to carry it out coupled with a coronial inquiry. Vigils have been organised across the nation, including Sydney, Brisbane, and Wollongong on Saturday with events in Perth and Adelaide to follow on Sunday. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Vigils calling for justice are continuing across Australia as part of a national week of action following the death of a young Aboriginal man in police custody. Kumanjayi White, 24, who had a mental disability, died on May 27 shortly after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes police officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs. His death has sparked national outcry, with his family demanding an independent inquiry and for the officers involved to be stood down. Speaking at a rally outside Victoria's parliament on Friday, Mr White's grandfather, Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, said his grandson was "killed for no good reason." "What have we done to you. We are supposed to be working together in harmony but (police) are taking away our lives," he said. "He was not a criminal. He was a quiet, young man." The rally was also attended by Krauatungalung Elder Uncle Robbie Thorpe, Senator Lidia Thorpe, and Aunty Donna Kerr, the mother of Joshua Kerr. Ms Kerr spoke of the urgent need for justice, recalling how her own son, an Indigenous man, was found unconscious in his prison cell and later died in August 2022. "Shame on this country. Shame on what they have done to our kids and families in incarceration. There is not a day that goes past where I pinch myself because my son is never coming home," she said. "How are we here today, going three years since my boy, now another child, shame. Justice is what we want in this country." About 300 people attended the vigil on the steps of Victorian parliament, holding signs that read "Who is the real thief?" and "Genocide in progress". Senator Thorpe said more must be done to stop the "genocide" in Australia, noting it had been five years since the global Black Lives Matter movement was ignited after the police killing of George Floyd in the US. She vowed to support the family's call for an independent investigation into police. NT Police on Friday confirmed the officers had not been stood down. Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro rejected calls for an external investigation, saying police are the right authority to carry it out coupled with a coronial inquiry. Vigils have been organised across the nation, including Sydney, Brisbane, and Wollongong on Saturday with events in Perth and Adelaide to follow on Sunday. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Vigils calling for justice are continuing across Australia as part of a national week of action following the death of a young Aboriginal man in police custody. Kumanjayi White, 24, who had a mental disability, died on May 27 shortly after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes police officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs. His death has sparked national outcry, with his family demanding an independent inquiry and for the officers involved to be stood down. Speaking at a rally outside Victoria's parliament on Friday, Mr White's grandfather, Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, said his grandson was "killed for no good reason." "What have we done to you. We are supposed to be working together in harmony but (police) are taking away our lives," he said. "He was not a criminal. He was a quiet, young man." The rally was also attended by Krauatungalung Elder Uncle Robbie Thorpe, Senator Lidia Thorpe, and Aunty Donna Kerr, the mother of Joshua Kerr. Ms Kerr spoke of the urgent need for justice, recalling how her own son, an Indigenous man, was found unconscious in his prison cell and later died in August 2022. "Shame on this country. Shame on what they have done to our kids and families in incarceration. There is not a day that goes past where I pinch myself because my son is never coming home," she said. "How are we here today, going three years since my boy, now another child, shame. Justice is what we want in this country." About 300 people attended the vigil on the steps of Victorian parliament, holding signs that read "Who is the real thief?" and "Genocide in progress". Senator Thorpe said more must be done to stop the "genocide" in Australia, noting it had been five years since the global Black Lives Matter movement was ignited after the police killing of George Floyd in the US. She vowed to support the family's call for an independent investigation into police. NT Police on Friday confirmed the officers had not been stood down. Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro rejected calls for an external investigation, saying police are the right authority to carry it out coupled with a coronial inquiry. Vigils have been organised across the nation, including Sydney, Brisbane, and Wollongong on Saturday with events in Perth and Adelaide to follow on Sunday. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Vigils calling for justice are continuing across Australia as part of a national week of action following the death of a young Aboriginal man in police custody. Kumanjayi White, 24, who had a mental disability, died on May 27 shortly after being forcibly restrained by two plain-clothes police officers inside a supermarket in Alice Springs. His death has sparked national outcry, with his family demanding an independent inquiry and for the officers involved to be stood down. Speaking at a rally outside Victoria's parliament on Friday, Mr White's grandfather, Warlpiri Elder Ned Jampijinpa Hargraves, said his grandson was "killed for no good reason." "What have we done to you. We are supposed to be working together in harmony but (police) are taking away our lives," he said. "He was not a criminal. He was a quiet, young man." The rally was also attended by Krauatungalung Elder Uncle Robbie Thorpe, Senator Lidia Thorpe, and Aunty Donna Kerr, the mother of Joshua Kerr. Ms Kerr spoke of the urgent need for justice, recalling how her own son, an Indigenous man, was found unconscious in his prison cell and later died in August 2022. "Shame on this country. Shame on what they have done to our kids and families in incarceration. There is not a day that goes past where I pinch myself because my son is never coming home," she said. "How are we here today, going three years since my boy, now another child, shame. Justice is what we want in this country." About 300 people attended the vigil on the steps of Victorian parliament, holding signs that read "Who is the real thief?" and "Genocide in progress". Senator Thorpe said more must be done to stop the "genocide" in Australia, noting it had been five years since the global Black Lives Matter movement was ignited after the police killing of George Floyd in the US. She vowed to support the family's call for an independent investigation into police. NT Police on Friday confirmed the officers had not been stood down. Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro rejected calls for an external investigation, saying police are the right authority to carry it out coupled with a coronial inquiry. Vigils have been organised across the nation, including Sydney, Brisbane, and Wollongong on Saturday with events in Perth and Adelaide to follow on Sunday. 13YARN 13 92 76 Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636
