AFP should take over NT police investigation into Kumanjayi White's death, Labor MP says

The Guardian

7 days ago

An Albanese government MP based in Alice Springs has called for Australian federal police to take over the criminal investigation into the death of Kumanjayi White, an Aboriginal man who died last week after being restrained by Northern Territory police in the town's Coles supermarket.
The 24-year-old Warlpiri man had disabilities and was living away from his community of Yuendumu in supported accommodation. Police alleged that he was shoplifting when plainclothes officers stepped in to assist the store's security guard.
Marion Scrymgour, the member for Lingiari and one of four Indigenous MPs in the federal government, said appointing AFP detectives to investigate would enable the Yuendumu community to 'have full confidence in the process'.
'A criminal investigation is a job which only police can undertake, because at the end of the day it has to be a police decision to charge,' the Tiwi woman said on Wednesday.
'But it doesn't have to be NT police officers who undertake the task.'
The news of White's death came as his community was bracing for the findings of an inquest into another death in custody, the fatal police shooting of 19-year-old Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendumu, where the young men had grown up together.
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That coronial inquiry unearthed shocking racism within the NT force, including that the TRG elite group, now disbanded, bestowed a racist mock award known as the 'Coon of the Year' on the officer who behaved 'most like an Aboriginal'.
Scrymgour said Aboriginal people in the NT had been 'shaken' by the revelations.
'Trust is a fragile thing and the coronial inquiry evidence is too recent and too jarring for it not to have consequences and implications for what is now playing out in Alice Springs in the aftermath of yet another tragic death,' she said.
Many of the officers involved in the Walker investigation and coronial process had experienced 'ostracism' and 'resentment amongst others from within the NT Police', she added
'Having detectives from the AFP take over and complete the investigation which has recently been commenced would both extract NT detectives from a role which would inevitably subject them to scrutiny and criticism, and would enable the Yuendumu community to have full confidence in the process going forward,' Scrymgour said.
Lawyers for White's family wrote to police on Friday requesting they 'appoint an independent body from another state or territory to undertake … investigations in a culturally safe manner'. Police 'respectfully' rejected the request.
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The family's calls have been back by several organisations, including the Central Land Council, which urged the federal government to withhold funding from the NT government until the demand was met.
'We don't trust this government and its police force to keep us safe,' said the CLC chair, Warren Williams, who is also White's uncle.
On Thursday NT police said the coronial investigation had been paused while a criminal investigation was undertaken to determine whether any criminality was involved.
Rallies are planned in major cities across this country this weekend as pressure over who will handle the investigation intensifies.
This week marks five years since similar protests swept the nation as part of the global Black Lives Matter movement, calling for an end to Indigenous deaths in police and prison custody.
The protests were sparked by the murder of George Floyd, a black man who died after being restrained in the prone position by police in the US.
Indigenous Australians can call 13YARN on 13 92 76 for information and crisis support; or call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Mensline on 1300 789 978 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636